So my friends and I were going to have an eating contest and we decided on sliders. Unfortunately we live in California so there are no White Castles or anything of the sort. We could go for the frozen ones but we'd rather cook them ourselves. Anyways so I've been searching for a recipe and the ones I find online all seem to call for "beef baby food."
Anyone have a recipe?
ChowChild
Aug 13, 2007 10:40PM
Who's Talking?
Create and share lists of your favorite lunch spots, favorite local eats, dream road trip and more!
Create a new
list now!
CHOW Pick, posted January 04, 2009
Food Media, posted January 07, 2009
Green, posted January 06, 2009
Wine and Drinks, posted December 30, 2008
Alton Brown made these on Good Eats - I haven't tried them myself but they did look good (and they use ground chuck instead of <gulp> baby food).
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recip...
Permalink | Reply
This is not a traditional recipe, but its delicious:
Fry up 1 large onion and 1 lb bacon halfway, then add 2 bottles of guinness and cook until bacon is cooked and beer is reduced. Allow to cool, then send it through a blender long enough to give it a homogenous distribution of bacon but not long enough to make it smooth. Mix this whole batch of bacon beer onion deliciousness into about 4 lbs of ground chuck. Let the meat rest for a few hours in the fridge, then grill them up.
Nothing better than beer and bacon in your burger.
Permalink | Reply
If you want to have White Castle-type sliders, you might actually need to use the baby food. Their sliders have a unique texture and flavor that you can't really capture by using just plain ground beef. As gross as it sounds, I'm still get the Crave every now and again. And my friends and I have also been debating doing a Crave Case each, but are afraid of the consequences to our self-esteem.
Permalink | Reply
They're on the cover of Bon Appetit this month. You can check out the recipe at the market or a library and grab a copy if you like the looks of it.
Funny, sliders seem to be everywhere right now -- one of the Top Chef contestants just made them last week (immediately prior to her departure)!
Permalink | Reply
There's also a recipe in Gourmet this month. Which makes me think that Conde Nast is getting a little lazy.
Permalink | Reply
actually...those beef baby food ones are quite yummy!!!
Permalink | Reply
I am really getting an education on "sliders".........I always thought sliders were something in the dumpling catagory, maybe Penna. Dutch. Does anyone know of a dumpling called "sliders"? From the term, never associated it with ground meats!
This thread prompted me to do a litle searching, and came up with this:
http://nymag.com/restaurants/recipes/inseason/26962/
http://gothamist.com/2007/08/03/new_y...
Permalink | Reply
Sliders, named so for their propensity to just slide on down your throat.
Permalink | Reply
Not to gross anyone out, but growing up in White Castle country (NJ), I was always told that it was due to the propensity to slide out the other end. (Sorry, sorry!)
Permalink | Reply
sorry to disagree but jfood started eating sliders (later trademarked as slyders) in the early 60's. The term relates to the inbound aspect of the burger, because they are steamed and slide down the throat.
Permalink | Reply
BTW - You can get a copycat recipe of the White Castle burgers online, Top Secret Recipes I think.
What are sliders? How did they get that name and how are they different from a burger?
Permalink | Reply
Not sure the origin of the name slider but they are essentially just tiny, bite size burgers. I like to make them about 1 oz each and serve on dinner roll size potato buns. I just use a regular grind of chuck (or sometimes chicken) and make a meatball about the size of a golf ball and then smoosh onto a ripping hot cast iron skillet. Cook about one min per side till really crusty and voila, homemade sliders. Nothing like a white castle burger but tasty
Permalink | Reply
sorry ESNY, that's a mini burger not a slider. the essence of the slider is:
1 - holes in the burger
2 - onions on the griddle first
3 - then burger
4 - then bun
5 - they cook alltogether, the stem released from the onions cooks the burger (NEVER flipped) and makes the bun moist.
There is no such thing as a "really crispy" slider. You probably know all that though.
Permalink | Reply
Where can you find those square buns? Or at least a soft mini-bun?
Permalink | Reply
Think dinner rolls.
Permalink | Reply
Anyone in the Boston area seen slider rolls around? I tried using Costco dinner rolls for some small ham salad sandwiches and they don't make it - too crusty and the wrong texture. Sliders are popping up in our small local restaurants so they must be available somewhere.
Permalink | Reply
If you are anywhere near a Publix, you can order the tiny little hamburger buns, which I have seen used as slider buns. Actually, that's the only thing that I have seen used as the buns.
Permalink | Reply
I'm drawing a blank on the name, but there is a company that sells dinner roll sized potato bread. Martin's maybe? They sell all sorts of hamburger/hotdog/sandwich buns, most if not all are of the potato variety. I find them almost everywhere in NYC. I use their potato dinner rolls for my sliders.
Permalink | Reply
I actually make my sliders by using ground chicken patties - regular size and then I buy Hawaiian rolls (they usually come in packes of 4). I fry the burgers and chopped onions in a pan with vegetable or olive oil (add a lot to make it more like White Castle burgers) and then put the entire burger on all 4 of the hawaiian rolls and cut along the perforations in the rolls to make 4 sliders. It is easier than making tiny burgers and the bread is a little sweeter than white castle burgers but the taste is amazing!
Permalink | Reply
Yes Martin's makes the rolls.
Permalink | Reply
Try pocketbook rolls.
Permalink | Reply
Sliders are not the same thing as mini-hamburgers. They are almost "smeared" flat onto the grill. I've heard that some sliders have ground liver in em. Sorry, don't have a recipe..but have had sliders! Cozy Inn..Salina, KS.
Permalink | Reply
sorry, these things sound like gut bombs. Why not something like carintas tacos? you can get the meat ready to use at Mexican delis almost anywhere in Calif. and they'd be a snap to make.
Permalink | Reply
I found a recipe that used Beef Broth mixed with Chuck to get that certain texture to the burger meat:
KASTLE KLONES
[Makes about 20 two-and-a-half-inch square patties or 12 three-inch patties]
Ingredients
1 lb. ground chuck
2/3 cup beef broth
1 1/4 cups dried chopped onions (about 3 1/3 oz.) *
2 1/2 cups hot water (or more if needed)
20 small dinner rolls (or 7 hot dog buns cut in thirds)
Cheese and condiments (optional)
Instructions
1. Line a 10-by-14-inch rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Mix beef & beef stock in a large bowl. Transfer mixture to lined baking sheet, and use a spatula to flatten. Place second sheet of plastic wrap over meat, and use rolling pin or hands to further flatten meat so it covers entire surface of pan.
2. Remove top layer of plastic wrap, and use spatula to score flattened beef into 2.5-inch squares. Reapply wrap, and place pan in freezer until meat is frozen solid.
3. Place dried onion in a small bowl, and add the hot water; let stand at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, take frozen beef from freezer, and remove from plastic wrap. Re-score it with a sharp knife, and gently break patties apart.
4. Heat a large skillet (cast iron works best) or grill pan over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 of onion-and-water mixture to skillet. When water begins to steam (which should happen almost instantly), place 5 patties on top of onions. Cook, flipping once, to desired doneness. (Cooking time will depend on whether your patties are still frozen solid or have thawed a bit.) After flipping, place a bun top on each patty.
5. Remove patties and buns, with a helping of onion, from skillet. Add bun bottoms, and any cheese or condiments as desired.
6. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
* Use the cheap-o dried chopped onions, either the Spice Classics brand or Badia; McCormick spices are too pricey for such a use.
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2...
Permalink | Reply
Thanks for reviving the thread, and a great addition with the technique recap and the link.
When I did these, I substituted 1 pair of chicken livers for the baby food, and put them, the broth, and 1/3 lb of the beef in the food processor, along with some of the dried onions, Pulsed, then folded in the ground beef. The livers helped with the "slurry factor" and upped the beefy flavor.
I used standard dinner rolls for the buns, but I'm curious if anyone has a potato roll recipe that could be laid in a pan and be cut into squares, still touching, to yield the 2.5 inch buns the both White Castle and Krystal use?
Permalink | Reply
This is fascinating, FF. Some years ago, while on a road trip back from an airport (and conference), I suggested we stop at a White Castle. One woman we were with demurred. She is allergic to poultry (I knew this .. that's why I suggested a burger), and she claims that when she has had a WC burger, she winds up with her poultry-allergy symptoms. As she put it, "They're supposed to be beef, but there is something in them...."
So I find it interesting that chicken livers give you the flavor and texture we all crave in a WC.
Permalink | Reply
Lipton Onion soup mix folks! Mix half into the meat- and half with water in the skillet. Rolling and flattening ala Alton is the way to cook fast and even. Poke a few holes with your fingers to keep from curling and cook through. We use regular buns- heck they make them small enough these days anyhow- and place on top while cooking on the griddle or skillet to steam them. Add a bit of cheese if you must- or some dijon mustard- voila! Good as childhood in Evergreen Park Illinois. If you really want to go back to the good old days- grab a six-pack with your big sister's ID and enjoy!
Permalink | Reply
Noooooo Pleeeeeease. jfood's hands are shaking at the thought of Lipton Onion Soup and White Castle in the same sentence. Heresy gastylin.
Like many, his mother thought LOS was the greatest thing since a spoon full of salt makes the medicine go down. Such bad memories.
Please pass the hypertension pills.
Breathe deep, exhale. OK, the blood pressure spike has subsided, the bulging eyes have returned to normal, and the memories of dinner growing up are safely back in the locked part of the brain.
Whew that was close.
Sorry gasty, but slyders are one of the fond food memories of jfood's childhood. He defends their virginity til death. :-))
Permalink | Reply