White Castle Sliders

First of all, this is not the “official” White Castle slider recipe, but it’s pretty darn close in my opinion. I’ve got fond memories of family vacations when I was little, and the thrill of finding a White Castle; home of the little hamburger.  At that time, there were no White Castles anywhere near where we lived, and I imagine it was one of the cheapest places we could eat.  I loved them then, and I love them now. A friend of mine gave me this recipe years ago, and it’s one of those recipes I’d tucked away and forgotten about until my kids reminded me I hadn’t made these in a while.    This recipe yields a little burger that is extremely close to the original.  I made three recipes of these tonight, which was too much even for the gang of guys that are here playing games.  One recipe will yield approximately 18 mini hamburgers.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef, chuck or round is best

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

1/2 cup water

2 pkg. small dinner rolls such as Pepperidge Farms

2 onions, finely diced (don’t leave these out, it really “makes” the recipe)

Directions:

Combine ground beef, onion soup mix, and water in a large bowl.  Mix until well combined.  It works best to use your hands so that it is thoroughly combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment, then pour out the meat mixture onto pan.

Press and pat the meat mixture out until it is a thin layer and takes up the whole sheet pan.

Place butter or margarine in a large skillet.  Finely dice and saute the two onions until tender and slightly caramelized.

Spread the onions on top of the meat mixture on the sheet pan, spreading them out evenly.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until no longer pink.  While the meat is baking, prepare the rolls. I used the rolls shown below, and cut them in half, then into 3’s just to make them easier to handle once they are done.

When the burger patties are done baking, remove from oven and drain off fat.  Place the cut side of the roll bottom on top of the burger patties, then top with the top of the bun.

Cut the burgers to fit the shape of the buns,

Cover with foil and return to the oven for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and lift the cut burger patties with buns off of the sheet pan with the spatula, place the tops on the burgers and serve.