White Castle-Style Sliders

• 份量: 12 sliders; 4 servings
• 准备时间: 1 hr 30 min
• 总时间: 3 hrs

配料

900 g Ground beef, 20% fat (see “Before we begin” note)

11 g Kosher salt, divided

4.5 g Monosodium glutamate (MSG), (1 teaspoon)

75 g Neutral oil, divided

200 g White onion(s), (1 medium onion) cut into 1/4-inch dice

180 g Water, divided

12 Potato slider bun(s), homemade or store-bought (see “Before we begin” note)

12 American cheese, slices, homemade or store-bought, folded into 3-inch squares

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Ketchup, optional, as needed

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Dill pickles, homemade or store-bought, sliced, optional, as needed

步骤

Combine ground beef, 9 g salt, and MSG in a medium bowl. Using clean hands, knead until well combined and ground beef becomes slightly tacky and fat begins to look streaky, about 30 seconds.

Divide seasoned ground beef into 2 equal portions (about 455 g each).

Fold two 12- by 16-inch sheets of parchment paper in half lengthwise to form two 12- by 8-inch rectangles. Unfold each sheet and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Working with one portion of beef and one parchment sheet at a time, transfer beef to center of one half of greased parchment. Using clean hands, spread beef into an even layer, leaving a 2-inch margin on all sides.

Fold parchment over beef and, using a rolling pin, roll beef out into an 8- by 12-inch rectangle, using a bench scraper to help form clean edges.

Repeat process with remaining portion of beef and sheet of parchment.

Unfold parchment. Using bench scraper or back of a knife, make shallow indentations to divide each portion of beef into six 4-inch squares—these lines will act as guides when portioning patties.

Spray handle of a whisk or a wooden spoon with nonstick cooking spray and make 4 small holes in each patty, about 3/4-inch in diameter, spaced evenly apart like marks on a die.

Fold parchment paper back over beef and stack beef sheets on 1/2 sheet pan. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, transfer to freezer, and freeze until beef is mostly frozen but still flexible, about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Once beef is mostly frozen, peel back parchment paper and, using a sharp knife, slice each sheet of beef into 6 patties, using indentations as a guide. Stack patties between parchment paper and return to sheet pan.

If cooking right away, proceed to Step 5.

If making patties in advance, wrap sheet pan with plastic wrap or transfer patties to an airtight container and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. Patties can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, heat 30 g oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, season with remaining 2 g salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high and continue cooking until lightly browned, about 3 minutes longer. Remove from heat and transfer onions to a small bowl.

Wipe out skillet with a paper towel and return to stovetop.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 150 °F / 66 °C or lowest possible setting.

In now-empty skillet, heat 15 g oil (1 tablespoon) over medium heat until shimmering. Add 60 g water (1/4 cup) and 4 slider patties to pan. Cover and cook until patties have shrunk to about 3-inch squares and are completely cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Uncover pan, top each patty with bottom bun, cut-side down, and place top buns on top of bottom buns. Continue to cook until buns are warm and soft, about 1 minute longer.

Transfer top buns to a sheet pan. Using a spatula, lift patties and bottom buns from pan, flipping them so that buns are on the bottom, and transfer to sheet pan. Top each patty with a slice of American cheese, a spoonful (15 g; 1 tablespoon) of reserved cooked onions, followed by top bun. Transfer sheet pan to oven to keep sliders warm and melt cheese.

Wipe out skillet and repeat process 2 more times with remaining slider patties, water, buns, cheese, and cooked onions.

Remove sheet pan of sliders from oven, remove top buns and top burgers with pickles and ketchup (if using). Serve immediately.

备注

For these sliders (and most burgers), we like to use 80:20 ground beef. If using a single cut of beef, we recommend using chuck, as it naturally has about 20% fat. If you don’t have a meat grinder, try to purchase medium- to coarse-ground chuck if possible; it’s the ticket to the tenderest, juiciest burgers. If your butcher is willing to grind meat fresh for you, great. Otherwise, if there is fresh ground beef behind the butcher counter, go for that. The prepackaged stuff on the shelf may have been ground days ahead of time, so it won’t taste as good.

Boring holes into each slider patty wasn’t our idea—it’s built into the patty-making process at White Castle.

The holes accomplish several things at once: They help the patties hold their shape as they cook; they encourage even cooking and speed up the process; and they allow steam to travel through the patties to warm the buns, which are placed on top.