White Castle Cook Off, January 12 @ 5:00 PM

A few months ago, there was a thread on White Castle, which included a conversational tangent on preparing dishes with White Castle burgers as an ingredient. This is where the idea of a White Castle Cook Off to try the recipes on the White Castle website or create our own, then congregate to sample.

If you don't believe me, I have a few quotes:

zoid wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:

Santander wrote:Jaja claro tío, sí. ¡Mire!

Las tapas del castillo blanco

It really cannot get any better than that!

Is anybody up for a White Castle potluck? We could make all these recipes, then congregate at a White Castle (hopefully) to share and experience.

Hell yeah!
I wanna let my freak flag fly!

David Hammond wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:I'll go if Hammond goes.

Oh, I'm totally in.

The date and time are finally set in stone: Saturday, January 12th at 5:00 PM.

This will be the greatest taste-off since the infamous ketchup taste-off

White Castle
3212 W. Addison (at Elston),
Chicago

We will congregate in the dining area of this White Castle. The management is already aware we will be there. They know our slider ingredients will be purchased from all over the Chicago area.

Whatever food you choose to bring, please make sure to keep hot food hot and cold food cold

This is open to the first 20 participants. We might expand the list later, I need to check with White Castle about capacity (yes, I forgot to ask).

1. Cathy2 - Royal Castle Crave Bread
2. zoid - a slider French Toast/Bread Pudding & Sausage casserole
3. Hammond - WC headcheese
4. Hammond
5. Laikom - WC bao
6. Teresa
7. Pie Lady
8. Pie lady
9. bean
10. toria
11. Thaiobsessed - WC Banh Mi
12. Thaiobsessed
13. Helen - eggroll

Are there any rules other than "must contain a White Castle product?"

zoid wrote:Are there any rules other than "must contain a White Castle product?"

I think that pretty much covers it, don't you think?

I did clarify that people would come with prepared foods. It would not mean they would have a run on slider 10-packs from us. Any sliders I buy would be in Mundelein or Gurnee.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

zoid wrote:Are there any rules other than "must contain a White Castle product?"

I think that pretty much covers it, don't you think?

I did clarify that people would come with prepared foods. It would not mean they would have a run on slider 10-packs from us. Any sliders I buy would be in Mundelein or Gurnee.

Regards,

Just checkin' - I have an idea I think will work pretty well and really fits nicely with the theme - wanted to make sure I'd be OK.
I'd commit now but I'll need a few days to see how the calendar plays out...

zoid,

I will keep my fingers crossed on your availability!

Regards

My dreams have finally come true! I'll be there! I already have so many ideas floating around in my head, some old, some new. Are our dishes supposed to be a surprise, or can we start talking about our creations beforehand?

laikom wrote:My dreams have finally come true! I'll be there! I already have so many ideas floating around in my head, some old, some new. Are our dishes supposed to be a surprise, or can we start talking about our creations beforehand?

I'd be in favor of talk beforehand.

I'm in for two.

Well, if we're talking about what we're thinking of bringing, I'll start. I am not sure i this is my contribution for sure, but I'm thinking of white castle bao.

I've always thought white castles were already very similar to steamed Chinese bao. Maybe I'll remove the meat/onion/goo from the white castles and inject that into a bao. I have never made homemade bao, but that is also an option.

OK - if we're 'fessing up...
I'll bring a slider French Toast/Bread Pudding & Sausage casserole...
type of thing...


It'll be good - I promise.

Hi,

I plan to bring Royal Crave Castle bread, a White Castle cookoff winner from 2003.

I am tempted to make Sloppy Sliders, too, a winner from 2012. Yet a finalist from 1999 sounds appealing, too: Mr. Owen's Leek Pie. I like how you mush the buns together to form a pie crust.

Decisions. Decisions.

Regards,

My mother will never live down the "secret ingredient" breakfast casserole she made one holiday. We had to guess. It wasn't hard.

I'm in for this--it sounds to weird to miss!

Cathy put me down as a yes.

Hi,

A gentle reminder: we are using the whole slider as provided by White Castle: bun, hamburger patty, onions, pickle and all!

Yummy!

Regards,

I know, for some this event is tongue in cheek, but every time the notification pops up in my email I get a sudden craving for white castle. I'm so looking forward to this event!

I'm in (+1). Probably something something Thai...

Not sure what I'm going to make, but had a vision of a clear jello mold with a single patty slider suspended in the middle.

David Hammond wrote:Not sure what I'm going to make, but had a vision of a clear jello mold with a single patty slider suspended in the middle.

Slider headcheese! Brilliant!

I can't make it to the event, but I do have some ideas if someone is willing to try them out:

Deconstructed Slider Mac & Cheese
1. Separate out the meat, buns, onions, and pickles.
2. Saute the onions with garlic & crushed red pepper, and incorporate it into the cheese sauce. If you got cheeseburgers, use the cheese from the burgers in the cheese sauce.
3. Cube the meat and stir it in with the pasta.
4. Pour the mac & cheese into a casserole pan.
5. Toast the buns, and grind them into breadcrumbs
6. Stir half of the breadcrumbs in with melted butter, and use it to encrust the top of the casserole.
7. Coat the pickle with the leftover breadcrumbs, and fry them.
8. Bake the mac & cheese mixture in the casserole pan until the crust is golden.
9. Garnish with the fried pickles.

White Castle French Onion Soup
1. Gently reduce the onions for several hours until caramelized.
2. Coarsely grind the meat patties in a food processor.
3. Simmer the ground meat patties in water.
4. Strain the "broth", and reduce until it reaches a sufficient strength.
5. Combine the "broth" with the caramelized onions in ramekins.
6. Toast and trim the buns to use as the crouton.
7. Cover the crouton with cheese (preferably from the burger).
8. Set under the broiler until you've either got (a) French Onion Soup, or (b) the whole thing catches fire and you can toss it.

The soup is a bigger reach because I have no idea whether you can actually reconstitute a broth from cooked meat. I'm hopeful because it's steamed instead of grilled, but... yikes. That's a big risk relative to the mac & cheese (which I'm pretty sure will work).

Independent George wrote:The soup is a bigger reach because I have no idea whether you can actually reconstitute a broth from cooked meat. I'm hopeful because it's steamed instead of grilled, but... yikes. That's a big risk relative to the mac & cheese (which I'm pretty sure will work).

When I taught school, the teachers got free lunch (yes, we were paid that poorly). Whatever was lunch one day was soup the next. Steak Sandwich Soup was not awful, though it was much greasier than I think it needed to be, and was not a very flavorful broth.

leek wrote:When I taught school, the teachers got free lunch (yes, we were paid that poorly). Whatever was lunch one day was soup the next. Steak Sandwich Soup was not awful, though it was much greasier than I think it needed to be, and was not a very flavorful broth.

Hmmm... So maybe the broth could be chilled and skimmed, and the onions provide the bulk of the flavor.

I've decided on WC Banh Mi

I would love to compete. My Bride will attend but will not touch those things.

Put me down for Biscuits and Slider Gravy.

Panther in the Den wrote:I would love to compete. My Bride will attend but will not touch those things.

Put me down for Biscuits and Slider Gravy.

Sounds terrific!

I'm going to have to bow out due to another commitment that has reared its' ugly head. Best of luck to all.

bean

Santander, where did you get that picture?
I goofed and showed it to my kid and he just "informed" me that is going to be his first meal when wrestling season is over and weight is not a concern.

As I'm preparing to make my Slusterd®, I am having a great dilemma. Cheeseburgers or regular?

Another question: I was thinking of adding a balsamic swirl. Is that cheating?

Pie Lady wrote:As I'm preparing to make my Slusterd®, I am having a great dilemma. Cheeseburgers or regular?

Another question: I was thinking of adding a balsamic swirl. Is that cheating?

I'm not making the rules, but I don't think cheeseburger or regular was ever specified. I wouldn't think a balsamic swirl is cheating -- hecking, anything to render the inedible edible sounds good to me.

David Hammond wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:As I'm preparing to make my Slusterd®, I am having a great dilemma. Cheeseburgers or regular?

Another question: I was thinking of adding a balsamic swirl. Is that cheating?

I'm not making the rules, but I don't think cheeseburger or regular was ever specified. I wouldn't think a balsamic swirl is cheating -- hecking, anything to render the inedible edible sounds good to me.

No rules beyond using all of the sandwich, so if you go fancy with the cheese, go fancy. Introducing other ingredients is perfectly fine, because how else could you transform it into something (better).