"slyders" news and stories

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of both White Castle and barbecue. So when I read that the Castle was experimenting with pulled pork on a bun, my reaction was a, long-drawn out "Nooooooo!!"

Is nothing sacred? Seems to me that two great American traditions, the State's first hamburger chain and barbecue, would be sullied by the Castle's introduction of pulled pork. That's not to say I have anything against pulled pork on a miniature bun. Done right, it's tasty as hell and a more healthful portion than the gigantic sandwiches one usually eats at barbecue joints.

Sadly I don't think the Castle is going to do justice to pulled pork. And I'm not just saying that because I want to lump their new product in the McRib category. Further reading of the article in Nation's Restaurant News (registration required) reveals that it will arrive at the store's frozen. I can't help but feel that it will also be saturated with liquid smoke and have the consistency of cat food.

I hope my suspicions about the quality of the Castle's pulled pork are wrong. All of a sudden, I'm craving a pulled pork slyder topped with an onion ring.

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You wouldn't guess it based on the posts today, but the Slashfood team really isn't totally biased in favor of the Colts in today's Super Bowl. It just happens that Joanne showed a good offense all week supporting the Bears, and Indianapolis took some time to find its foodish ground and is coming on strong in the end.

Now White Castle burgers are not really from Indianapolis. In fact, the first store was built in Wichita, Kansas, and today, the headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. However, that doesn't seem to keep Indy-ites (Indy-ans?) from mentioning White Castle Slyders when thinking of food from home. Unfortunately for us Indy fans in California, there are no White Castle restaurants anywhere in the state. I resorted to buying the frozen burgers from the grocery store, and while I have to say that wrapping two little burgers in a paper towel and microwaving them made me frown, and the dry taste of the bun and the sad little flap of meat inside was a little disappointing, I still felt supportive.

Go Indianapolis!

I can think of at least one situation in which White Castle Slyders really hit the spot. Maybe two. Neither of those two situations are Thanksgiving, however, so I was pretty surprised to see a recipe for turkey stuffing on the White Castle website. It involves a number of slyders - their small, rectangular burgers that have five little holes in the patties and come with onions and a pickle - and some more traditional stuffing ingredients, such as celery and spices. The pickles are removed before starting the stuffing, but since onions, bread and sausage can all play a big role in stuffing, it actually doesn't seem too strange.

The recipe is after the jump, if you're brave enough to try it.

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If your sweetheart is a little less high-maintenance than most, or if you're just a terrific redneck or a class clown, why not try White Castle for Valentine's Day? The ultimate in low-class burger joints is taking reservations for February 14, you know, just in case the other ones are booked.

What's more, the burger joint is offering candlelit dinners in most of its outlets. Funniest of all, though, is one Indianapolis White Castle manager's quote: "In the 84 years we've been in business, you know there have got to be some love stories out there where, 'We met at White Castle,' stuff like that."

Does there really got to be? I hazard a guess that these stories are rare. You tell me. If there's someone out there whose first date with an eventual spouse was at a White Castle, sweetie, I've got to meet you.

[via Gothamist]

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