It
is known for its small, square hamburgers. Sometimes referred to as "sliders",
the burgers were priced at five cents until the 1940s, and remained at ten
cents for years thereafter. For several years, when the original burgers sold
for five cents, White Castle periodically ran promotional ads in local newspapers
which contained coupons offering five burgers for ten cents, takeout only.
White
Castle was founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. The original location was the NW
corner of First and Main. Cook Walter A. Anderson partnered with insurance man
Edgar Waldo "Billy" A Ingram to make White Castle into a chain of
restaurants and market White Castle. At the time, Americans were hesitant to
eat ground beef after Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle had
publicized the poor sanitation practices of the meat packing industry. The
founders set out to change the public's perception of the cleanliness of the
industry. To invoke a feeling of cleanliness, their restaurants were small
buildings with white porcelain enamel on steel exteriors, stainless steel
interiors, and employees outfitted with spotless uniforms. Their first
restaurants in Wichita, Kansas, were a success, and the company branched out
into other Midwestern markets, starting in 1922 with El Dorado, Kansas. White
Castle Building No. 8, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, originally built in 1936 and
remodeled (photo, right), was an example of the chain's prefabricated porcelain
buildings. The building measured 28 feet (8.5 m) by 28 feet (8.5 m)
and was made to resemble the Chicago Water Tower, with octagonal buttresses,
crenelated towers, and a parapet wall.
Anderson
is credited with invention of the hamburger bun as well as "the kitchen as
assembly line, and the cook as infinitely replaceable technician," hence
giving rise to the modern fast food phenomenon. Due to White Castle's
innovation of having chain wide standardized methods, customers could be sure
that they would receive the same product and service in every White Castle
restaurant. As Henry Ford did for car manufacturing, Anderson and Ingram did
for the making of burgers.
Anderson
developed an efficient method for cooking hamburgers, using freshly ground beef
and fresh onions. The ground beef was formed into balls by machine, 18 to a
pound, or 40 per kilogram. The balls were placed upon a hot grill and topped
with a handful of fresh, thinly shredded onion. Then they were flipped so that
the onion was under the ball. The ball was then squashed down, turning the ball
into a very thin patty. The bottom of the bun was then placed atop the cooking
patty with the other half of the bun on top of that so that the juices and
steam from the beef and the onion would permeate the bun. After grilling, a
slice of dill pickle was inserted before serving. Management decreed that any
condiments, such as ketchup or mustard, were to be added by the customer.
Anderson's method is not in use by the chain today, having changed when the
company switched from using fresh beef and fresh onion to small, frozen square
patties (originally supplied by Swift & Company) which are cooked atop a
bed of rehydrated onions laid out on a grill. The heat and steam rise up from
the grill, through the onions. In 1951, five holes in the patty were added to
facilitate quick and thorough cooking. The very thin patties are not flipped
throughout this process.
Since
fast food was unknown in the United States in that era, there was no infrastructure
to support the business, as is common with today's fast food restaurants. The
company established centralized bakeries, meat supply plants, and warehouses to
supply itself. It was said that the only thing they did not do themselves was
raise the cows and grow their own wheat. Ingram developed a machine to create
previously unheard of paper hats. In 1932, Ingram set up a subsidiary,
Paperlynen, to make these hats and other paper products used in their own
restaurants as well as for many other purposes. In 1955, Paperlynen produced
over 42 million paper hats worldwide with more than 25,000 different
inscriptions. They also created a subsidiary in 1934 named Porcelain Steel
Buildings that manufactured movable, prefabricated, steel frame structures with
porcelain enamel interior and exterior panels that could be assembled at any
White Castle restaurant site. This is the first known use of this material in a
building design.
The
company also began publishing its own internal employee magazine, the White Castle Official House Organ,
circa November 1925 (originally named The
Hot Hamburger). The bulk of the material was contributed by Castle
personnel, mostly letters and photographs of workers, promotional
announcements, 25 year milestones, and retirements, etc., arranged by
geographic area. "Employees could...read about the progress and
innovations made by those in other areas which made everyone aware of the
entire system's direction and condition." The House Organ was published
quarterly at least through the early 1980s, and at some point was renamed The Slider Times. The Ohio Historical
Society houses an extensive archive of White Castle System, Inc. records from
1921- 1991, including issues dating from 1927 to 1970 of the White Castle House
Organ.
Ingram's
business savvy not only was responsible for White Castle's success, but for the
popularization of the hamburger.
In
1933, Ingram bought out Anderson, and the following year the company moved its
corporate headquarters to Columbus, Ohio. The company remains privately held
and its restaurants are company-owned; they are not franchised in the United
States. Co - founder Billy Ingram was followed as head of the firm by his son
E. W. Ingram, Jr. and grandson E. W. Ingram, III.
In
concurrence with its 80th anniversary in 2001, White Castle started its
Cravers' Hall of Fame. "Cravers" are inducted annually based on
stories that are submitted about them, either for them by another person or by
that particular Craver. Between five and ten stories have been chosen each year
with a grand total of 64 stories being selected through the 2007 induction
class, less than 1% of the total stories submitted since the inception of the
Cravers' Hall of Fame.
Ingram's
steadfast refusal to franchise or take on debt resulted in the chain remaining
relatively small, with a very discontinuous geography compared to most chains.
There are over 420 White Castle outlets, all in the United States and
specifically in the Midwest and Tennessee, except for a significant
discontinuous smattering of outlets in the New York metropolitan region,
compared with about 32,000 McDonald's.
On Thursday, 9/20/12 I'll have the recipe for the onion strings, so be sure to stop by. Make
a lot of chicken sliders, they don’t last long.
Chicken Sliders
Copyright
2012, Christine’s Pantry. All rights reserved.
Ingredients:
1
pound ground chicken
1
tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2
teaspoon liquid smoke
1
tablespoon steak seasoning
2
tablespoons chicken broth
1
tablespoon vegetable oil
3
tablespoons mayonnaise
1
(12 count) package Hawaiian bread rolls
Directions:
Preheat
oven to 250 degrees. In skillet, heat oil over medium heat
In
bowl, combine ground chicken, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, steak
seasoning and chicken broth, mix well.
Divide
mixture into 8 equal patties. Wrap 8 bread rolls in foil and place in the oven for 2
to 3 minutes. Add patties to hot skillet, cook 3 to 4 minutes each side, until
cook through.
Remove
the buns from the oven. Spread a small amount of mayonnaise on each bread roll
and top with chicken slider and any other condiments, as desired. Serve
immediately. Enjoy!
I'm sure these are delicious with a little coleslaw. :)
ReplyDeleteLooks yummy!
ReplyDeleteChristine,
ReplyDeleteI don't like White Castle sliders, but I know that I would love your chicken sliders. Your sliders are much healthier. I would add pickles, though.
Love a good slider recipe. Super yummy!
ReplyDeleteYoou shouild be a part of a contest for one of the highest quality sites on the net.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to highly recommend this website!