The wife and I visit other people’s homes for Thanksgiving, so we don’t have any leftovers. Each year we make a small, post-Thanksgiving meal just for ourselves. Since there’s no one around to criticize, we can experiment with new dishes. A recipe for Thanksgiving stuffing (or dressing, if you’re in the south) comprised of White Castle sliders has been making the internet rounds lately. The wife and I thought we’d give it a try. It’s actually a pretty good idea. Instead of cooking onions and sausage to go with the stale bread, you just toss in some tiny burgers that already have beef and onions on them.
We don’t have White Castle in the south, but we have Krystal. Purists will argue that there’s a difference between the two franchises’ signature sliders, but there’s really not. We made the recipe according to the White Castle website and baked it in the oven. Here’s everything you need:
White Castle Stuffing
- 10 hamburgers (no pickles or mustard)
- 1 1/2 cups celery, diced
- 1 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 3/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- salt & pepper to taste
This is pretty straightforward. You need ten plain hamburgers. Buy them at least six hours early and keep them in the fridge. That way the bread will firm up a little. Tear them into pieces and toss them into a casserole dish.
I don’t like raw celery, so I sauteed it in a little butter before adding it to the dish.
Add the herbs, pepper, stock, and stir to combine.
Bake uncovered at 350° for half an hour until the bread gets crispy and brown.
This was good, but it could be better. Next time we’ll double the amount of chicken stock, add a big shallot to the sauteed celery, and garnish with a couple of finely chopped green onions. Still, it was a good dressing for a great post-Thanksgiving meal.
We’re planning to fine-tune this recipe and serve it to guests sometime this year to see if anyone notices the bread is from pre-made burgers. I don’t think they will.
