Upgraded White Castle Sliders

For the patties

1. Place the dried onion flakes in a bowl, pour over the water, and allow to rehydrate.

   Then 15 min of waiting

2. Place the ground beef inside a 1-gallon zip-top bag and roll it out flat to the edges with a rolling pin until uniformly thin.

   Rolling inside the bag keeps the patty uniform in thickness without making a mess.

3. Slice open the top and sides of the bag, and use a bench scraper to cut the beef into 2.5-inch squares.

4. Poke 5 small holes in each square patty using a wooden skewer.

   The holes allow steam to pass through during cooking, ensuring even heat distribution.

5. Freeze the patties on a tray until firm.

   Then 30 min of waiting

For cooking

6. Preheat a flat-top griddle over medium heat and spread the vegetable oil across the surface.

7. Add the diced raw onions to the griddle, season with salt, and cook until they begin to soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes.

8. Strain the rehydrated onions, saving the liquid, and mix the rehydrated onions into the cooking raw onions on the griddle.

9. Move the onion mixture to a lower-heat area of the griddle to continue caramelizing slowly.

10. Place the frozen patties onto the hot section of the griddle, season with salt and pepper, and press down firmly with a burger press for 1–2 minutes to develop a brown crust.

11. Pour a few tablespoons of the reserved onion water onto the griddle around the patties to create steam.

12. Flip the patties onto the bed of warm onions, cut-side down.

13. Top each patty with half a slice of cheese, then place the bottom bun followed by the top bun over each patty to trap the steam.

14. Cook until the cheese is melted and the buns are steamed through, about 2 minutes.

    Then 2 min of waiting

15. Lift the burgers off the onions with a spatula, flip the top bun onto the bottom to close the slider, and serve immediately with pickles or ketchup if desired.

For assembly