White Castle has some pretty big claims to fame. The burger chain, founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, is the original fast food restaurant. It also has bragging rights for being the first fast food company to begin selling French fries, having added them to its menu during World War II. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of this restaurant is the unique beef patty it uses. Each thin, square piece has five holes cut into it. The design is vastly different from the more traditional round, holeless burgers at McDonald’s, best represented by its classic hamburger (still one of the best on the menu).
There are two answers as to why White Castle began this practice of punching holes in its burger patties. The first reason, and the one that the corporation continues to push, is that they help the meat cook more quickly. The second answer is that the company introduced the practice as a cost-cutting measure since there was less meat in each patty. While both these answers are true, White Castle would rather you not focus so much on the second.
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Rising Costs In The Early 1950s Led To Holey Burgers
White Castle sign – Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock
In 1951, White Castle was between a rock and a hard place — or, to be more exact, between federal retail price controls on hamburgers and rising wholesale costs. The company needed to do something. Four years earlier, Earl Howell, who ran a Cincinnati White Castle, had suggested the five-hole patty idea to corporate higher-ups. He was looking for ways to improve the speed of his operation and get more burgers to hungry customers amid an uptick in business. The idea languished until the need to cut corners (or holes, in this case) arrived in 1951. The holes meant the company could use 10% less meat per patty and sell them at the same price. White Castle also made its burger patties thinner — but not as thin as a smash burger, which has crispy edges — for the same reason.
With that said, the holes do help to make White Castle burgers extra delicious. Unlike most fast food burger companies, White Castle steams its meat. The patties sit on a bed of onions on the grill, and the vapor cooks the meat and rises through the holes to infuse its flavor into the burger and the bun on top. Howell’s idea didn’t just cook the burgers faster — it also made them taste better and saved the company from the possibility of going under.
Read the original article on Chowhound.
