If you’ve never heard of White Castle, it’s actually, surprisingly, the original fast food restaurant, and it still offers up tasty burgers that you can enjoy in-house or at your local grocery store in the frozen foods aisle. White Castle burgers are still delicious even when made at home, but you can amp up the flavor and texture by microwave steaming them. It’s the best way to heat up frozen White Castle burgers, and it’s incredibly simple to do.
The easiest method is a paper towel wrap. You’ll want to take your burgers out of the plastic package and break them apart, then wrap them snugly in a paper towel. Pop them on a microwave safe plate and stick them in your microwave for around 40 seconds, then turn the burgers over and microwave for another 40 seconds. This steams your burgers perfectly. Just remember that microwaving food with paper towels is only safe in 2-minute intervals, so you don’t want to overdo it.
Add a little water for a second way of heating your White Castle burgers
If you want to take a few extra seconds, there’s another method of microwaving that will get you some soft and tender burgers. You want to take the burgers out of the plastic wrap, break them apart, and then wrap each individual burger up in a damp paper towel. Just run your paper towel under water long enough to get it wet, and wring out the excess. Pop them into the microwave and repeat the above steps, and you’ll have two perfectly steamed burgers. Be sure to wait around 30 seconds before opening the microwave door to allow the steam to cool and really give those buns time to get soft. Take care when you’re grabbing them, too; they’re going to be super hot to the touch.
Wrapping your burgers up in paper towels, and especially wet ones, basically steams the burgers. With dry paper towels, the ice from the burgers evaporates but stays trapped inside the towel. With wet ones, the water in the paper towel evaporates and creates even more steam. In either case, the end result is a nice, soft bun taking the place of the tragically crusty and hard bread that microwaves tend to create. White Castle remains one of the best regional fast food chains in the U.S., but with these simple paper towel hacks, you definitely don’t have to live near one to get a good White Castle burger.
