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Slider tools have all of the fun, none of the fast food

Slider-making tools let you make miniature hamburgers a la White Castle at home.

Jennifer Lowell
Jenn Lowell spent her time at the University of Colorado building robots and other toys before earning her graduate degree in mechatronics and mechanical engineering. She is a self-proclaimed lover of anything that runs off of electricity and has moving parts or motors. Currently pulling double-duty as a high school science teacher and freelance blogger, she has free time seldom enough to deeply appreciate the modern technological conveniences that give her more of it. She is a long-time recreational blogger currently living and working in Brooklyn, NY.
Jennifer Lowell
2 min read
Pictured from foreground to rear: bun cutter, press, and grill basket. Kitchencontraptions.com
If you were to look out of the front door of my apartment, you'd see a White Castle hamburger joint down the street. For those who aren't familiar, White Castle is a fast-food restaurant that specializes in burgers and fries, specifically a widely recognized miniature hamburger with grilled onions that causes indigestion problems. This miniburger, appropriately dubbed "the slider," is at the core of the comedy film, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, and is popular as a late-night snack or novelty meal.

Do I like the idea of a miniature hamburger? Absolutely. Do I ever visit the White Castle that happens to be directly across the street? Never.

Maybe it's my preference for home cooking that keeps me away from the W.C., maybe it's because I've read enough books to be scared of meat that's served in fast-food restaurants, or maybe it's the promise of a stomach ache, but one thing's for sure: after trying a slider in there once, I'd be perfectly happy never to do it again.

But why should I have to go the rest of my life without eating miniature hamburgers? I like the idea of a smaller bun and meat patty, especially for barbecues, where the all-you-can-eat-buffet-inspired temptation of trying everything usually forces me to squeeze a hot dog and a hamburger next to each other on the same paper plate. In situations like this, I end up with the same stomach ache that I would have had after going across the street for sliders and a milkshake.

With these slider-making tools, I can have a homemade hamburger and hot dog and eat them, too, without fear of overdoing it. The tool set includes a press to make perfect little burger patties, made out of ingredients that you decide to put into them, without fillers, preservatives, hormones, or add-ins. It also has a basket big enough to hold nine patties for your grill, and a cookie-cutter-esque bun cutter to make minibuns.

Sliders are tasty and should be available for everybody, even the most discerning home chef. These tools make sliders available for you, at the cost of $5 for the cutter and $25 each for the grill basket and press. They'll be available from Sur la Table's Web site on February 20 of this year.