Gen Z Try this White Castle Stuffing Recipe

 

It’s that time of year where Holiday meals are simply family fun time according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Here is the classic White Castle Stuffing Recipe that the team to Foodservice Solutions® knows you will enjoy.

It’s WCS season! That’s “White Castle Stuffing” season for those not in the know. White Castle, the iconic, family-owned business, reminds people that before the bells start jingling, before the yule tides, and before everyone starts belting what they want for Christmas, Thanksgiving must be celebrated! Of course, that celebration should include a freshly baked legendary White Castle stuffing recipe.

White Castle’s Original Slider Stuffing set a new standard on how Thanksgiving Day stuffing should be prepared. The recipe was first introduced in 1991 when a White Castle team member enhanced her grandmother’s family stuffing recipe with a sack of Sliders.

“Food, fellowship and memorable moments mark a great Thanksgiving, and White Castle is happy to have played a role in making that a reality for more than three decades,” said Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle. “All of the Slider Stuffing recipes are simple to prepare but pack a heap of flavor, making it the preferred choice of both kitchen veterans and novices trying to make the ideal Thanksgiving side dish.”  

The White Castle culinary team produced a new hit in 2022 with the Kickin’ Southwest Stuffin Muffins. Featuring corn, green onions, chili powder, a variety of peppers and Jalapeño Cheese Sliders, these muffins are small in stature but big in taste. Other versions of the Slider stuffing include the Impossible Slider Stuffing, which uses the Impossible Slider as the base, the Bacon Jalapeño Cheese Slider Stuffing and the Southwestern Jalapeño Cheese Slider Stuffing.

Remix! Fat Joe style! This year, the Craver Hall of Famer put his personal touch on the dish, calling it Fat Joe’s Jalapeño Cheese Slider Stuffing. Fat Joe’s version features sauteed celery, jalapeño peppers, cilantro, shredded pepper jack cheese and Jalapeño Cheese Sliders, with a guest appearance from Sazón, a blend of spices that is a staple of many Puerto Rican, Dominican and Mexican cuisines.

All recipes mentioned can be prepared using Sliders purchased fresh from White Castle restaurants or frozen from retail stores across the U.S.

“The bird may get the headlines, but it’s the stuffing doing the heavy lifting with these innovative Thanksgiving recipes,” Richardson said. “You’ll always receive an invitation to join in the festivities as long as you continue to bring a White Castle Slider Stuffing recipe.”

The recipes for White Castle’s Original Slider Stuffing and its Kickin’ Southwest Stuffin’ Muffins are below. For the other stuffing recipes and additional recipe ideas using White Castle menu items, visit www.whitecastle.com/crave-central/recipes.

White Castle Original Slider Stuffing Recipe

Prep time: 5 to 10 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Servings: about 9 cups of stuffing (enough for a 10- to 12-pound turkey)

Ingredients:

1.   10 to 12 White Castle Original Sliders, no pickles (from a Castle restaurant or a local retailer)

2.   1½ cups diced celery

3.   1¼ teaspoons ground thyme

4.   1½ teaspoons ground sage

5.   ¾ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

6.   ¼ cup chicken broth (or 1 cup for casserole version)

Instructions:

1.   Tear the Sliders into bite-sized pieces and put into a large mixing bowl.

2.   Add diced celery and seasonings.

3.   Add ¼ cup of chicken broth and toss well.

4.   Put stuffing into cavity of the turkey and cook as you normally would.

5.   If cooking stuffing as a casserole, add an additional ¾ cup of chicken broth and toss well.

6.   Spray or oil a 2-quart casserole dish.

7.   Transfer stuffing to casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

White Castle Kickin’ Southwest Stuffin’ Muffins

Prep Time: 5 to 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Servings: Approx. 18

Ingredients:

1.       10 TBLS Butter

2.       12 Jalapeño Sliders chopped into ½ inch pieces

3.       3 large jalapeño peppers diced (1 cup) – leave the seeds for a spicier muffin

4.       1 poblano pepper diced (1 cup) – leave the seeds for more spice

5.       1 red bell pepper diced (1 cup)

6.       1 cup frozen corn

7.       Green onion sliced (2/3 cup)

8.       2 TBLS chili powder

9.       1 tsp salt

10.   ½ tsp pepper

11.   3 eggs

12.   1½ cups chicken broth

13.   ½ cup breadcrumbs

Instructions:

1.       Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.       Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.

3.       Add diced peppers and sauté until soft.

4.       Add the corn and green onions, turn off heat.

5.       Add chili powder, salt and pepper.

6.       In a large bowl, mix vegetables with sliders and breadcrumbs.

7.       Combine your broth and eggs.

8.       Pour broth & egg mixture over slider mixture and blend well.

9.       Scoop into buttered muffin tin or use cupcake wrappers.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Time to Get Krystal Side Chik Bracket Challenge on Tiktok

 

College hoops are driving office conversations once again, family debates, and friendships. So, you know that Krystal, is the home of the original slider.  Now Krystal is heating up March brackets by launching its Side Chik Mania. Starting March 28, (in two days), TikTok will be heating up with a debate on the ultimate Side Chik. Joining in on the debate will be Victor Cruz, who will crown his Ultimate Side Chik through his TikTok bracket.

In case you did not know, the bracket starts with four Side Chiks; Spicy Chik, Donut-Glazed Sweet Chik Biscuit, Donut-Glazed Spicy Chik Biscuit, and of course the Classic Chik. After the initial matchup, the filter puts the winner to the final matchup. Fans of the fast-food chain can submit their picks, rating their favorite versions of the slider-sized chicken sandwiches. All users must do is tilt their head to the Side Chik of their choice.

Now, the Ultimate Side Chik will be chosen by fans and is based on the Side Chik that is the winner of the greatest number of brackets on TikTok. Pending guest responses, Krystal will crown the ultimate Side Chik on April 3.

Here pay attention; as Fans should be sure to cast their vote using the TikTok filter by April 3 and keep their DMs open. Pending which Chik is crowned the Ultimate Side Chik, Krystal will be DMing fans whose brackets had the same Ultimate Side Chik and “shooting their shot” with Krystal-themed surprise and delight gifts.

Ajona “Jax” Camile, Creative Marketing Director for Krystal, stated, “We’re always aiming to tap into cultural moments, and we refuse to always ‘play by the rules.’ Getting our audience talking is the ultimate goal at Krystal,” ... “So of course, we had to put our own spin on March basketball by bringing our Side Chiks courtside for their own competition.”

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

White Castle’s Grocerant Niche Snacks

 

Once again White Castle is at the forefront extending its brand invitation according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. White Castle Bites are the latest innovation in the grocery freezer aisle. Inspired by the iconic flavor of White Castle Sliders, the new bite-sized snacks are made with 100 percent real beef and onions and wrapped in a crispy golden crust.

Now, Castle Bites are rolling out in stores nationally with two flavors, hamburger and cheeseburger. Packaged in two sizes, the 18-ounce standard stand-up bag and a 40-ounce party pack, Castle Bites are always tasty and fun to eat.

In case you had not heard, Castle Bites were developed through a collaboration between White Castle, America’s first fast-food hamburger chain and leader in sliders, and Bellisio Foods, one of the nation’s largest, most trusted frozen-food companies.

Lynn Blashford, CMO, White Castle, stated, “Castle Bites are a fun, new way to extend the Crave, offering a delicious option that meets the mark on distinctive taste,”... “In recent research, consumers have let us know they’re ready to try and ready to buy, something they will soon be able to do at retailers across the country.”

Steve Young, CEO of Bellisio Foods, Inc., stated, “Snacking at home has continued to grow as consumers seek convenient and delicious options that fit within new schedules and routines,” …. “Bellisio is proud to utilize our more than 30 years of experience in frozen foods and in snack rolls to launch such an innovative product. We’re excited to build upon our partnership with White Castle, especially following the successful launch of the White Castle Chicken Rings at retail.”

White Castle, home of The Original SliderÒ since opening its first restaurant in 1921, was also the first fast-food brand to launch a retail division in 1987. Thirty-five years later, the family-owned business is a category leader in frozen Sliders, available at retailers large and small, in all 50 states.

Bellisio and White Castle recently launched Chicken Rings at retail this spring. The White Castle frozen Sliders, Chicken Rings and, now, Castle Bites will be available nationwide. Brandgenuity, the licensing agency for White Castle, brokered the partnership for both launches and is supporting the program rollout.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

White Castle @ 100 Still Innovating with Technology

 

First our team just wants to say unanimously that we like White Castle. That said White Castle has been around over 100 years and is still driving top-line growth and bottom-line profits the old fashion way, adapting and driving innovation. 

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® often reminds regular readers of this blog that if success does leave clues, and it does that White Castle is a great company to follow if your either looking to grow your same store sales or if you want your brand to be around 100 years from now.

With 350+ outlets White Castle is doubling down on Miso Robotics' Flippy machines after more than a year of tests yielded better operations and staff productivity. It could be the largest adoption of such technology by a U.S. restaurant chain because White Castle knows how to adapt to changing times according to Johnson who stated “The family leading White Castle looks a customer, a employee ahead, they do not get stuck doing what they have always done.”

White Castle COO Jeff Carper, stated, “Our partnership with Miso continues to lead the way on what’s next for back-of-house restaurant operations looking to empower team members with technology to better satisfy customers.”

In case you did not know, or read about it on this blog when we had our first ‘flippy story”. So, Flippy is a robotic arm mounted on a rail and powered by AI software. White Castle will be using the second-generation model known as Flippy 2 to work the fry station. The bot will take orders, fill baskets, fry the food and dump it off to be packaged and handed to the customer by human workers.

You have to understand that this system takes some less-desirable work off of employees' plates and allows them to focus on other things, particularly helping customers, White Castle said. It also improves food consistency.

Leader’s lead, White Castle became the first big restaurant chain to embrace Miso's robot when it began testing it in a single restaurant in September 2020. The pilot was not without its bumps, but Miso used feedback from White Castle to develop Flippy 2, which handles more tasks than its predecessor, including filling the fryer baskets itself. White Castle installed Flippy at 10 more restaurants in November.

This announcement comes as restaurants are looking to automate more tasks reducing cost as labor cost are sky rocking. The simple fast is robots can help ease challenges in hiring and retaining human workers as well as keep costs down amid skyrocketing inflation. Who will step up next?

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

White Castle 100 Years of Customer Relevance

 

How long has your company been in business? I bet for most of you it has not been 100 years?  You don’t have to be the largest company in your niche to be successful, but you do have to stay relevant according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions. 

Too stay relevant you must first understand your customer, needs, wants, and taste if you are in the food business and there is no company in the United States that is better at understanding their customers and the difference between their customers and their competitors’ customers.  Even more important the team at White Castle understands how to drive new electricity into the brand with relevant messaging.

So, in honor of its 100th birthday this year, White Castle is ramping up its brand visibility with fun new merchandise made in partnership with other well-known and popular brands. It’s White Castle’s boldest step yet into co-branded activations that really dive into its history and culture. You can do that when you know who your primary and secondary customers are according to Johnson.

In case you did not know, White Castle, has long had an online shop, House of Crave, selling everything from socks and aprons to water bottles and beanies. And White Castle has partnered with the celebrated New York City design house TELFAR to create several expressions of its team member uniforms, including a special collection for its 100th birthday.

However, this new collaboration is  with companies like PUMA, Funko, DGK and others that are helping to bring the Home of the Original Slider to life for Cravers in new and unique ways.

Lynn Blashford, chief marketing officer at White Castle, stated, “Their products really tap into the essence of White Castle,” said. “We’re such a one-a-kind American brand, and thanks to these new partnerships, our Cravers can engage with our brand in one-of-a-kind ways.”

So, global sports company icon PUMA created a collection of sneakers and clothing honoring White Castle. The PUMA x White Castle collection features two footwear styles: the classic PUMA Suede and the Future Rider. Both silhouettes boast White Castle’s familiar blue-and-white color palette with striking blue accents, bright pops of orange, co-branded detailing, including images of the famous Castle, and contrast stitching for a fresh, new look.

The White Castle collection, which also includes a hoodie, shorts, and various co-branded graphic T-shirts, will launch June 25 at PUMA.com, at PUMA’s flagship store in New York City, and in-store and online at the Foot Locker family of stores (Foot Locker, Champs, Footaction and Eastbay). An additional PUMA x White Castle collection will be released this fall.

White Castle also partnered with Funko to create the “Pop! White Castle Slider,” a vinyl figurine of a Slider in the classic White Castle box. Funko is a pop culture consumer products company that designs, sources and distributes licensed pop culture products, including vinyl figures, action toys, plush apparel, board games, housewares and accessories. The White Castle Slider figurine is part of Funko’s “Foodies” line, which features other popular food brands.

DGK, an American company producing skateboards and related apparel, is introducing a new line of products in conjunction with White Castle. It will launch late this summer.

White Castle is working with a host of other brands, as well, to develop more White Castle-inspired merchandise. The family-owned business has teamed up with Brandgenuity, its exclusive licensing agency, to make brand partnerships and collaborations a priority for its 100th birthday.

“We’re taking our brand partnerships to the next level with these and other activations,” Blashford said. “What better way to launch our second century in business than by feeding the souls of new and existing Cravers with distinctive new merchandise?” How are you creating new electricity?

According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”  That said, what are you waiting for?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, Fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter