Homemade Burger Sliders (or Mini Man Burgers) with Special sauce and homemade pickles

These burger sliders are a fun party dish, or just a quick and easy meal for Super Bowls or “at home” Happy Hours. Beer is optional!

Last week, Whole Foods had grass-fed ground beef on sale for $3.99 a pound. How could I possibly resist that price for such quality beef? I spotted a bag of potato rolls and I had an idea that Beef Sliders would be fun to make.  I’ve never made sliders, myself, but I see them all over Blogosphere.  How hard is it to shape mini patties, for Pete’s Sake?!  Still, I like to Google and see if anything interesting pops up. Sure enough, Alton Brown’s “Mini Man Burgers” recipe popped up.  As I read his directions, I said a silent thank you to Mr. Good Eats.   Here you go, Alton– here is your version, with my own garnishes:

I grabbed a jelly roll pan and some parchment paper.  I cut a piece of plastic wrap, and a rolling pin.
Roll one direction…

…and another direction. The idea is to roll the ground meat very thin.  Now, it’s time to season the meat.  Alton uses onion powder and garlic powder, salt & pepper.  That’s fine.  But, I’m enchanted with the Susie-Q Santa Maria seasoning that I’ve blogged about a couple of times, this month.   I use it on veggies and as my “go to” quick seasoning. No MSG, too.

Sorry, the shot is a little out of focus. But, I wanted to show you the label of the product. If you can find this at your local supermarket, this will become a pantry staple.  Otherwise, go with Alton’s seasonings. Or, have fun experimenting. You could season this with a South of the Border Flair– taco seasoning.  Use Greek seasoning. The sky is the limit.

Now fold each side in, using the parchment paper is helpful. Whatever method you use, don’t forget to wash your hands thoroughly when you are finished. The raw meat police is watching.  I realized, later, that cheese could be easily layered as well.  Imagine those possibilities, would you? Feta… Parmesan… Smoked Gouda. But, this time I skipped the cheese.  Grab a pizza cutter, or your favorite cutting tool. I love my metal bench scraper.

One pound of beef makes 8 burgers.  You could easily substitute ground chicken, turkey or even lamb.

These kind of resemble White Castle Burgers. Only, I think these taste better.  I made a mayonnaise by adding red chili sauce and some sweet pickle relish. For a garnish, I cut a garden tomato and I had the perfect excuse to test drive my homemade Bread & Butter Pickles.

For a side dish, Garlic Oven-Fries  are perfect.

I’ll be making these for Super Bowl. But, first, there are a few Friday Happy Hour’s until January.  Simple. Easy. Delicious! 

TASTING NOTES: These are not only fun to make, but delicious to enjoy– juicy and flavorful.  They are perfect for a gathering of people at your next outdoor barbecue.

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Burger Sliders (or Mini Man Burgers)

These burger sliders are a fun party dish, or just a quick and easy meal for Super Bowls or "at home" Happy Hours. Beer is optional!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time23 minutes mins

Total Time33 minutes mins

Course: main

Cuisine: American, Barbecue, Grilling

Keyword: Burger Sliders

Servings: 8

Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Ingredients

• 8 3-inch buns or rolls Hawaiian rolls or potato rolls are my favorites, split in half

For the beef:

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 pound ground chuck or turkey
• 1 small tomato thinly sliced (optional)

For the sauce:

• 2 to 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 to 2 tablespoons ketchup or chili sauce
• 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 250°F.
• For indoor grilling, preheat a griddle to 350°F.

For outdoor grilling:

• Preheat a gas grill. A Weber is okay, but a lot of waiting for some mini burgers.
• Combine the onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Make the mayonnaise mixture, and season or flavor as desired. If you don’t like pickle relish, leave it out!
• Line a jellyroll or sheet pan (or any large work area) with parchment paper, and place the ground chuck in the middle of the pan. Cover the meat with a large sheet of plastic wrap.
• Roll meat with a rolling pin until it covers the surface of the pan; it should be very thin.
• Remove the plastic wrap, and sprinkle the meat with the seasoning mixture.
• You could add thinly sliced or grated cheese, at this point, which would be delicious!
• Fold the meat in half, from side to side, using the parchment paper*. Use a pizza wheel, bench scraper or long knife, to cut the meat into 8 even squares.
• If you don’t have/use parchment paper, no worries. Just be sure to wash your hands really well, after handling raw meat.

Cook the meat and warm the buns:

• Wrap the buns in foil and place in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

  Meanwhile, place the burgers on the griddle and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side.
• Remove the buns from the oven. Spread a small amount of mayonnaise on each bun and top with the burger and any other condiments, as desired.

Notes

Notes: I loved the idea of rolling the ground beef thin. My future idea is to layer thin cooked mushrooms and Swiss cheese. These are easy and fun to make.

You can kick up the sauce by adding some diced chipotle, but go easy…these are smoked jalapenos, which is very hot!

Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!

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