Slider Burgers.

We started blogging about a year ago (more on that later this week), and one of our first posts was a recipe for Super Bowl Sliders. Since then, we tweaked the recipe a bit and figured since we are doing a “Super Bowl Snacks” series, we may as well post an update. But here is all you need to know; sliders are fun, perfect for entertaining kids and adults and taste great. And if you use our version of “Shake Shack” sauce, your sliders, or burgers, will be even better.

This sauce is our version of the special sauce from New York City’s favorite burger joint, the Shake Shack. Serious Eats reversed-engineered the sauce a few years ago (see here) and we tweaked it ever-so-slightly to go with our sliders. The key to the sauce, which is in the “1,000-island family” of sauces, is chopping up and blending dill or sour pickles (we use cornichons sometimes) directly into the sauce. The extra acidity and bite of the pickles along with mayo, ketchup, mustard, garlic powder, salt and paprika takes this sauce over the top. We use smoked paprika to add a touch of smokey flavor that does come through. In any event, make the sauce, trust us…

Otherwise, making sliders is just like making burgers, just smaller and faster. We make our sliders about 2 ounces (or a touch less) and make sure they are about 1/4 of an inch thick. We cook them in a very hot skillet or cast-iron pan for 2 minutes on one side, flip, add some cheese (just a little) and cook another minute for medium rare / medium. We set the sliders on a cutting board to rest for 5 minutes, this keeps the juices in the burger.

As for the bread, we use buttered and grilled dinner rolls like King Hawaiian (yes we love those rolls) or Parker House rolls. Taking the time to brown and heat the rolls is a nice touch and adds some buttery flavor to the mix. Then we just put the sliders on the rolls and top with the sauce. Simple, easy, and oh so tasty. And the small size means everyone can enjoy the sliders either as a snack or full meal. Just be ready to make another batch. Continue reading →