In preparation for football season we’ve spent the last two days reviewing some great game-time brews. Now comes the moment you’ve been waiting for: a rundown of the sliders themselves
I picked up dinner rolls at the supermarket, measured out the burgers to 2.5 oz., and cooked them up on our electric griddle. In addition to our suggested toppings for each burger I also set out sliced roma tomatoes, red onions, torn up bib lettuce, and the usual burger condiments. We ended up having several friends over to enjoy the sliders while playing an awesome game called Resistance.
Here are the details for each of the four sliders:
Smokehouse Burger:
This is a straight beef burger with both liquid smoke and powdered hickory smoke mixed in, topped with smoked gouda, homemade bacon, sautéed onions, and Budweiser BBQ sauce. This one is easy. The powdered and liquid smokes are mixed into the straight beef and cooked just like that. The homemade bacon is actually from a farm raised pig from southern NY which my mother had butchered last winter and doled out to the family. There’s a huge difference in flavor between this stuff and what you get at the store.
Sweet Meats Burger:
This is a combination patty made with equal amounts of ground beef, pork, and lamb to which I mixed in a bit of brown sugar and real maple syrup. We topped this burger with provolone cheese, candied bacon, and a roasted red pepper mayo.
Greek Turkey Burger:
The Greek slider is ground turkey with dill, thyme and oregano, topped with tzatziki sauce, a slab of feta cheese, arugula and red onion.
Black Bean Veggie Burger:
Jess’ black bean veggie burger with rolled oats is her own recipe, which she is loath to give out. I will say, however, that it’s a damned good veggie burger – even for a staunch meat eater like myself. The beauty of her recipe is that she treats it properly; rather than trying to create a patty that mimics meat she seeks to create a wholesome one-patty meal with vegetables, beans, and grain. We topped the burger with Muenster cheese, arugula, red onion, and a roasted red pepper guacamole.
And now on to the recipes that you may need to construct some of these wonderful sliders.
Smokehouse Burger:
Combine 1 lb with a teaspoon of liquid smoke and a half teaspoon of powdered hickory smoke. Mix the burger well, and form patties of about 2.5 oz.
Sweet Meats Burger:
Combine equal parts of ground beef, ground pork, and ground lamb in a big mixing bowl. After combined, add 1/8 cup of real maple syrup and ¼ cup of brown sugar. Mix these in well, and form patties of about 2.5 oz.
For the candied bacon, simply lay the bacon strips on a cooling rack over a baking pan, and crumble some brown sugar over them, then bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until crispy done.
The roasted red pepper mayo is also very simple. Mix ½ cup of mayonnaise with several strips of roasted red pepper in a small food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth.
Greek Turkey Burger:
Mix 1 lb. ground turkey with 1 Tablespoon each of fresh chopped oregano, thyme, and dill, combining them well, and then form patties of about 2.5 oz.
The Tzatziki sauce is made by combining 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 medium peeled and seeded cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, dill, and salt and pepper to taste.
Veggie Burger:
Jess firmly stated that her recipe is top secret. She only gave me permission to divulge the basic ingredients without amounts. Jess sautés finely chopped onion, bell pepper, carrots, garlic, and jalapeno, lets the veggie mix cool, and then combines them with black beans, rolled oats, and her “secret” mix of spices and binders. As with the others, form them into patties of about 2.5 oz.
The roasted red pepper guacamole is also fairly simple. Mash up one ripe avocado, and mix in a teaspoon of lemon juice and some chopped roasted red pepper.
Good Beer Guild 