When the checkered flag drops, the bullshit stops! When my homies come over for a NASCAR race it get crazy. I haven’t quite mastered the perfect 30 second munchies, but I’m not about to take the easy way out and serve something crappy for those 30 minute delivery places. SO when I need something fast and delicious, I turn to the George Foreman for the 3 minute Sliders. The Whiskey sliders always go first, but there are no DNF’s leftover at the end of NASCAR Sunday around here! Last weekend I tried out a huge field of 8 flavors and I am happy to say, there were no black flags dropped on the event…
Before I get into the physical construction of these delicious 4 bite morsels, I’m ask all of the time how I make the patties so perfect and so thin. I Cheat! I work the system to my advantage and let the machine do the heavy lifting, saving my own energy for more important things. Like the 12 ounce press…
To prepare all burgers below: Start with one pound of premium 97% ground beef. Add a healthy dash of Worcester sauce, an 1/8 teaspoon of kosher salt. 1/4 teaspoon of course black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of liquid smoke. Mix thoroughly and set in the refrigerate for 2 hours for flavors to blend. Make your patties and place in the freezer for one hour before cooking. Unless otherwise noted below!
Pay close attention when cooking sliders or thin burgers, in a George Foreman! They are so easy to over cook. 3 minutes works out great in mine!
The all American Cheeseburger: A simple tasty treat that is undeniable a favorite of every American and NASCAR fan alike.
The key here is not to over cook! After toasting the buns to perfection, add mustard and ketchup to taste. Next place shredded lettuce on the bottom bun first, top that with very thinly sliced sweet/yellow onion, a 1/4″ thick (or thinner) slice of tomato. Next your cheeseburger and cover with the top bun, unless you wish to add pickles first. 😉
The Bar-B-Q Cheeseburger: By the grace of God, I was born a southern boy! And we do love our BBQ!! Raised an Okie, we love it Hot & Spicy, so we garnish with various peppers! First make lightly toasted garlic toast of the buns. Top the bottom bun with mustard and BBQ sauce. My grandfather wrote the recipe for Kraft Original BBQ sauce, so we only use that in our family!! Top the burger with Peppered Jack cheese, an onion ring and another dash of BBQ sauce. Garnish with peppers as you wish and serve with curly fry’s and beer battered onion rings. Be sure and checkout our beer battered onion recipe. It’s the only breading I’ll use one anything requiring deep frying.
The California Burger: aka the Old Dude burger… The Caliburger is made with ground turkey. We like to add 1/4 pound of ground sausage to one pound of ground turkey and mix thoroughly and set in the refrigerate for 4 hours for flavors to blend. Serve on garlic toasted San Francisco Sourdough bread. Garnish the bottom bun mustard & ketchup, bean sprouts or shredded lettuce and two heaping tablespoons of guacamole. I like to top this with a dash spicy ranch dressing. Serve with beer battered deep fried Artichoke Hearts. The turkey/sausage blend is not a bad burger, for those trying to follow doctors orders of Avoid Red Meat.
The Lil’ Mac: Much tastier then it’s trademarked big brother. lol Start with spicy ranch dressing on the bottom bun, cover that with shredded lettuce and very thinly sliced onions, an all beef burger topped with American cheese. You’ll need to cut your own middle bun here. I use the same tool I used to cut the burger patties. Put a little mustard and ketchup on the center bun, before placing the top cheeseburger patty. Add a pickle and finally your top bun. A lot of people would just assume use the traditional Thousand Island dressing. Trust me on this; at least try the Spicy Ranch dressing before going back to the old – boring, original Thousand Island, you’ll love it!! I served this with beer battered onion rings and curly fry’s.
Blazin’ Texas Chili, Cheeseburger: Personally I start with overly seasoned burger patty and top with your favorite chili recipe. I recommend without beans for sliders, with beans for full sized burgers. When preparing the meat: add 1 tablespoon of Worcester sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke, 1 tablespoon of Crystal Louisiana Hot Sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of minced chipotle chili peppers, 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt, 1 tablespoon of course black pepper 1/8 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly and set the meat in the fridge for 3 hours so the favors will blend. Building the burger: Start with mustard on your bottom bun. Add an onion ring before the burger. Top the burger with pepper jack cheese and Chili. Wanna see what I do to the Chili 🙂
The Chili: Usually I make my own chili, but when I am in a hurry I’ll use Hormel Chili without beans for sliders! Today we’re starting with one can. Add 1 teaspoon of minced chipotle chili peppers, 1 tablespoon of Crystal Louisiana Hot Sauce, 1 tablespoon of minced onions. Cook on low heat for approximately 15 minutes.
Jack Daniels Whiskey Burger: One of my favorite, oldest original recipes! You need to pay attention when cooking with Jack Daniels!! If you add too much, it will not stick together, if you add too little, you’ll never get the full flavor. Starting with one pound of high quality ground beef, add 2,1/2 ounces of Jack Daniels. 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke, 1 teaspoon of course black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. Mix thoroughly and set the meat in the refrigerate over night for the flavors to blend. Make the patties and freeze for 2 hours before cooking. To build the burger, Start with a dash of spicy mustard, add your burger topped with Pepper Jack cheese and bacon. Add an onion ring or two, a dash of BBQ sauce and/or a splash of yellow mustard. I love to serve this with beer battered deep fried onion rings. Umm Delicious!! Don’t forget to check the ID of your guest and never eat 4 or more before driving or operating heavy equipment!!
Bacon Cheeseburger: OK so everyone thinks they can add bacon to the top of a cheeseburger and call it a bacon burger. Well try this the next time, you’ll love it!! Omit the Worcester sauce. Cut the salt down to 1/8 teaspoon. 1/4 teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon of grandpa’s BBQ sauce. Add one half pound of finely chopped precooked bacon to your ground beef, mix thoroughly and set the meat in the refrigerate over night for the flavors to blend.
To build the burger; add mustard and ketchup to the bottom bun. Place your burger topped with jack cheese and two strips of bacon, cut in half for sliders. Top with beer battered deep fried onion rings, a pickle. I like to serve this with a health serving of beer battered deep fried onion rings. You’re going to love this delicious morsel!!
Cheeseburger w/Sauteed Onions: My brother’s original concoction – Thanks for this one Danny!! Omit the salt, pepper, Worcester sauce and liquid smoke all listed in the master directions above. Add one package of Lipton’s French Onion soup to 2,1/2 pounds of ground round. Mix thoroughly and place in the refrigerate over night for the flavors to blend.
To build the burger: First make lightly toasted garlic toast of the buns and set aside. My brother uses mayonnaise on this one, I use spicy mustard on almost everything! so suite yourself. Top your burger with American cheese and sauteed onions. I serve this with beer battered onion rings and an ice cold beer or better yet Ale.