The Quintessential Slider

I think its the perfect balance between the amount of meat, cheese, onions, mushrooms and bun that makes a slider such an improvement to the standard burger.

I mean, I like a good burger - but I love a good slider. Or two. Or three.

Now at the Cottage, Sliders are Spring and Summer fare for a Sunday afternoon with Stevie Ray Vaughn playing in the background and copious amounts of red wine. Sliders served with music and friends - what could be better?

There's no law on toppings of this perfect Tapas of burger fare. Any type of cheese - bleu, cheddar, smoked gouda, brie. As long as your bun is fresh, and not a stale pre-wrapped styrofoam product, you're good. Brioche, dinner rolls, whole wheat. Doesn't matter. As long as it's fresh.

I always like to go with themes. You know - alfalfa sprouts, goat cheese, red onions on whole wheat. Maybe Aged Cheddar, smoked bacon on a Brioche roll. My all time favorite is sautéed onions and mushrooms with Havarti on those pull-apart rolls you get at Thanksgiving -or better... on Grandma's Dinner Rolls - when I have time to make them.

But the meat... That you have to get right. Have no fear, we'll walk you through it here.

Instructions:
This is for 8 sliders. So have enough buns and toppings for them all. Start with 1lb of meat. 85/15 Organic is my favorite. Don't go fattier. It just turns into a grease bomb.

So mix all the ingredients together into a big ball and then keep dividing it until you get 8 small meatballs out of it. That's 1/8th pound a piece. Roll the meat into a ball and then press on it with the the heal of your hand into the palm of your other hand so that the center is more depressed than the edges. This keeps it from going all "meatball" on you when you grill it.

Throw it on the grill and cook. Serve with toppings of your choice on warmed buns. No. I'm not going to tell you how to grill. You have your own grill. They're all different. But I trust you...

Ingredients: