This is one of my favorite grilling recipes ever. It’s beefy, cheesy, earthy, and smoky-spicy; in other words, one of the best burgers/flavor combinations you will ever try! These Mushroom & Cheddar Sliders with Chipotle Ketchup are lick your fingers and your plate delicious.
Ingredients
FOR THE MUSHROOMS:
2T.olive oil
1T.unsalted butter
12oz.button mushroomschopped
1medium shallotfinely diced
kosher salt and freshly ground pepperto taste
1T.chopped fresh thyme leaves
2T.chopped fresh parsley leavesflat or curly
FOR THE CHIPOTLE KETCHUP:
1c.ketchup
1 to 2T.pureed canned chipotle in adoboor 1/2 to 1 tsp. dried chipotle pepper
¼tsp.kosher salt
¼tsp.freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE BURGER SLIDERS:
1lb.ground chuck80% lean or ground turkey (90% lean)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2T.canola oil
5slicessharp cheddar cheese
FOR THE BUNS:
5small soft bunsWe use dinner rolls or small hamburger buns., split and buttered
Penzey’s Sandwich Sprinkle or your favorite garlic seasoning
Instructions
First prepare your mushrooms. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add the chopped mushrooms and give them a stir to coat with the oil and butter. Cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the shallot, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the mushrooms are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the thyme and parsley. Transfer to a bowl. And just try not to snitch. It smells and tastes AWESOME! The mushroom mixture could easily be prepared a couple hours ahead of time if you want to free up some time as a host/hostess. Just tuck it away in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature when ready to serve.
While the mushrooms are cooking, prepare the chipotle ketchup. Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. If you don’t like alot of heat, start with a small amount of chipotle and add more just a bit at a time until it pleases you. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. This could also be made ahead of time.
Now get your burger sliders ready. Divide the meat into 5 equal portions. Form each portion loosely into a 3/4″-thick burger, make a deep depression in the center with your thumb, and season both sides with salt and pepper. Brush each burger slider with some canola oil. That thumb depression thing is Bobby Flay-style. He says that by doing this, you will eliminate puffed up burgers that bulge in the center, leaving you less tempted to press them down with a spatula, which makes all the juices run out. As the burgers cook, they will expand and even out, and the depression disappears. And you are left with a beautifully juicy burger.
Prep your buns. Grilled buns are a must around here, as the grilling adds fabulous flavor and texture – and it makes them so pretty! Simply butter the buns and shake on your favorite garlic sprinkle. Place them on a plate, ready to head to the grill.
Heat your grill to medium-high.
Grill the buns. Place them cut side down on the grill. Grill until you get beautiful char marks. This should take less than 1 minute. Remove the buns to a plate.
Next grill the burger sliders. Grill until nicely charred on the first side, about 3 or 4 minutes for beef, a couple minutes longer for turkey. Flip the burger sliders and cook until nicely charred on the second side, about 4 minutes more for medium rare. Add a minute or two to the time if using turkey. About 1 minute before you’re ready to take the burger sliders off the grill, add the cheese to the tops. Close the grill cover to melt the cheese.
Put it all together! Place the burger sliders on the bun bottoms and top each burger slider with chipotle ketchup and a large spoonful of the mushroom mixture. Cover with the bun tops and serve immediately.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.