Ingredients
- 8 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped and frozen until hard to the touch (about 30 minutes)
- 3 lbs ground chuck (that’s the 70/30 split; you can go 80/20, but going any less fat on this may create dryer/crustier patties
- Caramelized shallots (recipe follows)
- Cheddar cheese, sliced into 1.5-inch squares (approximately), and enough for 48 patties
- Brioche buns OR 48 Royal Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls, halved
- Dill pickle slices (please just only use Classen brand – they’re more expensive, but they’re simply the best)
- Caramelized shallots
- 5 cups sliced shallots (10 to 12 large shallots)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tsp kosher salt
Preparation
Step 1
Heat a medium-large skillet over medium heat. Add oil and heat until shimmering. Add shallots and salt. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until caramelized, about 1 hour, stirring often.
Sliders
Pulse the bacon in a food processor until finely ground. Combine it with the chuck, thoroughly mixing.
Press meat mixture into a large 11 1/2 X 16 1/2-inch baking sheet, lined with plastic wrap (don’t have that – like me? – use a large casserole dish – or 2). Don’t forget to line your dish with the plastic wrap – it’s important to the ease of this recipe.
Score the meat with 48 (or thereabouts) equal portions with a bench knife (or other sharp knife). Turn scored meat onto a cutting board, discarding the plastic wrap. Using scissors or a knife, cut the scored meat into squared-off patties. Keep in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Season the patties lightly with salt and pepper (the bacon mix will add quite a bit of salt to the chuck mixture, so s & p carefully). Preheat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Add as many patties as you can in a single layer in the skillet (usually about 6 or 7). Cook over medium high heat until done, flipping halfway through, about 4 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the second side. Top each slider patty with cheese and about 1 tsp caramelized shallots. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
Whether you’re using the homemade Brioche slider buns or slider buns that are store-bought: Toast 1 batch of buns, cut-side down, in the same skillet over medium-low heat until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Repeat frying the patties and alternate with bun toasting
Serve sliders on toasted buns ( with sliced Claussen dill pickles.