Having Labor Day BBQ? Try Gourmet Sliders, Kids And Adults Will Love Them!

This has been such a chaotic summer for La Jolla Family.  We love to throw parties and have people over.  Lately, I haven’t been able to do much other than order pizza when we have friends over.  I intend to change that because that is NOT how I like to entertain. Most of our friends now have young kids.  I am always on the hunt for foods that the kids can eat as well as adults.  I do make a mean, fancy mac and cheese thanks to Cooks Illustrated, but that gets old after a while even to me.  If you’re looking for something unique to serve at your Labor Day BBQ that’s suitable for all ages, I may have the answer below!

The San Diego Chef at Whole Foods came up with the idea of a kids slider burger bar that functions much like a sundae bar, allowing each party guest to choose from a variety of burger toppings. Kids will love making their own mini-burgers that are just big enough for their tiny bellies, while parents will love exploring different flavor combinations without getting too full.

Guess what? I have the recipes!  You can use a combination of these recipes for your burger bar as the meat is always more or less prepared the same.  One recipe calls for buffalo meat and the others ground beef, but you could use one meat, obviously, if that’s easier.  If you can’t find slider buns, not to worry, you can use a small dinner roll.  If you’re sensitive to using too much butter, we’ve found that spraying some olive oil on the buns prior to placing them on the grill works well too.   It’s always best to use grilled buns right away and butter, well, taste better. 

The first recipe is for the Buffalo Sliders.  La Jolla Dad ordered a Buffalo Burger the other day when we were out.  It was pretty good and I couldn’t taste the difference between that and and a normal hamburger except that is was certainly less greasy tasting.  We are surprised that buffalo isn’t more popular because it’s so much leaner than regular ground meet. I’ve read it’s got half the cholesterol as ground beef and that it’s also higher in iron, protein and amino acids.

Buffalo Slider Burgers:
Serves 6
Ingredients:
·         3 pounds Ground Buffalo Meat 10% fat
·         2 Tablespoons minced garlic
·         Salt and Pepper to taste
·         ½ pound Unie Kaas 5 year Gouda (shaved)
·         2 Large Heirloom Tomatoes (sliced)
·         Mixed Spring Greens
·         1 stick unsalted butter
·         2 teaspoons chives (finely chopped)
·         One pack of Whole Wheat Whole Foods Market Bakehouse slider buns
Method:
Soften butter, add chives, salt and pepper to taste, set aside. Mix buffalo meat, garlic, and salt and pepper in bowl, divide 4 ounces of meat and form into patties. Place on grill and cook until medium. Toast buns on grill. Lightly slather butter on both sides of bun, place buffalo patty, shaved Unie Kaas 5 year Gouda on top of patty, and then add small bunch of mixed greens, and sliced Heirloom Tomatoes and top with toasted bun top.

Sautéed Mushroom Beef Slider Burgers:
Serves 6
Ingredients:
·         3 pounds All Natural Ground Beef 15% fat
·         Salt and Pepper to taste
·         1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
·         1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
·         12 ounces porcini mushrooms (sliced)
·         12 ounces crimini mushrooms (sliced)
·         1 pound Somerdale Cotswold cheese (sliced)
·         Mayonnaise to taste
·         One pack of Whole Wheat Whole Foods Market Bakehouse slider buns
Method:
Melt butter and olive oil in large sauté pan. Sautee porcini and cremini mushrooms in butter and olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Mix ground beef, salt, and pepper in bowl, divide 4 ounces of meat and form into patties.  Place on grill and cook to your liking. Toast buns on grill. Lightly slather mayonnaise on both sides of toasted bun. Place beef patty on bottom bun, top with a slice of Somerdale Cotswold cheese, top that with mushroom mixture, and finish off with your toasted bun top.

Bufala Mozzarella Beef Slider Burgers:
Serves 6
Ingredients:
·         3 pounds All Natural Ground Beef 15% fat
·         Salt and Pepper to taste
·         2 pounds Bufala Mozzarella (sliced thick)
·         2 Large Heirloom Tomatoes (sliced)
·         1 bunch of fresh basil
·         Organic Balsamic Crème Vinegar (balsamic reduction)
·         One pack of Whole Foods Market Bakehouse slider buns
Method:
Mix ground beef, salt, and pepper in bowl, divide 4 ounces of meat and form into patties.  Place on grill and cook to your liking. Place bufala mozzarella slice on top of patty right after it comes of the grill. Toast buns on grill.  Place the bufala mozzarella and beef patty on top of bottom bun, top mozzarella slice with an heirloom tomato slice and a few basil leaves, and top with a generous drizzle of Organic Balsamic Crème Vinegar.

Hungry yet? Whole Foods believes that the secret to better tasting meat is not in the seasoning, but the quality of the meat itself.  You get quality at Whole Foods. We’ve love shopping there. I’ve also learned through writing this post that I do not utilize the Whole Foods website enough.  They have awesome recipes and will even make a shopping list for you that you can print and take to the store.  They even have a recipe iPhone app!  I also was not aware of some of the interesting events at my local stores and will now pay more attention.

These recipes are NOT on the Whole Foods site, though they are courtesy of Whole Foods.  The slider in the post photo is from the slider recipe on their website, which uses pretty much the same ground beef mixture along with grilled onions and bleu cheese.  This reminds me, you should also add onions and bleu cheese to your burger bar!  The options are endless. Need side dish, dessert or drink ideas? Here’s what else Whole Food recommends.

Since it’s Wine Wednesday, I should mention that these could be enjoyed with a hearty red like Malbec or Zinfandel!  Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

Tagged as: Kids, Recipes, Whole Foods, Wine