Author Notes
When I was growing up my father was a true grill man – charcoal only and whatever he was making, there was one beer to splash on the food and one for him! I on the other hand, love my gas grill mostly because I’m lazy and don’t want to mess with the charcoal. Of course, dad would probably not been caught making “wimpy” sliders and I am generally prone to enormous burgers stuffed with cheese but my husband brought home one of those “as seen on TV” slider pans from a close out. I tried it and it worked, but it only did 5 at a time and there was splattered grease all over my kitchen so I decided to grill them just like a regular burger and it was much better. The homebaked buns really make a difference – with the frozen ones it’s really not much trouble. - simplycooking101 —simplycooking101
Test Kitchen Notes
My husband and I loved these sliders. The addition of sausage results in really moist and flavorful burgers and the directions for pressing the meat into a jellyroll pan is genius. I made a few modifications: Somehow I missed adding onion into the burger, so I sliced red onion paper thin and marinated it in the vinegar mixture. I also chopped the basil and added it to the vinegar mixture. - FrozenFoodie —The Editors
Ingredients
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1 1/2 pounds
ground beef
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1 pound
hot Italian sausage
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1 teaspoon
Italian seasoning
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1
medium onion chopped finely
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1
bell pepper chopped finely
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2
cloves minced garlic
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18
Dinner rolls (freshly baked best)
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8 ounces
fresh Mozzarella sliced 1/4 inch thick
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4
large Roma tomatoes sliced 1/4 thick
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1/2 cup
fresh large basil leaves
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3 tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil
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3 tablespoons
balsamic vinegar
Directions
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Gently but thoroughly mix together the ground beef and ground Italian sausage (removing from the casings if any), along with the Italian spices, chopped onion, chopped Bell pepper and 1 clove of minced garlic.
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Press the mixture into a jelly roll pan using a rolling pin to make a flat even layer. Cut the meat into 2" squares.
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Grill 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked through to a temperature of at least 165.
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If not using freshly baked dinner rolls, wrap the rolls in foil and warm on the top rack of the grill while the burgers are cooking on their second side. If using fresh rolls time them to be hot out of the oven when the burgers are done.
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When the burgers are done, place a slice of Mozzerella on each burger and tent with foil while preparing the buns.
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Whisk together olive oil, balsamic and remaining clove of minced garlic
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Place the burger with cheese on the bottom of the bun, add a slice of tomato and two good sized basil leaves and drizzle each burger with the balsamic/olive oil dressing.
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