Super Bowl Recipes: Quick And Easy Tips On How To Make Beef, Chicken, Pork and Fish Sliders

Super Bowl Sunday would not be complete at our house without sliders or as some folks call them mini-burgers. I make a variety and usually have 3 crock-pots going with pulled pork, shredded or sliced beef and shredded or sliced chicken. Throw in a basket of small rolls, cheeses, condiments and embellishments and you have the base for a great football meal. The slider pans also help you shape perfect mini-burgers if you are going that route. Williams and Sonoma also have a BBQ grill slider pan that works wonderfully.

I also have the usual accompanying salads, dips, crackers, chips, veggies and fruits, but the main attraction for our Super Bowl Sunday party is always the slider. The traditional slider is to simply grill small hamburgers on the BBQ or portable grill. I do mine usually in a pulled or shredded/sliced fashion and keep each variety in a slow cooker. Keeping the burgers on a smaller scale allows people to have tiny portions when they want them and we find it works very well. We have also made salmon sliders and chicken sliders. Let creativity be your guide!

For the rolls, I buy large bags of potato rolls at Costco and find that they are just about the right size for our sliders. You can also use hoagie rolls cut into thirds or any other dinner roll that suits your fancy. People seem to prefer these bite-size burgers over the standard version and if you have more than one meat choice, it seems to please everyone.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 2-1/2 to 3 pound pork shoulder roast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pepper if desired
• Olive oil or cooking spray
• 2 medium onions cut into thin wedges
• 1 cup root beer
• Minced garlic - up to 6 cloves
• 3 cups of root beer
• 1 cup bottled chili sauce
• Couple dashes of hot pepper sauce if desired

PREPARATION

1. Trim fat from meat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Brown meat on all sides in hot oil or cooking spray in a large skillet.
3. Drain the fat and place meat in slow cooker.
4. Add onions and 1 cup root beer and garlic to the slow cooker.
5. Cover and cook for at least 8-10 hours on low (or 4-5 hours on high). To determine if cooked to appropriate state, meat should be able to be shredded.
6. In medium saucepan combine 3 cups of root beer and chili sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
7. Simmer uncovered stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes - you want it to reduce to about 2 cups. Add hot pepper sauce if using.
8. Remove the roast and then remove the sliced onions with a slotted spoon. (Save onions) Discard the juices in the crock-pot.
9. Shred the meat by pulling apart with fingers or with 2 forks.
10. The original recipe calls for spooning the sauce over the pork but I prefer to return the pork to the crock-pot and then pour the sauce over and add the onions back in.
11. Keep crock-pot on low and provide a slotted spoon to ladle out the pork for individual sandwiches.
12. The recipe also says not to substitute diet root beer but I have used either and noticed no difference. Another recipe I have calls for BBQ sauce in place of the chili sauce but I prefer the recipe using the chili sauce.

Serves 15 or so if you are making small sliders, 8-10 if using standard sized buns.

I usually roast a whole chicken in the crock-pot and shred or slice, then add back in a bit of broth and seasonings, then replace in a crock-pot to keep warm.

I do the same with a pot roast, cooking the roast in beer and seasonings. I likewise shred the beef and add back to the crock-pot with seasonings, a dash or two of Worchestershire sauce and some beef broth. Here are some variations though on other ways to make sliders - also see the video.

Chicken Teriyaki

• 1 pound ground chicken (or turkey)
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Beef Barbecue

• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• Salt if desired

Herbed Lamb

• 1 pound ground lamb
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill or oregano chopped (or 1 teaspoon dry)
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Lemon juice - couple squeezes
• Dash of cayenne pepper if desired
• Salt if desired

PREPARATION (Same for all 3 types)

1. Combine meat and other ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. Form the mixture into 2 x 1-inch patties.
3. Grill for about 6 minutes over medium heat.

SERVING ACCOMPANIEMENTS

• For chicken teriyaki sliders, serve with hoisin sauce
• For beef sliders, serve with BBQ sauce
• For herbed lamb sliders, serve with tzatzki sauce.