Back near the end of the holidays (football playoffs and bowl games), we were looking for some fun snack foods to serve for a potential Super Bowl party, and one of the things we thought of was sliders. Colleen found a recipe from the Pioneer Woman (who we’ve done several recipes from) that was called “Spicy Whiskey BBQ Sliders,” and since Spicy, Whiskey, and BBQ happen to be three of our favorite words, it immediately moved to the front of the line!
We tried it out and were very, very pleased. A good, but not overwhelming level of spice, with a tangy bbq flavor. We’ve discussed trying to grill the burgers, rather than basically frying them in butter, in an attempt to make them slightly healthier and easier to fit into our meal plan, but really haven’t figured out how to do it without losing the incredibly wonderful flavor of the butter and meat grease mixed into the sauce. So just make this dish one of those exceptions for special occasions—like a football game, or when you just want some kick-ass sliders.
Not to state the obvious, but these could clearly be done as full size burgers as well, but then they wouldn’t also be as cute and party friendly. You could probably also do it with turkey burgers or something–just don’t do it with tofu patties, or we won’t let you read our blog anymore…
- 1 pound ground beef (or turkey or bison, I suppose)
- Salt and Pepper (or steak seasoning)
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1 Sweet onion, diced
- ½ Cup whiskey
- 1 Cup barbecue sauce
- ¼ Cup jarred jalapeno slices (more if you want extra bite)
- 6 Whole slider buns
- Form meat into 6 patties and salt and pepper (or otherwise season) both sides.
- Melt butter in cast iron (or other heavy) skillet, and cook patties until almost done on both sides–don’t fully cook.
- Remove patties from skillet, and drain all but two tablespoons or so of the grease, then return skillet to the stove.
- Saute onions in skillet until translucent.
- Pour in whiskey (turn off flames momentarily, if using a gas stove), stir with onions, and allow to reduce by half (2-3 minutes)
- Stir in jalapenos and bbq sauce.
- Reduce heat to low and return patties to sauce, turning to thoroughly coat. Let sauce get good and hot and thick.
- Place patties on buns, spoon extra sauce on each one and eat!
