Bourbon BBQ Sliders with Chipotle Aioli
The Super Bowl is right around the corner and I am already thinking of new recipes and how to tweak some of our “oldies but goodies.”
The reasons I think our family enjoys hosting Super Bowl parties so much are:
- Great excuse to hang out with friends
- Watch the game
- Experiment with new recipes
- Hold our friends hostage and force them to try our newest concoctions from our kitchen
I really think it’s #4 – having a captive audience to give feedback on tasty bites is something we really enjoy.
In Las Vegas, we can grill almost year round without fighting inclement weather so grilling for our guests is a must {sort of like tailgating before the big game}. Each year we try to find a theme and build our food around it and this year we will be dishing up different sliders.
Below is a tasty recipe for Bourbon BBQ Sliders with Chipotle Aioli, which is a must if we are doing sliders as our friends LOVE these. This year I wanted to add onion crisps to them to see how they would taste with the spicy of the BBQ sauce and the coolness of the aioli.
Ready to start grilling?
TIP: Be sure to have some extra napkins laying around because these Bourbon BBQ Sliders can be a “smidge messy.”
Bourbon BBQ Sliders with Chipotle Aioli
Bourbon BBQ Sliders with Chipotle Aioli
Bourbon BBQ Sliders With Chipotle Aioli
Ingredients
Chipotle Aioli
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cloves of garlic, pressed
- 1 chipotle, finely chopped
Bourbon BBQ Sauce
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup bourbon {add more to taste if needed}
- 1/4 cup brown sugar {add more to taste if needed}
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 serrano pepper, finely chopped
Sliders
- 1 package of sweet rolls
- 1 pound First Street ground beef {73%}
- 1/4 of onion/pepper mixture
- butter
Onion Crisps
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup flour
- buttermilk
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
- First, prepare the chipotle aioli so that the flavors have a chance to "meld" in the refrigerator. Add the pressed garlic, lemon juice and chopped chipotle pepper to your mayonnaise and mix together until blended well. Cover and place in refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
- I love using my mandolin to slice the onion on the thinnest setting. If you don't use a mandolin, try to make sure the slices are even so you don't have onions that are undercooked, overcooked and just right.
- When making a mixture to dredge an item in I always use a paper plate so I can throw the mess away for easier cleanup. Mix your dry ingredients together and be sure that you mix them thoroughly. Dip your onions into the buttermilk and then dredge through your spiced flour mixture.
- Being from the south, everything is buttermilk and cast iron and I used both to prepare my onion crisps. You can choose what you want to make your onion crisps such as a deep fryer or a small pot of oil. Whatever your method is sure to watch them because they crisp up fast.
- Once my onion crisps are finished, I move on to sauteé the onion, serrano pepper and garlic which will be used in my hamburger mixture AND my *Bourbon BBQ sauce*. Remember - use 1/4 of the mixture in the ground beef mixture and then use the remainder for the BBQ sauce.
- Take your onion/ pepper/garlic mixture and stir in your BBQ sauce, brown sugar, and bourbon. Depending on which BBQ sauce you choose to use as your base, this spicy sauce may need to be adjusted with adding more brown sugar {or more Bourbon}.
- After cooking the onion/pepper /garlic mixture is cooled I add 1/4 of the onion/pepper mixture and a *little bit* of the BBQ sauce into the ground beef. Does this change the taste? Not sure but I like to think it does. If you want to add some, DO NOT add too much or your ground beef will not stay together. Trust me...
- Each pound of ground beef should make 8 sliders. Honestly, I like my sliders a little smaller and normally try to make at least 10 per pound of ground beef.
- Now we are grillin'! I add my ground beef balls to the grill and then smash them a bit to flatten them a little. You use can this method or flatten them before you add to the grill. Sliders cook fast so be sure to keep an eye on them so they don't overcook. At the very end add butter to your sweet rolls and grill for a few seconds and serve!
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