In my last post, I shared a really simple slider. The individual flavors stood on their own to make a really delicious bite. I also talked about the American style of sandwiches and burgers…mountain high with everything to challenge your taste buds. Well, this slider is along that road. And it’s spicy. Not so much that it makes the sweat beads roll, but spicy enough to add a little punch.
With summer on our heels, I’ve been trying to think of some fun sliders to enjoy when friends come over. But we’re having an unusual May with so much rain and cool weather, so that’s why hot, hot, hot has been on my mind.
A lot of restaurants add ground bacon to their beef patties to give it more flavor. I wanted to do a spicy cajun style slider, so instead of just adding slices of sausage it on top of the meat patty, I thought, why not grind it up and add it to the ground beef. What a delicious zing! But I wanted more spicy hot, so jalapeños are always a good choice. I thought about just slicing them into coins and putting them on the sliders raw, but ho hum. So I battered and deep fried them. Oh yeah…I could have just eaten them like that.
Well, moving on to the cheese, I decided some kind of cheesy spread would be nice. Been doing a lot with cauliflower lately, since it’s kind of the “it” veggie now. So, I made a mash and added a lot of cheese to it. It was quite interesting and it gave the slider another texture with its creaminess.
Makes 10 to 12
- 10 to 12 slider buns
- 2 cups cauliflower, cut into small pieces
- ½ cup fontina cheese, grated
- Salt to taste
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 4 cajun style andouille sausage
- 2 to 3 roma tomatoes, sliced
- 9 jalapeños
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 egg
- ½ cup beer
- ½ tsp salt
- Oil for frying
Boil the cauliflower pieces until fork tender. Drain. Pulse in food processor until it resembles rice. Add the cheese while the cauliflower is still warm and pulse to combine. Add salt to taste. Set aside. It can be microwaved later to warm it up.
Pulse the sausages in food processor until it resembles ground meat. Empty it in a bowl. Add the ground beef and mix by hand. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Form patties and fry.
Cut the stem off of the jalapeños. Quarter them lengthwise. Remove some of the white membrane near the stem. Leave the rest and the seeds intact. Mix the flour, cornstarch, egg, beer, and salt in a bowl. Dip the jalapeños in batter. Deep fry in oil. Drain and set aside.
Assemble the sliders. Smear cauliflower cheese spread on the bottom bun. Add the patty, tomato, and top with three pieces of fried jalapeños.
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