If you build it, they will YUM!

What am I building you ask? I am building a “once in a blue moon” slider for this summer’s burger bash!  This is a tiny flavorful blue cheese burger slider that includes crispy mini onion rings, turkey bacon strips, lettuce, tomato and avocado moon-shaped wedges! You may be wondering where I got the idea to build such massive, yet tiny slider. Well, let me give you a tiny little clue with the following riddle:

What do you get when you cross a Smurf with a cow? Bleu Cheese!

Yes, one of my favorite childhood cartoon characters inspired me to make these tiny little blue cheese sliders, since sliders are tiny and blue cheese came from this cutie little riddle. I saw the Smurfs 3D movie this weekend and it was SMURFTASTIC!!!  I hope you guys enjoy my SMURFLICIOUS blue cheese sliders as I hum that loveable Smurf tune! La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la

 

Blue Moon Sliders

 With Avocadoes, Bacon and Onion rings

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Burger

2 pounds ground chuck

2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 small shallot, minced

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

8 mini hamburger buns

Toppings

Crispy onion rings (see recipe)

Crispy turkey bacon strips

Avocado wedges

Green lettuce leaves

Vine ripe tomato slices

Ketchup, for serving

Crispy onion rings

5 cups vegetable oil

½ cup sliced yellow onions

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat and add the turkey bacon. Cook until crisp, 3 minutes on each side, remove to plate.

In a large bowl, combine chuck, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, shallot, blue cheese, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix all of the ingredients together to combine them, but be careful not to over mix. Divide mixture into 4 patties and then divide each quarter in half to create 8 mini burger patties.

Brush or drizzle burgers with extra-virgin olive oil and grill on indoor electric grill preheated to high for about 4-6 minutes on each side. On an outdoor grill, cook 5 minutes on each side 6 inches from hot coals or over medium high gas flame with the grill lid closed. For preparation with no additional oil, broil 4 inches from broiler 5 minutes on each side.

For the onion rings, preheat oil in a large pan on high heat. Whisk 2 eggs and set them aside. Have flour on a large plate and set that aside. Spread the onion slices out and sprinkle them with salt. Pour all of the seasoned onions in the eggs and then remove them from the eggs and dredge them in the flour. Place onions rings into the hot oil in batches and fry until golden brown and crispy.

Serve sliders on mini hamburger buns with lettuce, tomato, avocado slices, onion rings, bacon strips and ketchup.