Animal-Style Sliders
Have you ever wanted to make In & Out burgers at home, but with less stress than making a bunch of burger patties? Try this recipe, secret sauce & juicy caramelized onions included !
I tested and shot this recipe for maid-rite sliders when I first started working for 12 Tomatoes and I definitely had some opinions before I tasted this recipe. Using cooked ground beef for sliders? Crazy sauce! That was before I tasted these. I learned using ground beef for your sliders is the most fool-proof method of making juicy sliders because you really can’t overcook them.
These days, I’ve made Kristy’s recipe for Maid-Rite Sliders recipe over three times, so it was only right for me to riff off her amazing original recipe. Let’s make em’ ANIMAL STYLE. This term was famously coined by the burger establishment, In and Out, located in mostly California, from their secret menu. They sprinkle these burgers with perfectly caramelized onions and douse the burgers in a not-so-secret sauce based mainly on combining mayo and ketchup. So, yeah… this is Maid-Rite Sliders meets animal-style burgers.
Now ever since I’ve been making these delicious sliders at home, I’ve been fixing them up with lettuce, tomato, and pickle, so can you blame me for doing the same in this recipe? What can I say, I like a fully done-up burger. That being said you make these however you like your burger, just don’t forget those caramelized onions and secret sauce. I started by layering the bottoms of these sliders with my ground beef mixture and cheese in two layers, to emulate the double cheeseburger effect. It did add extra messiness to these sliders that I’m not mad at because, after all, this is essentially a sloppy Joe without the BBQ sauce. After melting the cheese in the oven I topped these with caramelized onions, pickles, tomato, lettuce, and all that delicious secret sauce.
Now I’m using Vidalia onions for my caramelized onions for their notable sweetness. I like the flavor and I like how manageabley-sized they typically come. I can’t stand dicing huge onions! Practice your dicing technique when you start on this step because we want these nice and tiny. Make sure to sharpen your knife and prepare your onion goggles. This will also make serving the sliders in the end much easier without any onions sliding out.
Secret sauces on burgers have been on my radar since the movie “Good Burger” or the TV show “Spongebob Squarepants.” It’s honestly a huge reason that compelled me to learn how to cook when I was just starting. “What does this secret sauce take like?” “It’s got to taste like what Disney movies are made of, right?” I mean, it kind of does taste like magic. Combining ketchup and mayo with a little dollop of relish makes an incredibly underrated sauce for literally ANYTHING. For French fries, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, burgers, even potato chips. Add a little vinegar to the sauce to help balance the richness of flavor and a tiny bit of sugar to amp up the sweetness, and you are ready to serve.
These sliders will totally amp up your next summer BBQ, pool party, birthday party, graduation party, baby shower, or bachelor party. Have your guests build their perfect slider with all the ingredients laid out and serve them with the lettuce and tomato on the side. They make for excellent late-night snacks, lunches the next day, and leftovers. I can’t stop thinking of reasons to love these cute lil’ guys, so I hope you try these and let Kristy and I both know how much you love these sliders too.
Animal-Style Sliders
Watch How It's Made
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- 1 (12) pack hawaiian roll buns
- 2 medium yellow onions, diced small
- 6 slices American cheese, cut into 4 even squares
- 1 cup iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 24 sliced pickles
- Kosher salt, to taste
For sauce:
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons sweet relish
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 375° F and prepare a 9x13 pan.
- Mix all the animal-style sauce ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat a pan over high heat for 1 - 2 minutes, then add 3 tablespoons of canola oil and add ground beef—season beef lightly with salt.
- Gently smash and spread beef out to crisp up on one side for at least 2 minutes. Then stir ground beef and continue to break up the meat as the rest of the meat finishes cooking.
- Remove from the heat and drain beef in a fine mesh strainer.
- Use the same pan to saute diced onions over medium heat with the remaining tablespoon of canola oil. Cook for 6 - 8 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove to a bowl.
- Add strained beef back to the pan with yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and mayo. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Build the sliders in a 9x13 baking tray starting with the bottom half of the sliders. Sprinkle half of the beef mixture over all the sliders, then top each slider with cheese square, then repeat with the remaining beef over cheese, then finish with one more square of cheese.
- Top sliders with caramelized onions and bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until the cheese is gooey and melted.
- Remove sliders from the oven and top each cheesy slider with two pickles, one slice of tomato, and shredded lettuce. Dollop each slider with animal-style sauce and place slider tops.
Recipe adapted from 12 Tomatoes.