Burger Sliders from the 1970s
Make this 1970s recipe for burger sliders on King’s Hawaiian Rolls. So, discover the secrets from the past on how they were originally created that made them a smash hit. Also, this is part of our Sandwiches, Fast Food, Ground Beef, Main Dishes, Stove Top Recipes, and Oven Dinners categories.
Burger Sliders from the 1970s
Equipment
- 1 broiler pan (or baking sheet with wire bakers rack)
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Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1¼ lb ground beef
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 12 each dinner rolls (we use King's Hawaiian)
Instructions
- Prepare broiler pan (or steamer pan or baking sheet with wire cooling rack) by pouring in the water. Set aside.Preheat oven to 275° F. Position a shelf to be in the middle.1 cup water
- Split (and separate) the dinner rolls and place the bun bottoms onto the broiler pan (or whatever you're using for steaming). They should not touch any water and there should be some space between each one.
- Start to Sauté the diced onion in butter at medium heat.1 large onion, diced, 1 Tbsp butter
- Mix the burger ingredients well and shape mixture into small roll-sized patties as you add them to skillet on top of cooking onions. Make them thin by mashing them down after turning.1¼ lb ground beef, ½ tsp ground black pepper, 1½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- When burgers are cooked, turn off the burner. Take a bun top onto one of the onion topped burgers. While still holding the bun top, use a spatula to scoop up each burger onto a bun's bottom on the broiler pan.
- Repeat until all burgers are now on the steam tray.12 each dinner rolls
- Use foil to cover like a tent over the entire broiler pan; it should reach to go over all edges of the pan. And, it should have air space over the tops of the rolls. Put the tray into the preheated 275°F oven (don't tilt it due to water) for 25 minutes on a middle shelf.
- Remove steam tray (don't tilt it) from oven. Remove foil and, using a spatula, serve them up. Add your favorite condiments and toppings such as mustard, pickle, cheese, etc. Classic slider just adds mustard.
Notes
Nutrition
Easy Best Recipe for Burger Sliders with Hawaiian Rolls
Recipe for Hawaiian Roll Burger Sliders
Everyone will be quite surprised at how extremely flavorful these burger sliders are. Hamburger sliders are one of the most popular items on menus everywhere. There are endless possibilities when it comes to creating a slider, but using Hawaiian rolls as the bun is a unique and delicious option. The combination of flavors from the sweet rolls and savory burger is fantastic. So, these sliders are perfect for any occasion.
How to Make Sliders Burgers
This is the easy way of how to make sliders burgers. In making this recipe for slider hamburgers, we use Kings Hawaiian Rolls. It follows the original procedure that made sliders so popular in the early years. In a nutshell, you make the hamburger patties thin and small to fit a dinner roll bun. They are cooked in a skillet or frying pan on top of some diced onions in butter. You put the cooked burgers and onions, along with a dill pickle slice (optional) on the little bun. Most people will stop and eat at this time but, you won’t get the true sliders flavor until you do one more key step.
If you have some leftover dinner rolls but are worried they’re a little too dry to use, check out our guide on “6 Surprising Ways of Warming Up Dinner Rolls“. Also, it can soften them up a bit for using one final time on these Sliders.
Burger Sliders in oven
You have to put the completed burger sliders in the oven. It should be preheated to 275°F and the cooked burgers on the little buns go on a perforated pan (with water in the bottom) and cover them with foil. They take about 25 minutes in the oven. Then, they’re given any final condiments (including cheese). Check out the recipe for all the details.
The traditional way was to also include a dill pickle slice in each slider when they go into the oven. It does give it a different set of flavors, which is good for some but others don’t like pickles so, I left it out of the recipe.
Recipe for Cheeseburger Sliders
So, to have a recipe for cheeseburger sliders, you first make the regular burger sliders, including the baking time in the oven. Then, when done, you remove them from the oven and uncover the foil. You’ll put about 1/2 slice of cheese (or sprinkle some shredded cheese) on top of the meat. Then, put the bun tops back on, cover with foil again, check the water if it needs more, and return to the warmth of the oven, which can now be turned off. They will be ready to serve in 3-5 minutes.
Tips for Burger Sliders
Here is an important section of some very valuable tips for making a fantastic meal out of Burger Sliders.
Recipe for mini sliders – make them small
The Recipe for Mini Sliders is another term for just “Sliders”. So, the above is that same recipe. However, the key of “mini” prompts for questions on tips for making these hamburger patties small. Some people take a package of ground been (we’ll say one pound) and will then divide it up into 10 meat portions. That way you can visually see how to adjust the portions to each. Then, each portion can be rolled into a hamburger ball using your hands. After you’ve rolled one up, you compress it between both of your hands while turning it around to push the sides inward for retaining a disc shape.
If you’re able to, you can continue to work it to compress it further to make it thinner. However, there is a point to where it might fall apart when cooking if it’s too thin. In restaurants (fast food), these are generally machine made to be very thin but they are frozen and hold their shape okay during cooking. At home, it’s a bit different but then again, we aren’t having cheap, thin sliders. Some people can get down to about 10 mini burger patties per pound. I generally can only get down to about 8 per pound.
2 key methods to ensure you attain the unique burger sliders flavor
- You must cook the burgers on top of cooking onions.
- You must seal them (e.g., foil covering) to steam in the flavors a bit into the bun itself and this takes no less than 20 minutes.
Biggest mistake people make is to speed it up in the oven with a higher temp and shorter time; the flavor will be noticeably lessened.
If you don’t have a perforated or steaming tray
If you don’t have a perforated or steaming tray, you can use a baking sheet (with full edges to hold the water) and then put a wire rack (or cake cooling racks) on top to hold the burger sandwiches.
You can use any broiler pan also, as it has a perforated top.
How to keep sliders warm
If you leave them in the oven too long (over an hour), the buns might get soggy. Or, if the water dried out, they’ll get too hard. So, they can remain there if they’re covered in foil tightly usually for a max of 1/2 hour past the usually baking time. But, you need to turn the oven down to about 190°F and you need to have opened them once after the initial baking, i.e., you remove the foil cover to release the steam and ensure there’s a bit of water remaining but not too much.
How to serve sliders
You can leave them wrapped in foil on a warmed baking sheet, which is the way I serve them. I’ve seen others serve them like hot dinner rolls and they’ll be in a large bowl lined with a white dinner cloth. The cloth will be draped over the burgers to keep them somewhat warm. And, this 2nd way is a more appealing way to present them for serving.
How many slider sandwiches per person
Regarding planning ahead, you’ll need to anticipate about how many slider sandwiches per person should you make. Children will account for about 2-3. And adults will vary widely at about 2-5. However, this includes that you’ll have several side dishes and snacks set out also.
What goes with sliders
When planning for what to eat with sliders, you’ll find that list is going to be pretty easy once you see some ideas. So, here are some ideas of what to serve with sliders at a party, dinner, picnic, game day, etc. Finger food choices are preferred for parties or game day.
- Potato Chips and Dip
- Carrot & Celery Sticks with Veggie Dip
- Bagel Chips or Crackers and Spinach Dip
- Southern Potato Salad or Mashed Potato Salad
- Pasta Salad
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Baked Beans
- Deviled Eggs
- French Fries
- Fried Mushrooms and Dipping Sauce
- Onion Rings and Dipping Sauce
- Pigs in a Blanket with honey mustard dip
- Regular hot dogs in hot dog buns
- Southern Sweet Tea
For more ideas, look over our Good Super Bowl Food Ideas list. You’ll notice sliders are on the list, along with a lot of other great ideas.
Sliders Toppings
Toppings for hamburger sliders are a little different than regular full sized hamburgers. You generally don’t top them with lettuce and tomato, for example. The traditional old recipe for a slider would be just a pickle slice but sometimes also with a squirt of mustard. However, these days are different so, here are some ideas for sliders toppings that you might enjoy for yourself or those you’re serving them to.
Toppings that are okay to put on before going into the oven
- sautéed onions
- mustard
- dill pickle slice
Toppings that are okay to put on after coming out of the oven
- mustard (usually regular yellow but can be Dijon)
- dill pickle slice (ok but, is better for in the oven)
- cheese (but usually goes back into the oven for a bit to melt it)
- ketchup
- mayo
- lettuce
- tomatoes
- any specialty sauce for burgers
With an organized production layout, you can make this Sliders Recipe easy and quickly.
History of this Sliders Sandwich Recipe
Back in the 70s, there were a lot of restaurant chains around that blossomed from the 50s. Their fast food niche varied around themes like burgers, chili dogs, subs, waffles, roller skate your order to your car, and so on.
During that time, I learned many different recipes and cooking methods from lots of managers and owners from various chains. The original sliders recipe itself, of course, called for a much thinner burger patty than this recipe presents. In the good old days, the patties were compressed and frozen at about one-sixteenth of a pound and seemed to be paper thin. Check out this sliders recipe easy procedure with a small, skinny burger patty but thicker than the old days.
Read more about fast food history in our article. Also, Wikipedia has a formal, historical cover of fast food history.
Nutritional Values for Hamburger Sliders
These burger sliders are a little under 150 calories each using regular dinner rolls. The detailed nutritional values are shown in the <Print Recipe> option.
Conclusion of Burger Sliders from the 1970s
Now you know how to make this flavorful, legacy fast food original recipe of burger sliders.
I never made sliders before but I remember them when I was younger. These were incredibly delicious! I forgot how good they were and these were just as good or better. Thanks for making this recipe. And the post had some good tips too.
Deep flavor through every bit. These hamburger sliders from the 1970s are incredible. Just made them for my visiting family and they went crazy over them.
OMG! I never had the old timey sliders before. That flavor is entirely through the buns. It’s a bit of effort but well worth it hands down. You can’t buy these kind of results anywhere.
Super recipe for sliders from the past. Taste much better than what you can buy these days.
These are the best sliders I’ve ever had or made! Didn’t know they used to make them that way.