Burger Sliders from the 1970s
Make this 1970s recipe for burger sliders on King’s Hawaiian Rolls or regular dinner rolls. Discover the secrets of 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 broiler pan or wire rack 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.
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. And these will taste far better and much more meatier than White Castle’s sliders or other fast food spots.
How to Make Sliders Burgers Step-by-Step
This is the easy way of how to make sliders burgers. Keep reading to learn the original procedure that made sliders so popular decades ago.
1. Preheat Oven & Split the Rolls
- Preheat the oven to 275°F.
- Split the dinner rolls (or Kings Hawaiian Rolls). It’s easier if you just slide the knife down the middle of the entire slap of dinner rolls.
- Then, put the buns onto a broiler pan or baking sheet pan (with sides).
- Add a small amount of water to the bottom. Even better is to use a wire rack (or a cake cooling rack) over the pan. When using a rack, you can add a bit more water.
2. Cook the Small Burgers in Onions
- Start to sauté diced onions in butter or olive oil in a skillet.
- Then, season the ground beef, make little patties, and add on top of the cooking onions.
- Mash them down after the first turning over.
3. Add Burgers to Bun Bottoms
- After the small burgers are cooked, make sure there are some onions on top of each one.
- Then, add a bun top and use spatula to scoop each one up.
- Place each on top of a bun bottom.
4. Make a Foil Tent
- Make a foil tent over the burger sliders.
- Close up the sides real good to hold steam.
5. Burger Sliders in Oven
- Put the tray of burger sliders in the preheated 275°F oven. You’re basically slowly steaming cooked burger sandwiches.
- They take about 25 minutes in the oven, which is mainly for melding the flavors and steaming the buns. Be careful not to tilt the pan to prevent spilling water.
6. Add Sliders Toppings
The traditional old recipe for a slider would be just a pickle slice but sometimes also with a squirt of mustard. Also, here are some ideas for popular sliders toppings.
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 (goes back into the oven briefly to melt it)
- ketchup
- mayo
- lettuce
- tomatoes
- any specialty sauce for burgers
Recipe for Cheeseburger Sliders
So, for a recipe for cheeseburger sliders, first make the regular burger sliders. Then, when oven time’s done, uncover everything, & add about 1/2 cheese slice (or shredded cheese) on top of the meat. Then, recover everything and return to the oven to melt for about 3-5 minutes. For an alternative, here’s how Gaby makes Cheeseburger Sliders.
Tips for Burger Sliders
Here is an important section of some very valuable tips for making a fantastic meal out of Burger Sliders.
Using Leftover Dinner Rolls
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.
Ground Beef Sliders: Make The Patties Small
The Recipe for Mini Sliders is another term for just “Sliders”. Divide a pound of ground beef into 8-10 portions. Roll each portion into a hamburger ball and press into a disc shape. Read “How To Form Burger Patties” for details.
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 in the oven for steaming to meld all flavors into the bun.
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. Another option is to use an oven’s broiler pan that has open grooves.
How to keep sliders warm
If you leave them in the oven too long & covered in foil (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, turn the oven down to about 190°F and open them once after the initial baking.
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 offers a good serving presentation.
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
Here are some ideas of what to serve with sliders at a party, dinner, picnic, game day, etc. Finger food is preferred for gatherings.
- How to Make Onion Rings Homemade
- Homemade Fried Mushrooms Recipe
- Southern Deviled Eggs Recipe – 3 ingredients
- 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 from the Air Fryer, Checkers Fries in Air Fryer
- 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.
History of this Sliders Sandwich Recipe
Back in the 70s, there were a lot of restaurant chains around that blossomed from the 50s. Eventually, with fast food burgers being popular, the mini burgers or Sliders came to be very popular. However, they started at White Castle in 1921. Sliders were also a huge hit with Krystal fast food restaurant. Read more about fast food history in our article.
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. It’s a great surprise to everyone, whether for lunch, dinner, picnic, or game day. Share it!
These are the best sliders I’ve ever had or made! Didn’t know they used to make them that way.
Super recipe for sliders from the past. Taste much better than what you can buy these days.
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.
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.
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.