Meatball Sliders

Meatball Sliders

Meatball Sliders

Looking for the perfect dish to bring to your next football watch party? Look no further!

Sure, we love chips and queso, veggie trays and all those other simple snacks you typically see at your weekly football watch parties… but what about the protein?? Be everyone’s favorite party guest (or host) and bring the MEAT! If you really want to impress, use Hickok Hamburger and show everyone the best meatballs they’ve ever tasted! These sliders are sure to be a "fan" favorite!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before cooking this recipe, please allow plenty of time for thawing your beef! We recommend thawing 1 of 2 ways. Beef thaws best in the refrigerator! For a pound of ground beef, we suggest at least 6 hours of defrost time. When making burgers, you want your beef completely thawed so it's easy to work with. Second best option would be thawing in cold water. If your beef is vacuum sealed, you are probably safe to soak the package straight in the water. Otherwise, place your frozen beef in a sealed Ziploc bag for its defrost bath! Change the water out every 20-30 minutes until the meat is fully thawed.

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. It will take a while to make the meatballs, but we hate it when we’re ready to bake and have forgotten to start the oven!!

First things first, we form the meatballs! In a large bowl, mix together your Hickok Hamburger, Italian breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, egg, oregano, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, fennel seed, salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients together with your hands until the mixture is consistent. Then, take the meat mixture and roll into ~1 inch meatballs.

To cook the meatballs, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs and a small amount of water (enough to just cover the bottom of the skillet). Cover the meatballs with a lid and turn down the heat to medium/low. Cook the meatballs for about 15 minutes (or until done) - throughout the 15 minutes, occasionally stir to turn the meatballs so the same side isn’t on direct heat the entire time.

While the meatballs are cooking, prepare the buns. Cut your Hawaiian rolls in half creating two large sheets of bread. Place the bottom half of the rolls in a 9x13 baking dish. Put a small slab of butter on each roll, place the top layer on, and toast the bread in the oven for about 5 minutes. Once toasted, pull remove the top layer and set it aside. Cover the bottom layer of bread in spaghetti sauce of your choice (save the rest of the sauce to add to the meatballs once they are cooked).

Once the meatballs are cooked to desired doneness, add the remaining spaghetti sauce to the skillet & heat ~2 minutes. Next, we will assemble the sliders! Place one meatball on each slider, then cover the entire bottom layer & meatballs with sauce (if there is any remaining, it can be used for dipping - don’t feel the need to use it all). Cover the meatballs and sauce entirely in mozzarella cheese, then place the top layer of rolls on. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, parmesan cheese & Italian Seasoning. Brush the mixture over the tops of the rolls, then your sliders are complete!

To bake the sliders, cover the rolls with foil and bake for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Once the sliders are baked, remove from heat & cut between the rolls to create the “sliders”.

Of course, these sliders make great appetizers or game day snacks, but if you want to make it into an easy weeknight meal, add a caesar salad on the side! 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We hope you are the host/guest of the season with this amazing dish! Bring the restaurant quality food to your kitchen table, then amplify it even more with Hickok Hamburger. You WILL taste the difference!


Meatball Sliders

Defrost Time: ~6 hours in refrigerator

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb Hickok Hamburger ground beef
  • ½ C Italian bread crumbs
  • 3 TBSP parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp dried basil
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp fennel seed
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 2 C spaghetti sauce
  • Sweet Hawaiian Rolls (12 ct.)
  • 2 C mozzarella cheese
  • 1 TBSP Italian seasoning
  • 2 TBSP olive oil

Instructions:

  1. DEFROST MEAT - please make sure you leave enough time to defrost your ground beef completely before starting.
  2. PREHEAT OVEN - 350 degrees
  3. MEATBALLS - In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, Italian breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, egg, oregano, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, fennel seed, salt & pepper. Mix with your hands until combined evenly.
  4. Roll the mixture into ~1 inch meatballs.
  5. In a large skillet over medium heat olive oil, then place the meatballs in the pan. Fill the pan with just enough water to cover the surface of the skillet. Turn the heat down to medium/low, cover with a lid and let the meatballs cook for ~15 minutes. Stir occasionally to turn meatballs so one side doesn't get direct heat the entire 15 mins.
  6. PREP THE SLIDERS - Cut your Hawaiian rolls in half creating two sheets of bread. Place the bottom layer in a baking dish, then add a small pat of butter on each roll, cover with the top layer of rolls, then place in the oven for ~5 mins to toast the rolls. Once toasted, remove from the oven, set the top layer aside and cover the bottom layer of rolls with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce (save remaining sauce to add to meatballs)
  7. MEATBALLS - Once the meatballs are cooked to desired doneness, add the remaining spaghetti sauce to the pan & heat for a few minutes.
  8. ASSEMBLE SLIDERS - Place one meatball on each slider, then cover the entire bottom layer with remaining spaghetti sauce (over meatballs) - if you’d like, you can reserve some sauce for dipping once served. Cover the sauce completely in mozzarella cheese, then place the top layer of rolls on top. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, Italian Seasoning & 3 TBSP of parmesan cheese. Brush this mixture on top of the sliders. 
  9. BAKE SLIDERS - Cover the sliders in foil and bake for 10 minutes, then remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.
  10. SERVE - Cut the sliders down lines from the rolls. Serve alone as a snack or appetizer, or serve with caesar salad to make it a meal! ENJOY!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you try this recipe...

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

Share your rating of this recipe in the comments on our Meatball Sliders post! Then follow along for the recipes to come and the process behind Hickok Hamburger and how we can bring you premium beef, straight to your front door!

Instagram: @hickokhamburger

Facebook: Hickok Hamburger

If you like what you see from Hickok Hamburger, follow our homestead, Hickok Ranch! At Hickok Ranch you will see more of the process behind the cattle, the land, and our trophy whitetail deer high-fence hunting.

Instagram: @hickokranch

Facebook: Hickok Ranch

Website: www.hickokranch.com

Back to blog