1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
3 ounces cream cheese cut into small cubes
½ cup barbecue sauce
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 to 2 packages Hawaiian rolls may not use all; I used 1½ packages to fill a 9x13
2 cups cheddar cheese grated
1 pound bacon cooked and crumbled
½ cup salted butter melted
1 to 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Add ground beef, minced garlic, sea salt, onion flakes, and pepper to a saute pan. Cook over medium heat, breaking up the meat and stirring, until the meat is no longer pink. Stir cream cheese, barbecue sauce, and mustard into the meat mixture and set aside. Place the rolls into a 9x13 casserole dish and halve the second set of rolls to fill the casserole dish. Slice the tops off of the rolls in one full slice.Place the bottoms of rolls into the casserole dish and set tops aside. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over the rolls. Top with the meat mixture. Sprinkle crumbled bacon over the meat mixture and then cover with the remaining cheese. Place the tops of the rolls back into place. Melt butter in a microwave-safe dish and stir sesame seeds into it. Pour butter mixture over the rolls, using a pastry brush to spread the sesame seeds and butter evenly. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and rolls are heated through. Remove aluminum foil and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer until the tops are browned.
Notes:
1. Grated cheese spreads easily over the rolls and melts more quickly than slices of cheese in this recipe.
2. The cream cheese and sauce mixed into the ground beef help it stick together and also make the cheeseburger sliders extra tasty.
3. Crumbled bacon is much easier to work with than bacon slices when it comes time to pull the sliders apart for serving. Use leftover bacon from breakfast or cook up a quick batch in the skillet.
4. Don’t skimp on the butter. It soaks into all the nooks and crannies and adds a ton of flavor to both the top and the bottom half of the slider buns.