Recipe: Turkey Sliders with Homemade Buns!

I got adventurous the other day when Z-man asked me if we could have hamburgers for dinner. My son never requests anything for meals (except cereal) so when he mentioned this, I was all for it!

I looked in our freezer and saw that we had frozen ground turkey, so I quickly took that out to thaw and then promptly went to the internet for a recipe. Here's what I found:

Turkey Sliders

20 oz. ground turkey

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 clove of minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon garlic from a jar)

1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Combine the ground turkey, the cheese and all seasonings. Mix together well. Shape mixture into 16 small patties. Place patties on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Side note: Our sliders came out of the oven with a lot of grease on the pan, so I just drained that and stuck them back in the oven for a few more minutes.

Homemade Slider Buns

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. As soon as milk simmers, remove from heat and stir in shortening until melted. Set aside to cool slightly (to about 105°F to 115°F).
2. Add warm milk mixture and remaining ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix on lowest speed until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium low and mix until dough is smooth and springy, about 4 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, add dough, and turn to coat in oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Punch down dough and turn onto a clean surface. Divide dough into 18 (1-1/2-ounce) pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth, round bun (keep the rest covered with the towel as you work). To do so, cup your hand around the dough, press down very lightly, and roll the dough against the surface to form a bun. Slightly flatten bun and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat to make 18 buns.
5. Set buns aside in a warm area until slightly risen and puffy (note that they will not double in size), about 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400°F and arrange the rack in the middle.
6. When buns have risen, bake in the oven until they are golden brown, crusty, and have an internal temperature of 190°F, about 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a rack, and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Thank you to CHOW for the recipe for these Slider Buns! They turned out great!

Here are some fun after photos of our Sliders:

Did you try a recipe this week that was out of the blue? If so, I'd love to hear how it turned out!