Bacon and blue cheese slider kebabs

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Usually when I eat burgers, I eat them bunless atop a salad. However, I think that part of the appeal of a burger on a bun is that all the toppings and condiments are together in a neat little package and you taste everything in each bite. Hence, slider kebabs were born. They are like eating a cute little hamburger, but without the bread.

I wrapped the slider patties with bacon. It didn't get too crisp in the oven, but you can easily sear the bacon after baking the patties. I used my kitchen torch but a hot cast iron skillet would work as well. Alternately, you can just pre-cook the bacon slices and slide them onto the skewer. Or omit the bacon altogether!

I made a blue cheese and horseradish dipping sauce. Dairy-free readers can just combine horseradish and mayo, or use something else altogether. I think that bacon-wrapped turkey sliders with guacamole for dipping would be delicious.

BACON AND BLUE CHEESE SLIDER KEBABS
Makes 12 skewers

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground beef (I used 90% lean grass-fed)
• Steak seasoning for the burgers (I used Penzeys English prime rib rub; McCormick Montreal steak seasoning is widely available at supermarkets and would also be great. I also think the ingredients in these umami slider burgers would be great, but in a pinch just salt & pepper will work.)
• 6 strips bacon, cut in half crosswise
• 6 cherry tomatoes, halved crosswise
• Red onion, cut into 1" chunks
• Romaine lettuce, cut into chunks
• 12 mini bamboo skewers

For the blue cheese dipping sauce:

• 2 Tbs blue cheese crumbles
• 2 Tbs Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• 1 Tbs mayonnaise
• 1 Tbs grated horseradish (get it from the refrigerated section near the pickles. The kind of the shelf in the condiments aisle always has corn syrup and soybean oil)
• Pinch of garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Season the ground beef liberally with your spices of choice and combine using your hands. Shape it into twelve uniform patties.
3. Wrap each slider patty with half a slice of bacon and arrange them on a slotted broiler pan. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes.
4. If desired, crisp the bacon using a kitchen torch or in a piping-hot cast iron skillet.
5. On each skewer, thread half a cherry tomato, the burger patty, a chunk of red onion, and a piece of lettuce (in that order).
6. Combine all the dipping sauce ingredients, mashing the blue cheese crumbles with a fork. Serve the skewers with the dipping sauce on the side.

Posted in: appetizer/snack,beef