Castle Cheeseburger Slyders (copycat)

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 lb fresh 80% lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 tablespoons water
• 3/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 12 slices kraft deluxe american cheese
• 36 -48 slices heinz hamburger dills
• 12 sara lee classic dinner rolls
• prepared yellow mustard or spicy brown mustard
• tomato ketchup

Recipe

• 1 finely mince one medium onion by hand, or by pulsing in a food processor; place onions into a heavy-bottomed non-stick or stainless steel skillet; add 2 tablespoons water and 3/8 teaspoon kosher salt; cook onions over medium heat until onions are translucent and most water has evaporated (replenish water if necessary to keep onions just moistened); spread onions evenly and levelly in a 15 x 12 baking sheet; loosely cover; place sheet of onions into freezer until almost frozen, adhering to bottom of baking sheet.
• 2 start with a clean oven; place oven rack in the lower 1/3 position; preheat oven to 500°f ; in a medium bowl, mix 3/4 lb ground beef with 1 1/2 tablespoons water, 3/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper in a medium bowl with a fork until thoroughly combined; dump ground beef mixture onto a cover ground beef mixture with a sheet of waxed paper; press ground beef mixture into the baking sheet with onions evenly to the edges using hands first, then with a rolling pin if desired, for uniformity; remove waxed paper and discard.
• 3 cut ground beef lightly into 12 symmetrical squares using a pizza cutter (3 across x 4 down) leaving meat intact; poke 5 evenly-spaced holes into each beef patty square (resembling the 5-dot pattern of standard playing dice), with a thin wooden spoon end or drinking straw, pressing while twisting to bore holes.
• 4 place squeezable ketchup and/or mustard, sliced pickles and sliced cheese within easy reach in work station to assemble slyders quickly when needed; trim or cut american cheese to fit slyders (i usually trim the edges only, but to economize you may cut cheese slices into 4 small portions).
• 5 divide one package (12) sara lee classic dinner rolls using a sharp knife for crisp clean edges; cut each roll to a 1/3 slice for the bottom half, leaving 2/3 for the top bun; replace bun tops; arrange buns on a clean platter.
• 6 insert a second baking sheet, inverted, over prepared baking sheet with meat and onions to prevent spatter and to help steam; carefully transfer the baking sheets containing beef mixture into preheated oven wearing oven mitts; close oven door.
• 7 steam-bake beef patties for about 7-8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink (patties will shrink slightly upon cooking); remove from oven; move baking sheet with cooked patties into work station.
• 8 lift each beef patty with a slotted spatula and place over bottom buns; place a slice of cheese over each onion-topped meat patty diagonally; arrange dill pickle slices over cheese.
• 9 squeeze 1 teaspoon mustard or 1 teaspoon ketchup evenly onto inner top bun; place one meat patty over each bottom bun using a slotted spatula; set bun tops atop assembled slyders.
• 10 warm prepared slyers on platter in microwave at 100% power only until warmed and cheese has melted (about 15 seconds); serve warm slyders immediately and enjoy!