I’ve been bitten by the slider bug. Last weekend I had the most delectable sliders when I was in Seattle:
- Cod BLT’s by Chef Jason Wilson of Crush and Alaska Seafood. I don’t know what was in those sliders besides the obvious ingredients by the title, but those sliders were amazing. I shamelessly when back for seconds and felt beastly to go back for thirds. Paired with a glass Cabernet Sauvignon and I was good to go for the evening.
- Seattle based Skillet sliders with their signature bacon spread – aka bacon jam. Wow! One bite and not only did my eyes widen, my senses went into red alert. The bacon jam was the ticket and my plans are to have a couple of jars sent home so I can try to recreate that experience for Hubby too.
I don’t attend many happy hours these days or dine at restaurants serving sliders, so the slider fascination is new to me. Maybe the two I tried were the exception and not to be confused that all sliders are that good, but I appreciate the planned out explosion of synchronized flavors neatly stacked between mini-buns. They are portion controlled bites packed with thoughtful flavor combinations.
I happened upon a pack of smaller sized bread buns at a local market and have read that Trader Joe’s also carries slider buns. I’ll be checking out Trader Joe’s tomorrow to see what’s available, but I haven’t been able to find good quality artisan style mini-slider buns. The bread really does have to be exceptional to make these extra special.
So, inspired by my slider experiences, I created my own sliders. Hubby grilled up a Morton’s of Omaha Steakhouse Classic Marinated Tri-Tip that we brought home from Costco and we assembled a combination of ingredients that gave us bites of succulent Tri-tip that is slightly salty with a slice or two of fresh, sweet figs. Top those two ingredients with a slice of tomato, pungent crumbled Gorgonzola and 4-5 leaves of fresh spinach…WALLA! (There you have it!)
- If fresh figs are not in season or attainable, a good fig or plum jam would work! Spread it under the crown.
- You will have plenty of Tri-Tip leftover. This may be a good little something to make with leftover Tri-Tip or will make you enough little sliders for the following evenings (depending on how many you’re making/serving). Please Note: Like most Costco items/products – the Marinated Tri-Tip may be subject to availability in your area and season.
Servings 4 (2 sliders a person)
8 Slider buns
Morton’s Marinated Tri-Tip from Costco
mayonnaise
2 – 3 fresh figs, sliced lengthwise
2 large tomatoes, stems removed and thinly sliced
Gorgonzola cheese
40 fresh baby spinach leaves, stems removed
Prepare Marinated Tri-Tip
Preheat grill to 400 degrees. Prepare marinated Tri-Tip according to packaged directions. Use a probe thermometer to gauge for medium rare to medium cooking time or 138 degrees. Pull off grill and let the meat sit for at least 15 minutes before slicing (let meat rest before slicing or you will lose all the juices).
Toast Slider Buns
Set oven to broil. Place slider buns on baking sheet, separating the buns so that they are open-faced upwards. Broil until light toasty (watch the buns in the oven, don’t leave them unattended!). This should take about 1-2 minutes.
Assemble Sliders
Start with the heels of the buns (bottoms). Spread mayonnaise on heels, follow with a sliced piece of Tri-Tip. Place 1-2 slices of fresh figs on Tri-Tip followed by a slice of tomato. Crumble or slice Gorgonzola and place on top of tomato, followed by 5 fanned out leaves of spinach.
Serve immediately while the Tri-Tip is warm and juicy! Pair it with a 2007 Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon or a frosty glass of Blue Moon, Belgian White Ale, garnished with an orange slice. Good eats, indeed!
{ 55 comments… read them below or add one }
These sound amazing!
Yet another incredibly creative use for figs! These look mouthwatering, Cristina… I could go for a couple for lunch right now. Yum, yum!
These would be great for a party~love all of these flavors all together between one tiny bun!
Do you ship these? Oh, my! These are making me hungry at a very early hour! :) Wish you were coming to FBF this weekend! Would love to see you again!!
Cristina your pictures just keep getting better and better — I LOVE BURGERS and I’ve realized I like sliders even more because I can eat more of them and not feel too bad about it…excuse my faulty reasoning somehow it makes much more sense in my head :)
These look delicious I can only imagine the flavors of the gorgonzola with the sweet figs — beautifuL!
Oh my gosh, those look amazing! I just want to eat them all up!
genius! this looks fantastic:)
Those looks awesome. What a delightful combination of flavors.
I’ve never thought gorgonzola cheese with figs – this is a delicious combination salty and sweet with the slider :)
Cheers,
Gera
What a great combo! We love fixing sliders and addition of figs and blue cheese is a winner.
OMG, girl. How are you ever going to stay skinny making fabulous little sandwiches like these? Tri-tip figs aaand gorgonzola? Okay, maybe just one little taste!
Great photos, too. As usual!
{LOL!!} Thanks Sortachef. They are little morsel of goodness all packed under a tiny bun.
I’ve had to start working out longer and more often…it’s catching up!
Sliders are a regular around our place.. we just call ‘em mini burgers :) and we use the Hawaiian bread rolls you can find in grocery stores.. they’re the perfect size! We’re always looking for new ingredients and creations though and I love the use of figs!
Thanks Evan: I’ve been thinking about those Hawaiian bread rolls..luv those! Those rolls are like bacon – I think they’d go good with anything.
Also, thx for the msg – I took care of your request. ;)
Beautifully done! I love all these ingredients and will have to try this soon, thanks:)
Wow, you have everything that I like here…figs, tri-tip and cheese…what a great combination…super yummie!
These look awesome – such a fun flavor combination! I am getting some fresh figs tomorrow, this is a great idea!
Be still my heart! I love mini anything, but especially sliders. And gorgonzola and fig sounds brilliant.
I loved those Cod BLTs too, btw. I wanted to hide a bunch of them in my purse!
{LOL!} Christina, weren’t they though…I felt the same way too about those Cod BLTs.
I was feeling a bit embarrassed how many times I went back to linger around the Crush platters. I tried photographing them and Chef even helped set up the shot, but to no avail. If my hands weren’t so tied up with little plates of various deliciousness, trying to handle a dslr camera and glass of wine, I would’ve plopped several more on a plate, and either run to find a private corner or run back to my room to enjoy them more! ;)
Love the sliders and another beautiful Top 9 capture!
I’m loving this recent Tapa’s craze. Sliders totally fit the bill! TJ’s does indeed sell the mini burger buns, I haven’t used them though, so I can’t vouch for how good they are, but they are darn cute. I’m really liking your addition of the gorgonzola! Nicely done!
Hi Kim..thanks for the tip-off on TJ and their mini-buns. I gotta get over there and check ‘em out! :o)
These look really good! I love the combination of fig and gorgonzola. Let me know if you find slider buns at Trader Joes. I may have to try to put some together.
We all knew this was a winner! Congrats on the Top 9, Cristina!
Thanks Priscilla…much appreciated!
Wow! That is an amazing slider. Very creative on using tri-tip.
Thanks Jason…you know it had to be Hubby inspired using Tri-Tip and wanting to grill it! :)
WOW – these sliders look amazing and I bet they tasted even better. Congrats on the TOP 9!!!
Thanks Lisa…how did you know so early?
Mmm, you already had me at fig and gorgonzola, but tri-tip too??? Do you realize what slider nirvana you have reached with these? I’ll take a half dozen, please :)
{LOL!} I will send YOU a baker’s dozen! Thanks, Liren :)
Awesome sliders! I love the addition of gorgonzola and fig!
Your beautiful photographs, with their simple composition are such an inspiration to me. In fact, you are close to making this non-meat eater a converted man with these awesome looking sliders.
{LOL} Thank you Brian!! I’m going to create a combination of sliders that you can enjoy, without meat! :)
Sounds yummy!
I don’t like gorgonzola cheese but these buns are making me hungry, it’s incredible!
Hi Tania: How about blue cheese or some other very pungent type cheese will do as a great compliment to a salty meat and sweetness of the figs. :)
Love the sliders with the gorgonzola and figs. Your recipes have been inspiring this summer. Thanks so much for sharing.
Joanne
Thank you Joanne. I had a lot of fun working with figs and am sad that their season is so short. I’ve only just discovered them and have an appreciation for them. :)
I’m loving all these inspirational fig recipes lately! These sliders sound incredible, especially with gorgonzola!
The addition of figs and gorgonzola elevate these sliders to a more sophisticated status! They look delicious as do your beautiful photos.
I love slides, and I love how they have the figs and cheese on them, great combo!
-Gina-
A wonderful choice of ingredients for sliders and another beautiful example of putting figs to good use in the kitchen :)
Cristina…you pegged this one just right. One can never go wrong with the pairing of gorgonzola and figs…yummy.
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
This looks just fantastic
The sliders look fantastic! I like the ingredients sandwiched in between.
(pouting) Am I the only one who didn’t get the bacon jam on her slider? I swear mine was without. I would have noticed. These look fabulous and great photos.
{LOL!!!} Whaaaat? You didn’t get the bacon jam on your slider? I don’t know what to say…it really was good {still laughing}. Thanks Victoria. Since you are fortunate to have Skillet so close, you must track them down and have a taste of that slider w/that bacon spread. When you do, will you send a couple my way FEDEX? ;)
I like it… 2 sliders a person :)
It’s really not a fair portion serving…I can eat three without blinking (I can be shameless) :o)
OH oh oh, I am totally drooling! I know what you mean about being ‘new’ to sliders but completely loving them. I had some awesome bacon cheeseburger sliders at a Trulucks a few months ago and could not stop thinking about them afterwards. Yours look amazing, and I love the photos!
Mmm. Little bacon cheeseburger sliders sound good. I’m not sure if they’re really portion control when I feel like they are small and could 2-3! I’m on a slider binge :)
These are so great…and yet another wonderful use for figs :) Beautiful pairing with the choice of cheese…
olala…look at all these petite cuties! They are great for a kid’s birthday party!
Excellent photography!
I love all things mini (including your cute name…teenie cakes!) and so of course I’m a huge fan of sliders. I can only imagine how great this must taste with the figs and the gorgonzola cheese. They look stunning and I’m sure they taste even better!