Napa Farmhouse 1885™: Buffalo Sliders with Bacon & Cheddar

In honor of this Sunday's Super Bowl, Food Network is asking for sliders recipes at Comfort Food Feast. Many of you know I have 2 food blogs so I have been experimenting all week with different slider combinations to pick my favorites to post. One of the winners is also the simplest...freshly ground buffalo with crispy bacon, grilled onions, and sharp cheddar cheese. Buffalo is much leaner than beef so the fresh, clean, light taste works nicely with the bacon and cheese. If you have not tried buffalo before, give it a chance. It is readily available at better markets, butcher shops and gourmet food stores.

Sliders are mini-burgers, perfect as an appetizer, part of a buffet, or a full meal allowing you to eat more than one. Don't you think a Slider Bar is a cool & fun idea? My Super Bowl menu this year will include three different slider recipes...buffalo, buffalo chicken and a vegetarian marinated grilled mushroom. Sliders, nachos, purple cabbage slaw, popcorn with olive oil, brownies and apple & pear crisp will be ready in time for the game...how good does that sound? Check out my Red or Green? blog for my Buffalo Chicken Sliders with Bacon & Celery recipe. Notice the bacon...again? I think there is a rule that bacon must be served in abundance on Super Bowl Sunday!

You can do a lot of the preparation in advance so you are able to be out of the kitchen prior to the game. We agree that, this day only, the commercials are as important as the game, right?. Plus the 8 hours of pre-game commentary must be on as background noise...right? So, form and season the buffalo patties in the morning, cover and keep refrigerated until 30 minutes before cooking. Slice the onion 4 hours before cooking, cover with saran wrap and keep in fridge. Prep the cheese, slice the rolls and you are ready to go.

Buffalo Sliders with Bacon & Cheddar
(makes 6 sliders, double, triple, etc to make as many as you need)

Ingredients
3 slices thick cut bacon
1/2 white onion sliced into 1/2 rings
1 lb ground buffalo, formed into 6 thick patties the size of the rolls.
6 slider buns or dinner rolls, sliced in half lengthwise
6 slices sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 2 in x 2 in squares
mustard or mayo
sea salt
black pepper

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add bacon to large skillet and cook over med-high heat until crisp, turning once. Remove from skillet and place on paper towel line plate to drain. Break each slice in half. Drain off all but 2 tbsp bacon fat. Cook the onions in the skillet with the remaining bacon fat until soft and beginning to caramelize. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions from skillet and drain on plate with bacon. Set aside.

Season the buffalo patties generously with salt and pepper. Cook in the skillet with bacon fat over medium-high heat for 4 minutes. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes or until cooked to your preference. *Note, buffalo is very lean. Do not overcook. Because I like my patties rather thick it takes exactly 6 minutes for medium rare. Place a slice of cheese over each patty during the last 2 minutes of cooking time.

While the patties are cooking, place buns/rolls on baking sheet and warm in oven 1-2 minutes.

Assembly:
Spread mayo or mustard over bottom buns. Place a patty on top of each bun. Top with onions, bacon and bun top and serve.

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I live in a two team home. Peter is a huge Denver Broncos fan...I love the San Francisco 49ers. This could have been an interesting game but, sadly, we were robbed by Seattle.(That is my story and I am sticking with it!) :) So this year we are united in rooting for the Broncos....but Mosey is really a Niners fan! Enjoy the game everyone.....