Whether it was because St. Patrick's Day festivities had you making corned beef or after-holiday sales made corned beef a great inexpensive option, you may have found yourself with a large quantity of delightfully salty meat recently. While it's truly lovely on its own and I highly recommend making it in your slow cooker sometime, I'm also a fan of making everything from corned beef hash to the myriad of sandwiches that are out there with the leftovers. But with sliders taking on a new popularity at restaurants and home alike, I figured it was high time corned beef got its chance to star in a special variety all its own:
The slaw I suggest for this recipe involves a fair number of ingredients and you could certainly opt for something less involved. However, do yourself a favor and try it this way at least once. You won't be disappointed. Fun ingredients like capers, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts really shine, especially when coated with a lighter, tangier dressing than your average cole slaw. I like this version so much, I'm likely to make it the standard accompaniment for fish fries and fish tacos. So yeah, try the slaw.
Apart from the yummy slaw, fun ingredients like pretzel rolls, spicy-sweet mustard, and buffalo-spiced cheddar (or some other spicy variety cheese) get a chance to play with the slaw and the corned beef. It's one of those times when you start with a strongly-flavored item and just keep layering on the flavor!
Depending on the size of the rolls and your appetite, two to four of these sliders will make a very generous meal. Since it's basically dressed up pub food, French fries (or sweet potato fries!), kettle chips, or more slaw would make a nice accompaniment, as well as a pickle or two. If you're in the mood for a pint of beer, this would also pair nicely with the meal. Me? A hard cider completes the picture. Enjoy sliding home!
Corned Beef Sliders
- 8 small pretzel rolls
- 4 tsp. spicy-sweet mustard
- 2/3 lb. corned beef - sliced thinly
- 8 slices pepper jack or other spicy cheese (you can opt for a non-spicy cheese, but we really liked the buffalo-spiced cheddar we used)
- 2 c. chopped red cabbage
- 2 carrots - peeled into thin strips
- 1/2 T. capers - drained
- 2 T. diced sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 T. toasted pine nuts
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Salt - to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Slice the rolls and arrange them on a baking sheet. Add a half a teaspoon of mustard to each roll, 2-3 slices of corned beef, and a slice of spicy cheese. Set the tops of the rolls over the meat and cheese and bake the sliders for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
While the sandwiches are baking, combine all of the ingredients for the slaw and mix them together to combine and form a tangy dressing. Set aside.
Immediately upon removing the sliders from the oven, add 1-2 generous spoonfuls of the slaw to the top of the melted cheese, return the top of the rolls, and serve immediately.
- Yields: 8 sliders (2-4 sliders will make one serving, depending on your appetite)
- Preparation Time: 20 minutes