On New Year’s Day, I made sliders from the 4 corners of the world. It inspired me to find the top ten international sliders to share with you.

The key to an international slider is what flavors the basic hamburger patty. I make sliders by using small dinner rolls, but there are many specialty stores that carry slider buns as well.

Your basic hamburger uses good quality ground beef with at least 15% fat content, to ensure lots of juicy flavor. I put minced onion in as well, and sometimes when I am feeling adventurous I use minced garlic. In fact, the Canadian slider below also uses garlic. Other than that, I like to use a fun salt – like pink hawaiian sea salt, and a fair amount of pepper. That’s it for me – upon this temple of meat flavor, these ten international sliders add unique ingredients that give them a special flavor…have fun!

10-Iceland Sliders
The key to an Icelandic slider is the sauce – specifically, a hamburger sauce called hamborgarasósa. One Icelandic dictionary says it has water, egg yolk, tomato concentrate, mustard, vinegar, and spices in it. My thought: If you want to get carried away, add a chip of ice to this one and you are a true Reykjavik!

9-Indian Sliders
Lots of indian spices make this stand out. Here is a recipe that lays out the unique flavors to add to your slider:
3 lbs ground beef
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh ginger , peeled and minced
1/4 cup minced scallion top
1/2 cup firmly packed chopped cilantro leaf , soft stems included

8-French Slider
For me, a french slider has crumbled blue cheese mixed into the meat before you grill. What happens is the cheese melts while the meat is cooking, creating a oozy blue creaminess that also forms a bit of a crust…so crusty blue cheese on the outside, and oozy goodness inside. Score! If you want to go crazy you can wipe a slice of foie gras on the bun as well, but I don’t add anything else.

7-Spanish Sliders – Hamburguesa
Spanish flavors take this to a wholen ew level – olive tapenade gets spread on top of the cooked slider…you can find recipes for making it, or you can buy it in a jar, but it includes black olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice – cook the burger first with Manchego cheese (a sheep’s milk cheese from the La Mancha region in Spain) and Jamón Iberico, (Iberico ham – prosciutto-like ham that comes from Spanish black pigs). Take a bite and you will wake up in Barcelona…

6-Italian Slider – Ciao Bella!
Make your burger like usual, but before cooking add Italian seasonings like basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary…add mozzarella cheese, and garlic powder is a nice touch as well…the final touch, if you choose, is to add a wipe of warm marinara sauce to the bottom bun…you can also top with sautéed bell pepper and onion,or for a stronger flavor, substitute the mozzarella for some sharp provolone cheese.

5-Korean Barbecue Sliders

When I was in Seoul, we ate every night at a korean BBQ, where you grill your own meats and seafoods on the round grill embedded in your table, then wrap the grilled food around lettuce or thinly sliced pickled vegetables. Taking that as an inspiration, Korean sliders are best when you add pickled cucumbers, a splash of rice vinegar and kimchi.

4-German Sliders
The key to this one is to add sauerkraut to the top of the burger. You are now German! This recipe uses a bit of beer, some Muenster cheese and pumpernickel buns as well…

1-1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup soft rye or pumpernickel bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. beer
1/2 tsp. caraway seed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. mustard
6 slices Muenster or Swiss cheese
6 pumpernickel sandwich buns

3-The All-American Bacon-Cheeseburger Slider!

What can you say? Build it this way and you are golden:

Top Bun
Cheese – melted and dripping
Bacon! Bacon! Bacon!
Slider Patty
Tomato
Pickle
Mayonaise, mayonaise, mayonaise!
Bottom Bun

See that? DO NOT DEVIATE – this is perfection.

2-Japanese Slider

I read about this over the holidays and I made one…it was delicious! It is very simple: a slider patty topped with sliced avocado, and a heavy dose of wasabi mayoniaise. Trader Joe’s sells it, or buy some great mayo and wasabi and mix it together to the strength you can handle…this is delicious with a Sapporo!

1-Australian sliders

I uncovered these two years ago in Melbourne. They add a slice of beetroot – OK, we call it beet, they call it beetroot – add a slice underneath the burger. It adds a great, slightly sweet and nutty flavor to the taste. Everything else is the same – add cheddar cheese, tomato, lettuce if you like – and if you want to go totally Aussie, add a fried egg on top….the best!

Try these out and let me know what you think!

Categories: BACON, Food, Hamburgers, Recipes

Tags: Bacon, Cheeseburgers, Hamburger recipes, hamburger sliders, recipes, travel