The other day, my wife and I were hiking through the woods towards the Delaware river for a nice scenic view when I apparently blurted out, “SLIDERS WITH ZUCCHINI AS THE BUN!” I honestly don’t know where the idea came from or why it came in that moment…but my wife said, “YES!” so I had to make it happen. I’m glad I did…They were really different and really tasty!
These little guys are perfect as an hors d’oeuvre, or if you put enough of them on your plate as an entree! We went the entree route. As with most of our recipes, you’ve got a lot of customizable options: Choice of Burger Type, choice of toppings, and choice of condiments. Heck, if you really want to make an array, why not make multiple different sliders for your meal?
We served this with a spinach side salad topped with alfalfa sprouts, yellow cherry tomatoes, and crispy red pepper chips.
Time: 45 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Zucchini (You want a larger round one since the cross-sectional slices will dictate the size of your sliders)
- 1-2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- Eggs (we needed about 2 eggs for 8 sliders)
- Bread Crumbs
- Ground Meat of your Choice. We used pork.
- Seasonings for your meat…We used Salt and Pepper.
- Condiment(s) of your choice. We used whole grain dijon mustard and ketchup.
Method:
- Begin by mixing your meat and seasonings together, and forming them into small patties (about the same size around as your zucchini). Set those aside on a plate, wash your hands well, and turn your full and undivided attention to your zucchini.
- Bread your zucchini:
- Set up your breading stations:
- Crack and beat an egg in one bowl.
- Put your flour in another.
- Pour your bread crumbs in a third.
- Slice your zucchini into rounds (about 1/4 inch thick). You’ll have to do some math here to figure out how many you need based on your number of burger patties from step 1.
- Working a couple at a time, coat your zucchini with flour, and then move into your egg bowl.
- Coat with egg, and then move them to your bread crumbs bowl.
- Shake the bread crumbs bowl around, flip, and shake again.
- When your first set of zucchini discs are breaded, set them aside on a cutting board, and move on to the next batch. Do this until all of your zucchini is breaded.
- Set up your breading stations:
- Pour about 1/4 inch of oil in the bottom of your Dutch Oven, and heat it until it gets to about 350 degrees F. Make sure it doesn’t get much hotter, or it’ll burn your zucchini….make sure it doesn’t get too much cooler, or you’ll end up with soggy zucchini.
- Carefully place your first batch of zucchini in a single layer in your oil. Allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side, and then use long tongs to flip. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- As your first batch of zucchini cooks, heat another skillet with some oil, and place your burger patties in to cook. You’ll want to cook these for about 4 minutes per side.
- When your first batch of zucchini finishes (crispy and golden brown), move it onto a metal baking rack with a paper towel underneath to drip any excess grease. Then, cook your next batch in the same way as the first.
- As your second batch of zucchini cooks, flip your burgers.
- When all of your zucchini is fried, and your burgers are fully cooked (minimum internal cooked temperature of 165 degrees F), you’re good to go!
- Build, plate, devour, and enjoy!
