Buffalo Sliders with Blue Cheese Slaw

Burgers meet Buffalo Chicken Wings! What better combination for a game-day appetizer?!

1/4 cup buffalo hot sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 cups shredded coleslaw mix (or finely shredded green cabbage)

1/2 cup blue cheese dressing

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck or sirloin

Vegetable oil, for the grates

8 mini-hamburger rolls, split in half

In small bowl whisk together the hot sauce and mayonnaise. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Place the slaw in a medium bowl. Add the blue cheese dressing and crumbled blue cheese. Toss until evenly coated. Season with the salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Place the ground beef in a large bowl. Generously season with salt and pepper. Divide the meat into 8 equal portions. Being careful not to overwork or compact the meat too much, pat each portion into a 3/4-inch thick patty.

Preheat a clean grill to medium-high with the lid closed for 8 to 10 minutes. Lightly brush the grates with oil.

Place the burgers on the grill. Close the lid and cook, turning once, until the desired temperature is reached, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium. About 1 minute before the burgers are done, place the buns, cut-side down, on the grill and cook until lightly toasted.

To serve, spoon the buffalo mayonnaise on the bottom half of the buns. Place the burgers on each bottom half, and top each burger with a spoonful of the blue cheese slaw and the bun tops. Serve warm.

Serves 6.

Variation: For a leaner burger, substitute ground turkey for the ground beef. Since turkey is so lean, be sure to use ground turkey that is at least 7 percent fat. Using anything leaner will result in dry burgers. I also recommend adding 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs to help the ground turkey hold together better on the grill.

Cooking Tip: You can always use a bottled blue cheese dressing, but it is really easy to make a homemade version. See for my recipe.