Recipe: Smash burger sliders

Our recent The Davises Eat episode is all about our favorites... and they all relate to Kansas.

Our next stop along the American heritage virtual culinary tour is Kansas!

I use various resources to research the traditional foods of each state we showcase on our live broadcast, The Davises Eat. Kansas, being near the heartland and technically still in the Midwest, is a lot like home. Kansans eat nearly all the same foods the rest of us do in the Midwest - fried chicken, beef, chicken fried steak, chicken and noodles, and the list goes on.

When it came to foods we wanted to showcase, we went a different route. “Favorites” was the theme of the evening with a nod to my favorite fast food slider, White Castle. White Castle opened in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. Billy Ingram launched his burger restaurant with only $700 and sold his sliders for 5 cents each. The burgers are thin and covered with bits of cooked onions that lend a very different flavor compared to other burgers.

We mimicked the 1921 slider by cooking the onions in with the burgers. Then we added melty white American cheese, mushrooms, and barbeque sauce all on a pretzel bun. The bun was more of a nod to my German heritage than anything else… and they’re delicious!

These sliders should be prepared on a griddle or hot cast iron pan to achieve the crust that makes them so delicious. Pretzel buns add just a touch of sweetness along with the savory bomb from the onions and mushrooms. It’s an incredible combination. 

We served our sliders alongside grilled green onions and red bell peppers.