Let’s talk about small things with big impact.
Baby cats: fluffy, hoppy, wide-eyed, clever, undeniably cute… we’ll call them kittens and let them rule the Internet.
Baby dogs: dopey, big-pawed, gregarious, and sweet… we’ll call them puppies and occasionally let them interact with baby cats on the Internet because we like variety in our fluff.
Baby burgers: bite-sized but ample, party-ready, Summer-ready, totally snackable, someone please inflate the pool toys, did you bring beer, these are perfect … we’ll call them sliders and make them by the dozens and wave our neighbors over to get in on the goodness.
This recipe is from Jon’s new book The Slider Effect which is home to some fantastically imagined small sandwiches perfect for this seasons snacking enjoyment.
Cheddar Potato Biscuits are buttery, sharp and rich, salty and tender. They’re all the good biscuit words.
Split in half and layered with saucey meatloaf, sweet tomatoes and crisp lettuce. Are you already daydreaming these in your weekend. Gosh I hope so!
We’re going to start with biscuits.
One of the best tricks Jon has shown me in the kitchen has to do with biscuits. Pshaw… I thought I knew everything.
Jon uses a potato masher to quickly blend the dry ingredients and (more importantly) mash the butter into the flour mixture.
It’s cleaner on the hands and really just comes together in a flash! Try it. It’s a gem of a trick.
As with all good biscuits, cold butter is key. I use unsalted butter to control the salt I add to the biscuits.
For more on that wizardry, see: Why We Use Unsalted Butter. Knowledge is power when it comes to butter and baking.
The cold butter will be just about the size of peas. Still chilled and ready for more.
These sliders will use a big ol’ roasted potato in two ways: grated into the biscuits and grated into the turkey sliders.
I roasted the potato the day before, cooled it to room temperature, peeled, and grated on the coarse side of a box grater.
The potato adds a starchy creaminess to the biscuits. It’s a very good idea.
Where would a potato biscuit be without a hearty amount of grated sharp cheddar cheese?
We’re simulated baked potatoes with the butter, cheddar, and soured dairy.
Buttermilk is added to the buttery biscuit batter. It’s cold too. Mind on temperature to ensure that the butter stays cold so the biscuits lift hiiigh.
The dough is slightly sticky so try not to overmix it in the bowl. I bring the biscuits to this shaggy mixture and then turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, knead it for a few turns then press to about a 1-inch thickness.
2 1/4-inch biscuits rounds and the biscuit scraps are re-rolled to make more biscuits. Not a scrap to waste just because they’re so delicious.
The biscuits are placed on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked to golden and melty.
It’s hard not to nibble on one but I promise it’s worth the meatloaf wait!
Meatloaf time!
I used a pound of dark ground turkey meat (I like the extra dose of fat for moisture), the remaining grated roasted potato (about 1 heaping cup), and sauteed onions and garlic.
Ketchup, mustard, milk-doused bread crumbs, eggs, plus plenty of salt and pepper.
Worcestershire sauce add a bright savory quality to the meatloaf so certainly don’t skip!
Portioned with a large cookie scoop, these patties are about 1/3 cup each and shaped (I totally used my hands) into 2-inch wide disks.
To top the biscuits: ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Like special sauce for meatloaf keeping things moist and flavorful.
Assembly goes a little something like this.
Gather round and make your own!
So so so good. Like childhood’s meatloaf dinner and potato wrapped up in one fine sandwich. The biscuits are tender and proportioned to not overwhelm the turkey meatloaf in the slider. With fresh tomato and crisp lettuce, I promise you’ll get through these in about four bites. Just when you wonder if the biscuit might give way, you’re done! That’s the sign of a good slider.
Print
Turkey Meatloaf Sliders with Cheddar Potato Biscuits
- Prep Time: 45
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
For the Biscuits
- 1 heaping cup grated potato*
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup buttermilk
For the Meatloaf
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 heaping cup grated potato
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
For the Topping
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
- pinch of salt
For the Sandwich
- Iceburg lettuce leaves
- 3 tomatoes, sliced
Instructions
- *Wrap a large russett potato in foil and bake until tender through. Test by inserting a knife through the potato until it is soft throughout. This takes about 40 to 50 minutes depending on the size of your potato. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before peeling.
- (I baked my potato the day before making these biscuits and meatloaf and the cooled potato was easy to grate on a box grater.)
- To make the biscuits, first place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Add the cold butter and cut the butter into the mixture using a pastry blender or potato masher until the dough resembles coarse crumbs the size of peas.
- Add the grated potato and cheese and toss to combine
- Add the buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It may be sticks, but don’t panic. Transfer to a well-floured work surface and knead a few times to smooth out. Fold the dough onto itself about 4 times, turning clockwise after each fold and patting the dough with your hands until it’s about 3/4-inch thick.
- Use a 2-inch round biscuit cutter to cut rounds. Re-rolling any scraps to make more biscuits.
- Place on a prepared baking sheet and brush generously with melted butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake biscuits for 12 minutes until risen and golden. Allow to rest on the pan until cool enough to handle.
- To make the meatloaf, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small skillet over medium heat, warm olive oil. Add onions and saute until they are transluscent and begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine breadcrumbs and milk. Let stand for about 5 minutes. Add the turkey, grated potato, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and onion and garlic mixture.
- Mix by hand or with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined.
- Use a large cookie scoop to portion balls into prepared baking sheet. Balls will be about 1/3 cup in size. Use your hands to pat into a roughly 2-inch disk, leaving about 2-inches in between each patty.
- In a small bowl whisk together ketchup, mustard, brown sugar and salt. Brush the top of each patty with mixture.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until cooked through. Allow to cool just slightly before assembling the sandwiches.
- To assemble the sliders, split each biscuit in half. Brush half of the biscuits with mustard if you’d like. Top with a meatloaf patty, tomato slices, and a few lettuce leaves. Top with the top biscuit and skewer with a pick. Enjoy slightly warm.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
Madison Mama
The sliders were delicious! Thanks for a yummy recipe for the lowly (but cheaper and healthier) ground turkey! I made only the sliders because I already had some biscuits prepared. I will definitely plan to make these again because I ran out of time (and oven space) and so I cooked the sliders on the stove top. Again, they were very tasty but they were a little too moist (a “problem” I was glad to have with ground turkey, which is usually too dry) which had them feeling mushy, especially when put on a biscuit. So I will definitely bake them next time because I think they really needed the drier oven environment and then they would have been fine. We ate them with pickles and sliced tomatoes, which was yummy. I also did not have any lettuce on hand, which would have added some desired texture to balance out the mush-factor. I think if I make it again as written it will be stellar!
M
What a kickass recipe!! My biscuits didn’t rise quite as much as Joy’s (perhaps I overworked them? Or rolled them too flat? I have a good biscuit track record but you never know…it’s a science after all), but I was still able to slice them carefully with a sharp knife and didn’t have any problems with breakage. The potato makes it a hardy, yet still pillowy biscuit that stands up to the meatloaf. For me, this yielded 14 biscuits (I used the top of a glass cup with a 2 and 3/8ths inch mouth) and 13 meatloaves. I also baked the potato a day in advance and let it cool in the fridge, so it grated wonderfully (I didn’t even peel it – just grated the skin, too!). I used sharp cheddar cheese, but I expect any hard or semi-hard cheese would be delicious, such as gruyere, monterey jack, even swiss. Definitely agree with adding a dollop of mustard on the biscuit before assembly.
You both are awesomeness, but in particular a big thanks to Jon for inventiveness and Joy for sharingness!
Terry
making these now. i wasn’t sure if the potato used in the meatloaf was to be cooked or not? i didn’t see any mention of it in the recipe itself, so i threw it in uncooked. then read thru the photo/recipe portion-i’m guessing it should have been cooked? and well, it’s too hot to turn my oven on, so i am throwing them on the grill with no real idea how long to cook turkey, wish me luck. but i had to make them. sounds delicious!!!
Anne Sofie
Wov… that looks tastfull. I almost feel like going home an making it right away.
I will probably make it with chicken instead of turkey as I have some really great chicken from my neighbor.
Thanks for sharing!
Patty
So glad you featured a slider recipe from Jon’s new book. He is really on to something with these wonderful bites of delicious. I want to try each and every recipe.
joythebaker
Hi Mom!
Chris
Baby burgers. What a brilliant way to use up leftover baby! I mean, they’re delicious and everything, but I can hardly ever eat a whole one in a single sitting…
Emily
holy smokes this looks amazing!
Moore or Less Cooking
Biscuits and meatloaf, my two favorites! Love the potato addition in both! Nettie
Jon Melendez
I see you dancing. Also, I love you.
allison shayne
Joy you are amazing in every way!we want to make these as soon as possible!!!
Would it be possible to make the batter for the biscuits the night before?Thank you for lovely yummy blog!!!
Ally
Jackie
Those look amazing! Any suggestions for a different type of cheese?
searedandshameless
oh my god meatloaf. To this day, I could kill half an entire meatloaf with no problem.
https://www.searedandshameless.com