Grilled Beet Sliders

I had never even heard of beet sliders before the time I hosted a party where I was serving pork sliders and learned that at least two of my guests were vegetarians. I had to come up with a vegetarian slider that I could serve them. Luckily, around that same time, I saw an episode of “Triple D” also known as “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” that featured a restaurant known, among other things, for their beet sliders. I checked out their recipe which was featured on the Food Network website.

I have grilled beets before as a side dish and really liked them. So this looked like it could be a good solution for my vegetarian challenge. I tried it out at home and found them to be really good. I did change the original recipe slightly by adding a small amount of arugula to the sandwich. I served the sliders at the party and they were a huge hit. In fact, we ran out of the beet sliders before the pulled pork sliders were half gone. Maybe I accidentally converted some meat-eaters to vegetarians that night!

Since that party, I’ve made a few other adjustments to the way I make them. I now grill the sliced beets on my outdoor gas grill instead of cooking them in a skillet.

The one major thing I did was to simplify the recipe for the liquid that the beets are cooked in. I used seasoned salt instead of all the vegetables and seasonings called for in the original recipe. I have compared the two versions and it seems to me (and others who have tasted them) that the one cooked in just a seasoned salt has a more robust, and slightly sweeter flavor.

Also, I changed the proportions of the ingredients in the Green Goddess Dressing to make it thicker and added fresh garlic.

I really like serving sliders at cocktail parties, it makes it easy to serve people who are eating at all different times during the party. I have served meat sliders many times over the past several years. Whenever I need a vegetarian version I make the beet sliders. The beet version always gets eaten up first. It’s pretty amazing that a simple root vegetable in a sandwich can win out over Kalua pulled pork or pot roast sliders.

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Ingredients

6 Large Beets
2 Tablespoons Seasoned Salt
2 Dozen Slider Buns
1/2 Medium Red Onion (sliced thin)
1 Bag Arugula Lettuce
1 Batch Green Goddess Dressing (see recipe below)

Directions


Cut the top & bottoms off the beets and then remove skin.

Add beets and seasoned salt to a pot full of water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 1 hour or until the beets are tender. Allow beets to cool, then slice them in 1/2 inch slices. I usually get 4 sliders out of 1 beet.

Grill beats over high heat for about 3 minutes per side.

Toast slider buns.

Make sandwiches and serve

Enjoy.

Green Goddess Dressing

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Ingredients

1 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice (fresh)
2 Cloves Garlic
1/4 Cup Parsley (fresh)
4 Green Onions (fresh)
2 Tablespoons Tarragon (fresh)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Directions


Add all ingedients to a food processor and process until completely blended. Scrape down the sides once or twice.

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.