By The business is coming back. Slowly, like the bayou after a drought. Construction resumed in June, and the phone started ringing: homeowners who spent quarantine staring at their electrical problems and deciding they couldn't wait anymore. Service calls first, then small renovations, then the new construction that had been on hold. By July, Beaumont Electrical was running at 80% capacity, and by August, full. Every employee kept. Every paycheck honored. The PPP loan helped (Danielle filed it in April, because Danielle is the kind of woman who files government paperwork the day it becomes available, which is the kind of woman every business needs and most businesses don't deserve).
Made a summer feast for the crew — the end-of-COVID-hiatus celebration: seventy pounds of crawfish, boudin balls, grilled andouille, Danielle's coleslaw. Everyone in the driveway. Masks off (vaccines coming, numbers dropping, the cautious optimism of a state that has been through hurricanes and knows that the end of a crisis doesn't arrive with a press conference but with a crawfish boil). DeShawn brought his girlfriend. Marcus brought his newborn — a baby boy, born during quarantine, who I held for the first time at a crawfish boil, which is the most Louisiana origin story a child can have.
The crawfish and andouille get all the glory at a Louisiana boil, but the truth is, feeding a crew that size means having something in your back pocket for the folks who show up early or the ones still hungry after the shells are cleared — and these mini party burgers are exactly that. After a year and a half of wondering whether we’d ever have everyone back in the driveway at the same time, I wanted food that felt festive and easy and communal, something people could grab with one hand while they held a cold drink with the other and finally, finally talked without masks and distance between them.
Mini Party Burgers
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 12 mini burgers
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (80/20 blend)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 12 slider buns or small dinner rolls
- 6 slices American or cheddar cheese, halved
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1/2 cup dill pickle slices
- 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon butter, softened (for toasting buns)
Instructions
- Mix and form patties. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix until just combined — don’t overwork the meat. Divide into 12 equal portions and form into thin patties slightly wider than your buns, as they will shrink during cooking.
- Toast the buns. Lightly butter the cut sides of the slider buns. Toast them in a large skillet or on a griddle over medium heat for 1—2 minutes until golden. Set aside.
- Cook the patties. Heat a large cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Cook patties in batches for 2—3 minutes per side, pressing down gently with a spatula. In the last minute of cooking, lay a half-slice of cheese on each patty and cover briefly to melt.
- Make the sauce. Stir together mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup in a small bowl. Spread on both cut sides of each toasted bun.
- Assemble. Layer each bottom bun with lettuce, a tomato slice, a cheeseburger patty, a few pickle slices, and a thin ring or two of red onion. Cap with the top bun. Serve immediately, or arrange on a platter with toothpicks for easy grabbing.
- Serve for a crowd. These hold well on a warm sheet pan in a 200°F oven for up to 20 minutes if you’re staggering batches for a big group.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 285 | Protein: 16g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 480mg