Hey all! I’m back after a long hiatus just in time for the playoffs.
The Predators will start the playoffs against the Anaheim Ducks. The two have only met in the playoffs once: the Predators defeated them four games to two in the 2010-11 season conference quarterfinals. Previously, the Ducks have made the playoffs 11 times (this will be their 12th), most notably winning the Stanley Cup final against the Senators in the 2006-07 season and finishing runner-up to the Cup to the Devils in the 2002-03 season.
The Ducks were one of the teams I covered earlier in the season, reaching back to the German roots of the city with some delicious jaegerschnitzel. Check out that link if you need plenty of restaurant recommendations in the Anaheim area.
The playoffs demand playoff food. Easy to make, easy to eat, easy to share. One of the places mentioned in the previous article was Slater’s 50/50 in Anaheim, a burger joint and sports bar that makes their burger patties with 50% ground beef and 50% ground bacon and then adds an egg, some pepper jack cheese, some chipotle mayo, and mashed avocado.
If food had playoffs, bacon would be a #1 seed every year.
I’m doing a slightly different take on it for at-home cooking, but with the same underlying idea: 50/50 sliders. I’m only cooking for two today, so you may want to double, triple, 10x the recipe accordingly.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1/2 lb finely chopped bacon
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 3 eggs
- Pepperjack cheese
- Chipotle mayo or spicy bbq sauce
- Mashed avocado* (not pictured)
- Slider buns
- Glass of bourbon
And here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Rather than getting out the meat grinder, you can finely chop the bacon (pre-cooked). Mix it with the ground beef and spices. Form into slider-sized patties.
- Grill on medium-high to high, depending on your preferences, to your preferred level of doneness. Be aware that the bacon grease will make this a more messy experience than a normal burger.
- Fry the eggs – in bacon grease for maximum flavor – with broken yolks (rather than sunny-side up in the original recipe – less messy this way on a slider).
- Put the burgers, eggs, cheese, etc on the buns – you know, the same way you’d assemble any other burger.
- Eat and enjoy!
These are relatively simple to make – and will greatly enhance your playoff watching experience!
*Note: Avocado not included due to me having an unfortunate avocado allergy.
