There’s a restaurant in Carthage and they have a “sister” restaurant down south of Joplin and they sell the best little slider burgers. The cheeseburger sliders were 5 for $10. I say “were” because we haven’t been there in a couple of months and who knows if they’re still that price. By the time we’d buy a drink and chips, our bill was usually around $17. I told Vince . . we have a ton of ground beef in the freezer. I can make those for almost free! I have no idea how much ground beef is in the stores but the burgers are between 2 and 3 oz. each. From two pounds of meat, I can make 13 burgers so they’re a little less than 2.50 oz. each.
I ordered this little gizmo last week from Amazon. It was $24.99 and I thought that was outrageous but when I went to link to it now, it’s $30.99 so I’m not even going to share the link. Here’s what I think I might do because I can only make 10 at a time using this thing. I’m going to defrost about 5 pounds of ground beef, pat it out as thick as I want it to be, then use a biscuit cutter similar to one of these. $8 vs. $30! I’ll cut them, transfer them with a thin, sharp spatula to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I can add several layers of parchment paper and meat, then cover it all with plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer til they’re done, then remove them one layer at a time from the freezer so as to vacuum seal them and get them back in the freezer before they begin to defrost.
By using the biscuit cutters, I’m able to do a bunch at once instead of waiting for each batch of 10 to freeze in the orange things. The cookie cutters are 2″, 2.5″ and 3″. I read that sliders are supposed to be 2″. I’ll make mine either 2.5 or 3″. I make our buns so I can make them any size I want them to be. I can use the same cutter for the bun that I use for the burgers (after I wash it!) but the burgers will shrink a bit while cooking.
The beauty of having these is that when we’ve either been out and think about grabbing something while in town, we can come home, throw a few frozen patties on the griddle outside and cook them fast. Or, if someone shows up and it’s almost time to eat, I can grab frozen burgers and have them ready to eat in a jiffy.
I can make 13 burgers with 2 pounds of beef so the top three that look a little ragged, I pressed them into the orange thing, then removed them and froze them on a cookie sheet. The others were frozen inside the orange thing.
Two packs of five burgers and one pack of three burgers. I got two sets of those in the freezer yesterday.
Pamela Thorne says
Thank you for the review! I’ve had my eye on those but couldn’t justify the cost. We made homemade sausage (so much cheaper than store bought!) recently and I cut the patties with a biscuit cutter after I pressed the sausage out and froze them the same way you did your sliders.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
That’s so easy for using later. This morning I was totally out of cut slices and was trying to saw some pieces off a frozen log of sausage and the whole time, I was thinking . . this is NOT safe!
Teri says
OMGosh I love sliders and so much cheaper at home I’m gong to make a whole bunch and freeze them…I don’t make buns so I will buy dinner rolls and freeze them also. Instant lunch or a quick dinner…..or like you said if company stop by near dinner time easy to pull a bunch out and have dinner in a few minutes….
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Yes! Buns defrost quickly. A pound of ground beef . . not so quickly but those frozen patties go right on a hot grill and are done in no time.
Liz says
I remember making hamburgers with a cutter that had a handle with a spring that helped to pop out the burger. And we used waxed paper to separate them and then freeze them.
I just bought some “Souper Cubes” which come in various sizes and look to be easy for freezing liquids. I plan to do more freezing of soups and meals instead of eating the same thing for several days.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
They still have the cutter/press with the spring for regular size burgers but I haven’t seen one for sliders. If I freeze them on a cookie sheet (wax or parchment paper between layers), then I can put them in a vacuum seal bag individually without the paper, vacuum seal them and freeze them, then if I’m making more that day, I’ll re-use the paper.
I freeze almost everything in whatever container I have handy, then take it out as soon as it’s frozen and vacuum seal it. That frees up containers and things last so long after being vacuum sealed.
patti says
how thick does the orange thing make the patties? i like the idea of a biscuit cutter better than yet another item to store – and much more versatile.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Thicker than I’d like. They are still end up being a bit less than 2.5 ounces. They end up about 1/2″ thick.
Linda B says
Would love to know if you add anything to your ground beef before making patties?
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Do not add anything. When I cook them, I season them with Lawry’s salt and that’s all I use.
Sandra B says
What a great idea! I can see lots of little slider burgers in our future!! We try to keep a variety of things in the freezer, so these will be a great addition to the ‘options’ available.
Thanks for sharing!
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I keep a lot of things that are quick to fix in my freezer too. In fact, one week out of the month, we eat food from jars or from the freezer so I get to take off cooking most things for a week but being able to slap those little burgers on the grill, while still frozen . . that’s the best!
Mayme says
I always heard thawing frozen meat then refreezing it was a no, no. Your thoughts? Thank you.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
The USDA says it’s safe to do.