Yes, you can do other things with Hawaiian rolls

 

Hawaiian rolls are light, fluffy and slightly sweet

Some kitchen experiments work out great, and I hear a chorus of, “Put that one on permanent rotation”; others, well you just know even before you serve it that it’s not going to go over well; and then there are surprises: last night I made cheese and hamburger sliders, and as I was following the rather sketchy directions, I thought, “This is a one-time thing.” Jordan and Christian both raved about them and said to keep the recipe. So I will, but with some modification.

Remember when sliders of Hawaiian rolls, ham, Swiss cheese, and a poppy seed dressing were all the rage? Did you know they’re sometimes called funeral rolls, I guess because they were often contributed to the table at funerals. I made the recipe once, thought it was manna from heaven; made it again and wasn’t so enamored of the sliders. After that, I kind of left Hawaiian rolls alone, dismissing them as too sweet. But the web has lots of suggestions for their use, even as stuffing or dressing for that Thanksgiving turkey. There are also several recipes of making them at home, but if you prefer to buy, King’s is the best-known brand. Then I found this recipe on a random website, thought it sounded easy and good.

Here’s what I did, with suggestions for what I’d do differently next time:

Cheeseburger sliders

½ small onion, diced

2 Tbsp. butter

1 lb. ground beef, preferably lean

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. ground pepper

1 tsp. Worcestershire

6-8 slices sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 12-count package Hawaiian rolls

2 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Sauté the onion in 2 Tbsp. butter until soft; add ground meat and seasonings; cook until all pink is gone from the meat.

Lightly butter a rimmed baking pan. Split the rolls horizontally and put the bottom half, still attached to each other, on the baking sheet. Cover with cheese slices.

Drain meat thoroughly and spread evenly over half rolls in the baking pan. Cover that with grated cheese. Put the tops on (as evenly as you can). Brush the rolls with melted butter and sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

My notes: the recipe called for 1.5 lbs. of meat. It was too much, spilled out of the rolls, was difficult to handle and eat. For cheese slices: I will almost never recommend processed American cheese; you can get good cheddar pre-sliced or, as I did, slice your own. If you want pre-sliced, Sargento is a good brand. If you slice your own, disregard the quantity listed and just cover each roll. Other quantities I disregarded and used my own judgement were: butter, onion, and sesame seeds. Although the recipe called for seasoned salt, I used Kosher which I always prefer. I added the Worcestershire sauce to give the meat a bit more flavor. In retrospect, I wonder if a bit of concentrated beef broth might also have strengthened the flavor.

Another retrospective thought: having discovered how great sea salt is on everything both savory and sweet, I wonder if sea salt might be more interesting than sesame seeds on top of the rolls.

About baking the rolls: the buttered baking sheet created a nice crisp bottom crust on the sliders, but if you want a soft bottom, you might try a dry pan or a sheet of parchment.

This served three of us generously with about half left over. The resident teen was not home for supper, so he didn’t vote. He generally doesn’t like ground meat but likes hamburgers, so I was hoping he would put this in the hamburger category rather than casserole.