Turkey, Bacon, and Cheese Sliders

"The Secret ingredient is Always Cheese"

-Marc Johns

        Cheese is a versatile dairy product that is easy to use. You can find it in a wide range of flavors, textures and even forms, like soft or hard. Word on the street is there are over 1800 types of cheeses worldwide. If you are interested in learning more, CLICK HERE!

       One day I opened my fridge and saw an unopened package of turkey meat staring at me. I noticed that turkey wasn't a popular deli meat in our household; we preferred ham and pastrami sandwiches. Turkey is popular during the holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas, which is kind of a bummer. Turkey is a lean meat which means it has less fat and calories than most other cuts of meat. I decided to see how I could mix turkey and cheese together, but not like a regular cold cut sandwich. I tend to figure out how to give a dish an extra pop. 

Shall we get started?

    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

     Bacon! Bacon! Bacon! You'll want to fry your bacon first because this will take most of your time. I use fresh bacon, but if you are short on time, microwave bacon will work just fine! I prefer Farmland Fully Cooked. Once finished frying, you'll want to cut your bacon into bite sized pieces.

      You'll want to melt the butter in your skillet, on a low heat. Once your butter is melted, add flour and milk. Make sure to stir it up so you have no clumps of flour floating around. Now it's time to add your cheddar! You'll want to continue cooking this at a low heat in order to avoid burning the cheese.

Place your lid over your soon to be cheese sauce, checking it every couple of minutes. While the cheese is cooking, you'll want to cut your slider rolls in half. Using a bread knife, find the middle. To clarify, you will have a big top bun and a big bottom bun now. Remember to check on your cheese sauce. Next, you will spread mustard on the bottom buns. You can add as much mustard as your heart desires. Slices of turkey go on next, on top of mustard, again, you can add as much as you'd like. This recipe is a flexible. I buy Hawaiian Sweet Rolls in a pack of 12. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the turkey. 

Now your cheese sauce should be done. You want it to be thick and creamy. If your sauce is too soupy, you'll have a hard time getting it to stick to your sliders. You can always add more cheese or flour to help thicken it up.

Pour the cheese sauce on top of the turkey slices. Don't worry, some of your sauce will run off to the side. It's just a little extra for later. You don't have to use all of the cheese sauce. You're welcome to pour as much as you'd like and maybe even save some for dipping. Sprinkle your bacon on top. 

Place your top buns, well you know, on the top. Their location is given away by the name, 'top buns.' Oven time for your sliders! They will go for about 20 minutes. Everyone's oven is different, so I can't always give an exact time. You'll just want to watch for a crispy brown top, like below. Once the sliders come out of the oven, you'll want to wait about 10 minutes for them to cool down. 

Gobble Gobble Time! 

I prefer a pepsi with my sliders. What will you have with yours?

Turkey, Bacon, and Cheese Sliders Recipe

• 12, or more if preferred, slices of bacon
• 12 dinner rolls
• 12 slices of Turkey
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• Mustard
• Dash of Salt
• Dash of Pepper

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

2) Fry or microwave your bacon. Once cooked, cut your bacon into bite sized pieces

3) Melt 2 tbsp of butter in your skillet, on low heat

4) Add flour and milk to melted butter. Make sure you have no clumps of flour floating around

5) Once your mixture is not clumpy, add your cheese and stir. Place the lid over your skillet. You'll want to keep an eye on your cheese sauce so it doesn't burn

6) While your cheese is cooking, cut your dinner rolls in half. Once in half, you'll spread mustard on the bottom half, on the top, of your rolls

7) Place your turkey on top of the mustard and add a dash of salt and pepper

8) Check on your cheese sauce, it should be thick and creamy. Add your sauce on top of the turkey. Sprinkle with bacon pieces

9) Bake in oven for 20 minutes

10) Let cool for 10 minutes

Eat up!

Until next time

-Ky