French Dip Sliders

Party food is my favorite type of food to make…yes that is a very broad category to call my favorite but planning a full menu, making sure all the food goes together but brings it’s own special flavor to the party is something I love to do. I also love making smaller bites so there is more to enjoy and everyone can find something they love. So this is the real reason I get excited for Super Bowl Sunday.

Sliders are a staple for tailgating, party food, etc, but I wanted more than a hamburger slider this year, enter the french dip slider.

The bread and onions take a little bit of work upfront, but then the sliders become a very low maintenance meal, which is great for easy weekend meals, or throwing big parties, when you need time to work on other dishes.

I found it easier to get the bread started first, so the meat could take over the oven for it’s full 3 hours.

I used instant yeast, so it was mixed straight in with my flour, salt, and sugar. Once those were combined I added the water, molasses, and shortening all at once, then used a stand mixer to form it into a smooth ball of dough.

I preheated my oven to 200° and put the dough in a greased bowl, covered with plastic wrap, near the stove so it would rise faster. Rise time was about 45minutes. Let the dough double in size, or until the dough bounces back slightly when gently poked with a finger. If the dough resists or feels dense it needs more time to rise, if it keeps the indent of your finger then the dough is over proofed and may not rise well in the oven.

Once the dough had gone through it’s first rise I pulled it out of the bowl onto a floured surface and divided it into 15 even pieces, mine ended up about 2oz each. Once rolled into individual rolls, I placed them in a greased 9×13 dish, covered with plastic wrap and let rest for about 20 minutes. Using a sharp pairing knife I cut an X onto the top of each roll to give them more room to expand.

To get a nice crust on french bread it’s recommended to steam the oven. I prefer to do this by preheating the oven with a sheet pan on the bottom rack, and right before putting in the rolls, I drop 1 cup of ice onto the hot sheet pan and after putting the bread in the oven quickly close it.

Bake at 450° for 15-20minutes. It’s important to make sure that the intersection of the rolls are getting color as well as the tops. I let the rolls touch and bake together so I could create one large french dip, and then slice into small sliders. Once the bread is done, set aside to cool.

Next step was the meat and onions.

Preheat the oven to 325°.

I started by peeling my onion, cutting it in 1/2 and then slicing the entire thing like shoestrings, between 1/8-1/4inch thick. In a large pot over medium-high heat I added 1tbsp of vegetable oil, and when it was popping hot I threw in the onions and let them get a lot of color. Stir occasionally, but don’t stir so much that the onions don’t get any brown to them.

Cover the chuck roast in the salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.

Deglaze the onions with worcestershire sauce and dry red wine. Reduce that by 1/2 before adding in the chuck roast that has already been seasoned. Then add the beef broth and bring back to a boil.

Once the roast is up to a boil, cover and put in the oven for 3 hours.

Pull out the chuck roast and shred.

When the meat and rolls are done it’s time to assemble the sliders.

I pulled the rolls out in once solid piece and sliced them in 1/2 like one giant sandwich.
Spread mayonnaise on both sides of the sandwich, then on the bottom 1/2 layer the beef, then onions, and then top with provolone cheese.

With my oven still at 350° I put the bottom 1/2 of the sandwich on a sheet tray open face style to melt the cheese before adding the top.

Once removed from the oven I cut into individual sliders and served with horseradish and au jus.

They were gone within minutes! I had to sneak some away from the table just to get photos!

French Rolls

Prep: 15 minutes
1st Rise:  45 minutes – 1 hour
2nd Rise: 20 minutes
Oven: 450° 20 minutes

• 5 3/4c. Flour
• 2 1/4tsp. Instant yeast (1 packet)
• 2 1/2tsp. Salt
• 3tsp. Sugar
• 2 1/4c. Water, warm
• 3tsp. Molasses
• 1tbsp. Shortening
• 1c. Ice, for steaming the oven

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
2. Add the warm water, molasses, and shortening.
3. Starting on low speed let the dough start to combine in the stand mixer.
4. Once the dough has started to form a ball turn up to medium speed and mix for about 5 minutes or until the dough has fully formed a ball and pulled away from the sides.
5. Move to a greased bowl in a warm area and cover with plastic wrap. 1st rise.
6. After the dough has doubled in size, put on a floured surface and divide into 15 even(ish) pieces.
7. Roll into balls and put in a greased 9×13 pan.
8. Preheat oven to 450° with an empty sheet tray on the bottom rack.
9. 2nd Rise
10. Remove the plastic wrap and use a sharp pairing knife to slice an X on the top of each roll.
11. Dump 1c. ice onto the empty sheet tray in the oven.
12. Place the 9×13 of rolls onto the top rack and close the oven.
13. Bake for 20 minutes, or until done.
14. Set aside to cool.

French Dip Beef and Au Jus

Prep:  5 minutes
Cook: 3 hours and 30 minutes
Stovetop and Oven: 325°

• 2.5lb chuck roast
• 1tbsp. Vegetable oil
• 1lg. Yellow oven
• 1/4c. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2c. Dry red wine
• 1tsp. Kosher salt
• 1/4tsp. Black pepper
• 1/2tsp. Garlic powder
• 48oz. Beef broth

1. Slice the onions very thin between 1/8-1/4 inch.
2. In a large pot over medium-high heat add 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
3. When the oil is hot, add the onions and brown deeply.
4. Deglaze brown onions with Worcestershire sauce and red wine.
5. Reduce liquid by 1/2
6. Cover the chuck roast with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
7. Add the chuck roast to the onion pot.
8. Add beef broth to the pot.
9. Bring back to a boil, cover, then put in the oven at 325° for 3 hours.
10. After cooking shred beef.

French Dip Sliders

Oven: Broil
Oven: 350°

• 15 French rolls
• 2.5lbs French dip beef
• French dip onions
• Au jus
• 1/3c. Mayonnaise
• 9 Slices provolone cheese
• Horseradish for serving

1. Take the rolls all in one large piece and slice in 1/2 like a giant sandwich.
2. On a sheet tray broil the bread open face to toast until lightly browned.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°
4. Spread each side with mayonnaise.
5. On the bottom 1/2 layer shredded beef, onions, and provolone cheese
6. Place the bottom 1/2 of the sandwich, open faced, on a sheet tray in the oven until cheese is melted.
7. Once cheese has melted cover with the top 1/2 of the sand-which and bake for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Pull the sandwich out of the oven and cut into individual sliders.
9. Serve with horseradish and au jus.

 

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