Goat cheese and fig jam sliders are a delightful combination of sweet, salty, and tangy and perfect for any occasion from backyard bash wot wedding cocktail hour.
My wife and I one time started a catering company. A meat and cheese fiasco that taught us two lessons. One: know your market. Two: Goat cheese and fig jam sliders will make everyone feel better. We were stuck with an abundance of leftover goat cheese and fig jam when we over-ordered one day. There is only so many things you can do with goat cheese. So, I made these sliders. I posted them to my original Instagram page years back.
These goat cheese and fig jam sliders are unbelievably tasty. It is such an odd coupling of food but it turns out the sweet, tangy, and salty go together. I'm sure we already knew that along the line. Creamy goat cheese on top of the burger is so delicious when combined with these other flavors. If I got to have another wedding, this would be the appetizer. People would eat them by the hundreds.
If you're looking for your new summer classic this is it. Make this for your friends and family one time and you won't open a bottle of ketchup all summer long. You and your friends will be like a high-class version of yourselves, sucking down goat cheese burgers instead of American cheese.
Ingredients you'll need
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 small log of goat cheese
- ½ cup fig jam
- 1 onion, halved and sliced thin
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 handful arugula
- 8 slider buns
Substitutions and Ingredient Notes
Goat Cheese. There are lots of different kinds of cheese made from goat milk. You're going to want to pick out a chevre. It's the smooth creamy type of goat cheese.
Fig Jam. You can use fig jam or butter. Anything with that sweet and tangy taste.
Arugula. I like the bitterness of arugula in the mix here. Some other options would be frisee, and if you want to stick to something simple, romaine or iceberg lettuce.
Ground beef. I always pick 80-85% lean meat for burgers. Also, I like to pick the fresh ground beef in the packages at the market as opposed to the packaged ones. The packaged ground beef, especially for sliders, can be dense and chewy. You really want a light and not-so-packed meat. My mom can be quoted saying "don't play with your meat too much." Out of context and we'd have some deep unpacking to do. But when we are talking about burgers and meatloaf and meatballs, you want to squeeze and press the meat as minimally as possible. The more we press it and squeeze it, the tighter it becomes and the more dense it becomes.
How to make Goat Cheese and Fig Jam Sliders
Break apart 1 lb of ground beef into 8 pieces. Roll 8 smooth balls of the meat and then using two slices of wax paper, press down each one into a thin patty. The less you can squeeze and play with the meat the better. Always press the patties gently. The less you play with it, the better the texture will be. Add salt and pepper to both sides of the patty right before cooking.
Bring a cast iron pan to medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and once it's hot, add the onions. Stir onions until they are almost translucent with golden brown edges. Set aside. We're looking for more of a grilled or charred onion with these, rather than a sauteed onion.
Add burgers to the pan, 4 at a time. Sear burgers on both sides until they reach the desired temperature. It should take about 2 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and let them rest for 3 minutes. On a small slider bun, slather on fig jam and then add arugula. Set your patty on top of the arugula and add 2 slices of goat cheese and charred onions.
Serve hot! I'm never a fan of leftover burgers. So, only make as many as you're going to eat!
How to Make A Larger Quantity of Sliders
Sliders can sometimes be inconvenient because they are so small. But they're the perfect appetizer to hold people over or the snack to indicate I'm feeding you but, you can go home for dinner. If you're making large amounts of sliders, the best bet is to make the patties one day in advance.
On the day of the cooking, take your desired amount of onions and place them on a piece of tinfoil with salt, pepper, and oil. Wrap the tinfoil around them (do this in batches if necessary) and place them on the grill. Instead of using a cast iron, cook the patties and onions on the grill. Grilling works best in teams so while the burgers are grilling, someone can slather the bottom layer of the slider buns with fig jam and top them with arugula. Once the patties and onions are done, you can fix the rest of the burgers and serve them!
The summertime means grilling and going outdoors. But that doesn't mean we always have to have a boring old burger. By August, I'm sick of burgers and hot dogs. I love to mix in a variety of burgers like this. You can't just eat for sustenance, you have to eat for the flavor. That's why I'm always overeating.
Try serving these sliders with some of our other summertime favorites! Leave a rating or review below to let us know what you think of these burgers! Follow us on Instagram @vindelgiudice and on Tiktok @alwaysfromscratch.
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📖 Recipe
Goat Cheese and Fig Jam Sliders
Equipment
- 1 cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 small log of goat cheese
- ½ cup fig jam
- 1 onion, halved and sliced thin
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 handful arugula
- 8 slider buns
Instructions
- Break apart 1 lb of ground beef into 8 balls. Roll 8 smooth balls of the meat and then using wax paper, press down each one into a thin patty. Salt and pepper both sides of the patty.
- Bring a cast iron pan to medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and onions. Stir onions until they are translucent with golden brown edges. Set aside.
- Add burgers to the pan, 4 at a time. Sear burgers on both sides until they reach the desired temperature. Remove from the pan and let them rest for 3 minutes.
- On a small slider bun, slather on fig jam and then add arugula. Set your patty on top of the arugula and then add 2 slices of goat cheese and charred onions.
- Serve hot!
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