Ham and cheese sliders are the pan that does its best work overnight: the poppy seed butter soaks into the rolls in the fridge, and the grill only has to melt the cheese and crisp the tops. Built the night before, they're good warm or at air temperature.
At the lot: The built pans ride in the cooler, then bake on the grill until the cheese melts and the tops crisp. Homegating: Slide the pans into the oven before kickoff and serve them right out of the foil.
Home gear: 2 foil pans (9 × 13 in.), foil, and a long serrated knife
20 MIN
At home, the night before
30 MIN
At the lot
12
Serves
Ingredients
Sliders
- 2 packages (12 count each) sweet dinner rolls, still joined
- 1½ lb thinly sliced deli ham
- 12 slices Swiss cheese
Poppy seed butter
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1½ tbsp poppy seeds
- 2 tbsp dried minced onion
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Steps
At home
- Keep each package of rolls joined in one slab. Slice each slab in half horizontally with a serrated knife and set the bottom halves in the 2 foil pans.
- Layer the ham over the bottoms, then the Swiss, 6 slices per pan. Put the tops back on.
- Whisk the melted butter, mustard, Worcestershire, poppy seeds, dried onion and garlic powder. Spoon it evenly over the tops, letting it run down into the cuts.
- Cover both pans tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight. The rolls soak up the butter as they sit.
At the lot
- Set up the grill for indirect heat at about 350°F. On charcoal, bank the coals on one side. On propane, light one side and leave the other off.
- Nest each pan in an empty foil pan so the bottoms don't scorch. Set them on the cool side, still covered, and close the lid. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cheese melts and the center reads 165°F.
- Take the foil off and bake 5 more minutes with the lid down to firm up the tops. Slice along the seams and serve from the pan.
Pack for the lot
Lot notes
- One pan at a time: the sliders need a cool side and a closed lid, about 350 on the lid thermometer, which turns the grill into an oven. If both pans don't fit on the cool side, bake one at a time.
- Nest the pans: foil pans are thin, and the bottoms burn before the cheese melts. A second pan underneath fixes it.
- No grill? The hot-box trick is in how to keep food hot at a tailgate.
How many ham and cheese sliders do you need for 20 people?
Plan on 2 each, so 40. Double the recipe: 4 packages of rolls, 3 lb of ham, 24 slices of Swiss and a double batch of poppy seed butter. That's 48 sliders in 4 pans, so there's a plate of seconds.
Gear for this cook
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