Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders

You can’t imagine how good a ham sandwich can be until you’ve tried Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders! Rolls stuffed with ham and cheese smothered in an onion poppyseed butter sauce baked until the cheese is melty, this American game-day favourite is excellent big-batch party food that is leftover Christmas ham-worthy.

Leftover Christmas ham recipe idea!

Wouldn’t it be great to re-purpose leftover Christmas ham to make something to ring in the new year?? The answer is here – Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders!!

If you’re wrinkling your nose wondering why is she so excited about a ham sandwich??! – here’s why: because this is not your usual boring ham sandwich. This is a ham sandwich dialled up to 10 by baking it smothered in a savoury seasoned onion butter until the cheese is oozy, the bread is crusty and it’s soaked up the butter sauce.

It’s not something I made up, though I’d love to take credit for it! It’s a popular American party-food favourite. Excellent big-batch food that’s a crowd pleaser, easy and economical to make that can be eaten with your hands. Ticks a lot of boxes!

Recipes for ham and cheese sliders are pretty standard, involving – well, ham, and cheese (I know, you’re shocked), buns and a butter mixture seasoned with garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and onion (sometimes fresh, sometimes dehydrated).

So there’s nothing groundbreaking with the ingredients I’ve used but I do have some specific steps I take during the making process that aren’t standard. 🙂 With good reason though, relating to cheese melting and butter soakage. These are important issues!!

What you need for Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders

I’m sharing this recipe with leftover Christmas Glazed Ham in mind. Though truthfully, I’ve always just made this with boring old deli-ham.

Filling and Onion Poppyseed Sauce

For the filling:

• Ham – As noted above, this recipe was shared with the intention of using leftover Christmas Ham! But you can use any ham you want. I like using shaved ham so you can pile layers and layers on.

• Swiss cheese – This is the classic cheese though you can use any melting cheese you want, such as cheddar, tasty, gruyere, Monterey Jack, Colby (though I personally wouldn’t use mozzarella because it’s not flavoured enough). While I used pre-cut slices for convenience, you can cut or shred your own.

• American mustard – for spreading on the buns. This is the bright yellow stuff that comes in squeezy bottles that’s tangy and not spicy. You can substitute with any other smooth mustard though if you use a mustard like Dijon, you won’t have the same signature yellowy tang, plus it’s more expensive. ⚠️ Just don’t use hot English mustard. Too spicy!!

For the Onion Poppyseed sauce:

• Unsalted butter – melted

• Poppyseeds –  Traditionally used, adds nuttiness and visual effect, plus you get to make fun of everybody who gets the seeds stuck in their teeth. But don’t make a special trip just to find them. Worth making without!

• Finely chopped onion – Just standard brown onions, or substitute with white onion for eschallots (US: shallots, the baby onions).

• Salt, pepper and garlic powder – Flavourings / seasoning.

• More American mustard! For the signature tang and colour.

The bread

As for the bread, you just need a slab of soft white rolls that are stuck together that measure around 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13″ so it fits snugly in a standard size pan. The rolls pictured below are from Bakers Delight (an Australian bakery chain), 12 rolls is the perfect size. If you’re in the states, 1lb of Hawaiian rolls (12 large or 24 small) are literally the perfect size.

Soft is best because the onion butter soaks in better than using crusty, chew artisan bread (like sourdough) and the whole sandwich just kind of melds together nicely. White is traditional through if you’re feeling the need to be a bit virtuous, wholemeal bread is fine too.

How to make Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders

There’s one thing I do differently from the usual, and that is to give the cheese melting a head start by baking it without the lid first. Once you put the lid on, this massively slows down the cheese melting process – from cold, it takes an hour, by which time the bread on the edge of the pan is far too crusty and dry. In fact, if you look closely at most Ham and Cheese Slider recipes online, the cheese is not melted except on the outer edges. That doesn’t work for me!! 🙅🏻‍♀️

1. Split the slab of bread in half, keeping the rolls stuck together so you can bake in one piece.

2. Spread the base and lid with mustard.

3. Top with ham;

4. Then cover with cheese.

5. Bake without the lid for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted;

6. Butter sauce – Meanwhile, mix together the Savoury Butter ingredients.

7. Remove the sliders from the oven. Melty cheese, hurrah!

8. Top with the mustard-smeared lid.

9. Smother with the Onion Poppyseed Sauce;

10. Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes;

11. Pierce for soakage – Remove foil then stab the crevices where butter is pool to encourage it to soak into the bread;

12. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until the top is crusty. Then cut and serve!

Serve hot

I’ve seen some recipes call for the sliders to be left to cool before serving, during which time all that effort to melt the cheese is undone.

If that’s your preference, go right ahead! But for me, eating it while the cheese is oozy and the butter is shiny and the ham is warm and the bread is soft and cosy…. That is an eating experience that is pure joy. Watch the video. You’ll see how happy to makes me. And then, it’s your turn!! 😇 – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

More slider-type things that make excellent party food

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