Cranberry Sliders with Caramelized Onion

This is a little bit of a cut and paste with other recipes I've posted.  I still had some apple cranberry rolls in the freezer and one last jar of cranberry ketchup in the pantry.  The idea of pairing them with caramelized onions on a burger was too good to pass up.  After all, that's essentially what cranberry brisket is.

The onions do take a long time to make.  This isn't a last-minute dish, despite looking like it.  The good news is that you can make the onions ahead of time, say the day before, and warm them up for serving.  And of course, you don't have to do these as sliders.  They still serve four as a regular burger.

1 medium onion
1 Tb butter
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper as needed
1 lb 80/20 ground beef
1/4 C cranberry sauce or cranberry ketchup
8 slider rolls

1.  Cut in half and thinly slice the onion.  The slices don't have to be perfect, but they do need to be thin and fairly consistent.  Heat the butter and oil in a wide skillet over medium-low heat.  Add the onion slices and sprinkle lightly with salt.  I did not add sugar because the sauce is sweet.

2.  Stir slices enough to coat with the fat and walk away for 15 minutes.  Stir and let soften 15 minutes again, then start coming back every 5 minutes to check until desired golden goodness is reached.  Remove from heat.

3.  Season ground beef with salt and pepper to taste.  Portion out into 8 balls, then flatten into patties.  These can be grilled, but I did them in the oven on a flat baking rack.  If baking, set oven to 400º.  Flip once when they appear medium-rare, then switch to the broiler setting to get a bit of char for a few minutes.

4.  To assemble, toast buns if desired.  Place a patty on the bottom of the roll, smear with cranberry sauce or ketchup, and top with a generous amount of caramelized onions.  Serve with a side salad or slaw.

Difficulty rating  :)