“Dinner’s ready when the smoke alarm goes off.”
Hawaiian Ham & Swiss Sliders
This recipe for baked ham and Swiss cheese sliders has been around in one form or another for many years. My sister calls them funeral sandwiches because she often takes them to funeral luncheons. I like to serve this at casual parties and it is especially popular with rowdy crowds watching televised ballgames. The success of this recipe is the fact that it perfectly balances the sweet flavors with the savory flavors to fully satisfy your taste cravings.
Since the foundation for the recipe is a sweet Hawaiian bread dinner roll I must credit King's Hawaiian Bakery as the originators of this recipe which is still found on their website, KingsHawaiian.com
Ingredients
Instructions
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Assemble the ingredients and preheat the oven to 350 °F.
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Slice the rolls in half horizontally. Spread mayonnaise on both inner sides of the rolls.
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Over one cut of the rolls, place a layer of sliced ham with the slices overlapping each other.
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In the same manner as in step 3, place a layer of cheese slices over the ham slices.
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Replace the top of the rolls and bunch them closely together into a 9" x 13" baking dish.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together poppy seeds, Dijon mustard, melted butter, brown sugar, onion powder and Worcestershire sauce.
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Using a serrated blade knife (like a steak knife), carefully separate the individual rolls cutting deep enough to touch the surface of the baking and cut through the layers of ham and cheese. Pour sauce over the rolls, just covering the tops. Cover with foil and let sit for 10 minutes.
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Bake at 350 °F for 20 to 25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook (watching them very carefully to avoid burning) for an additional 2-5 minutes on Broil until tops are slightly browned and crisp. Serve warm.
Serving Size 1 slider
Servings 12
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 238kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 13g20%
- Saturated Fat 7g35%
- Cholesterol 43mg15%
- Sodium 281mg12%
- Potassium 50mg2%
- Total Carbohydrate 26g9%
- Sugars 14g
- Protein 6g12%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
If you are having your ham sliced by the deli folks, tell them to make it paper thin! There are a number of packaged thin-sliced ham selections that are perfect for this recipe. I try to use Hillshire Farm Honey Ham and my second choice is Buddig Honey Ham.
If the sweet dinner rolls aren't near as soft as you prefer your bread, don't worry. After being topped with sauce and then covered and baked for 25 minutes, they'll be soft and moist.
The instructions call for one or two slices of ham on each slider but depending on the brand and thickness of your ham you may have some left over so feel free to add one or more additional slices until the entire 4 ounces is used up.
There are so many possibilities to change up this recipe that I can't name them all. Think of all the different types of mustard on the grocery shelf; I recently tried honey mustard and it was great ... Creole mustard might be interesting. In addition to the powdered onion, add a little powdered garlic. Needless to say, both the meats and the cheeses can be changed out. Consider how many different types of thin-sliced deli meats are available and think of them as substitutes for the honey ham ... and the same applies to available thin sliced cheeses. Too sweet, then leave off the brown sugar. Don't like poppy seeds, then omit them or replace them with sesame seeds or some other bagel topping. Again, the possibilities are endless!