Serves 10 to 12 (makes 12 sliders) | Active Time 50 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes, plus 30 minutes chilling
5 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 onion, chopped fine
3 (4-ounce) cans chopped green chiles, drained
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lime juice
¾ teaspoon table salt, divided
1 pound 85 percent lean ground beef
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 ounces pepper Jack cheese, shredded (1 cup)
12 soft white dinner rolls or slider hamburger buns, sliced and toasted
Head Start
Make and refrigerate patties and sauce for up to 1 day before cooking.
Perfect Pair
Serve sliders with Fried Green Tomatoes  or Spiralized Sweet Potatoes with Crispy Shallots, Pistachios, and Urfa .
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS For these sliders, we wanted all the great char and juicy meat of a full-size burger stuffed into a diminutive package. To create a flavorful crust on a small burger while retaining a moist interior, you need a real blast of heat that can sear the outside quickly, so we use a cast-iron skillet. To take the flavor to the next level, we add a double dose of green chiles, both in the meat and on top of the burgers. We sauté onion, garlic, and canned green chiles, then puree part of that mixture and add it to the ground beef. Refrigerating the patties for 30 minutes ensures that the thin, delicate disks are easy to handle. For the topping, we reserve ½ cup of the unpureed sautéed green chile mixture and combine it with mayonnaise, lime juice, and salt for a spread that adds moisture and extra flavor to the sliders. Using shredded pepper Jack helps ensure that the cheese melts evenly on the burgers. Form the patties ½ inch wider than the buns; after the patties shrink during cooking, they will be the perfect size. When flipping these thin, moist patties, it’s helpful to use two spatulas.

1 Heat 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons oil and heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chiles and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to food processor and process to smooth paste, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Combine ½ cup processed chile paste, mayonnaise, lime juice, and ¼ teaspoon salt in bowl; set aside for serving.
2 Add remaining chile paste, beef, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper to large bowl and knead with your hands until uniformly combined. Divide meat mixture into 12 lightly packed balls, then flatten into ¼-inch-thick patties. Transfer patties to platter and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
3 Wipe now-empty skillet clean with paper towels and heat over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil and heat until just smoking. Place 4 burgers in skillet and cook, without moving, until well browned on first side, about 2 minutes. Flip burgers and top with 1 heaping tablespoon pepper Jack. Cover and continue to cook until well browned on second side and cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.
4 Repeat in two batches with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, burgers, and pepper Jack. Serve burgers in buns, topped with chile sauce.