The sauce for these "any meat" sandwiches is so great, I often make up a batch to keep in the fridge for a few days to use with whatever good braised or roasted meat I have on hand. I make this sauce with my beloved New Orleans staples, Creole mustard and pepper jelly, but it's fine to go ahead and use any good mustard and instead of pepper jelly, add a splash of vinegar to good fruit jam. Slider sauce works beautifully with pork, lamb, or beef. Of course you don't need the onion rings, but their sweet crunch makes all the difference.

Ingredients

For the Sloppy Joe Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup pepper jelly
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon Creole mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup ketchup
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped cooked meat

For the Fried Onion Rings:

• 2 cups canola oil
• 2 red onions, sliced into thin rings
• Salt
• 1 cup flour

For the Sambal Mayonnaise:

• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 3 piquillo peppers
• 3 tablespoons sambal chili paste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the Sliders:

• 16 slider buns, toasted
• Bibb lettuce leaves
• 2 tomatoes, sliced

Directions