Post-Game Report on the Filipino Steak Sliders

Posted by hisweetsweet on February 4, 2013 in Food, Recipes | 1 Comment

Hope you all enjoyed the Super Bowl and Queen B’s halftime show! I’m so glad I did test runs on both the Pan De Sal and the Beef Tapa before Sunday, because our guests got a much better version of the little Super Bowl Sammies.

I filmed video of two critiques, but for some reason my iPad won’t upload them. So here are their photos and quotes instead:

Lacey said, “It was really good! It was definitely melt-in-your-mouth style. Everything just made sense as I was eating it.”

And Mari said, “Your sandwiches were super delicious. I love how the bread was really sweet and crispy and then on the inside the meat was a little bit vinegar-y, so it was sweet and sour. That worked really well together. I would eat those over regular sliders any day.”

Other guests weighed in too:

Jamie: “I’m so glad I’m not a vegetarian because this sandwich is so damn good.”

Joe: “This is the best little sandwich I’ve ever had.”

Miwa: “They were awesome. You just nailed it.”

Michael: “I ate four of them.”

I don’t think everyone would have eaten quite as many Filipino Steak Sliders (recipe for the Beef Tapa and Pan De Sal here) if I hadn’t made some important tweaks, such as:

1. Using sirloin filet instead of skirt steak.

2. Cutting the meat into 1/4-inch slices against the grain for easier chewing, and then into bite size chunks.

3. Reducing the cooking time to 5-6 minutes in the pan because the pieces were thinner and smaller.

4. Letting the dough rise a second time after shaping the rolls prior to baking. I also followed the terrific instructions on shaping dough into dinner rolls on the King Arthur Flour blog. I’m in on anything that requires you to pretend you’re rolling dice.

5. Parbaking the Pan De Sal ahead of time, so that I could bring the rolls to a nice golden brown right before serving them.

6. Setting aside the pan-cooked marinade in a bowl so people could dip their sammies.

I’m saving the leftover Pan De Sal dough in my fridge, per the geniuses at Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, so I can have a fresh batch whenever I want over the next week.*

In the meantime, I’m toying over an egg sandwich or a different kind of tuna melt for my next post. What would you like to see? I’d love to read your comments!

*UPDATE! I used the fermenting Pan De Sal dough to kick off my own sourdough starter, and he’s been going strong. Time to add “2013 to present: Sourdough caretaker” to my fauxsumé!