Touchdown for Team Tasty!

In our house, if you tell my family we’re tailgating, you score a touchdown. Add in the promise to make sliders – you get bonus points! We tailgate anywhere, anytime, in any weather. If the players are playing, we’re tailgating! Do you share our love for tailgating menu items? Land O’Lakes has a tailgate-worthy recipe with Grilled Buffalo Chicken Sliders! It’s the perfect wing-style recipe for those of us who love wings, but hate the mess. Think wings, but on a bun and easy to eat.

With just a quick 10-minute prep time and less than 45 minutes total cook time, this recipe will have you ready by game time. All you need are a few simple ingredients I bet you already have! Check out how easy these are to make. Grab 4 (4 to 5-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut each in half.

Place into a resealable bag, then flatten the chicken to 1/2-inch thickness.

Choose your favorite wing sauce for marinating the chicken. Do you have any wing eaters who are “team hot sauce” vs. “team teriyaki” like us? A tie game can be had...just make both! Place half of the chicken in one bag with one sauce and the rest in another bag with the other sauce!

Make sure the bags are sealed and then gently shake to coat chicken. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. We prefer ours to marinate for a few hours, if possible.

This gives us more time for some indoor football and to gather our gear. Believe me, I know you’re saying, “Who in their right mind would let them play football indoors?” I have 5- and 7-year-old boys (and a 35-year-old boy) living in my house. Sigh. I’ve at least won a small victory, and the “indoor” football is now a foam ball instead of a real ball. I won’t go into that story.

No! Flag on the play. The slider rolls are not to be used as footballs! Busted. Sorry friends – we’re down one roll today.

When you are ready to cook, remove the chicken from the bag(s) and get ready to throw it on the grill! Remember my grill trick to keep the chicken from sticking to the grill?

If you’re hardcore enough to grill year round like we do, it may take a little longer in the winter, but it is possible and way more fun! However, you can place the chicken on a broiler pan and broil or bake it in the oven, too.

Almost done! The internal temperature of the chicken should be about 165°F. If you don’t have a meat thermometer handy (as we often don’t when we are tailgating!), just cut it open to see if it is cooked through.

What makes the perfect slider sandwich? Cheese! You will need 4 slices of American cut into quarters for this recipe. Place 2 quarters of American on top of each piece of chicken on the grill. Close the lid on your grill again for just about a minute and voila! The cheese is melted perfectly!

For the ultimate slider, toast your buns. Slice the buns open and place on the grill until lightly toasted.

We love this recipe because this is buffalo wing-style chicken without the mess! Spread 1 tablespoon blue cheese dressing on 1/2 of the bun. If you really like the strong taste, heap it on. If you like just a hint of blue cheese flavor spread it on thinly!

Place the chicken on your prepared slider buns. The next part of this “all-in-one wing” deliciousness is placing the celery on the spread. The recipe calls for you to layer on a thin stick or two of celery, but it just seemed to make more sense to me to chop it up and put it on top of your chicken.

Top with the other half of the bun and you are headed for a tailgate touchdown! For our family, any sporting event is a great opportunity for tailgating. We hope you decide to give these Grilled Buffalo Chicken Sliders a try at your next get together! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Alexandra is paid to write for the Recipe Buzz® Blog.