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Big City Slider Station Review

I find this very hard to admit to you all, but I did it.  I broke down and bought the Big City Slider Station.   Billy Mays would be proud.  (I just wish I could get his voice out of my head.)

My son, the budding foodie,  had been admiring the Slider Station commercials for quite some time.  When his much anticipated eighth birthday finally came around on Tuesday, I bit the Big City bullet and took a chance on the As Seen on TV brand. 

Putting my faith and trust in Billy Mays, I decided to throw a slider party for the big birthday dinner.  I put together a variety of burger toppings.  (Of course the kids only wanted American Cheese) but for the grown ups we had our choice of:

Caramelized onions
Roasted Peppers
Avacodo
Tomato
Lettuce
Blue Cheese
And all the condiments, of course

I found Pepperidge Farm slider rolls both in white and wheat.  My one mistake was buying 80% lean ground beef.  Definitely purchase very low fat ground beef for the slider station.  Turkey burgers would probably come out great.

On our second slider night (Yes, we used it two nights in a row.)   I decided to try freezing the patties first.  I molded the raw meat in the little cups of the station then placed them between Saran Wrap and froze them.  When we were ready to cook, I just popped them frozen into the slider station and cooked.  It took a little longer than the raw meat, but the center stayed a little pink which was my goal. It’s also a very convenient snack for the kids.  Keep a bag of frozen patties in the freezer for after school or a quick lunch.

The one drawback I found to the Slider Station is that it is not dishwasher safe.   If Calphalon came out with a sturdier, dishwasher safe version I would probably buy it.  Also, don’t expect those pretty grill marks on the top of your burgers.  The lid does not heat up enough (at all) to make those.  I know the commercial says you do not have to flip them, but I found they cooked more evenly if you just give them a quick flip with a fork.  You also cannot use the Slider Station on the grill.  Probably because the plastic handle would melt.

I think we will be using the slider station a lot.  I am planning to do lamb sliders soon.  Ever since I had them at St. Stephen’s Green in Spring Lake Heights, I’ve been wanting to make them at home.  I’ve got a great recipe for lamb burgers just begging to be dusted off.  The Slider Station comes with its own little book of recipes like Italian Turkey Sliders and Thai Sliders.  I can’t wait for our next slider party to start experimenting.

So, my final opinion on the Big City Slider Station is that it is a fun and convenient little kitchen tool.  Don’t expect super high quality. Really would you?  It’s sturdy enough to perform the task of making cute little burgers in two minutes.  Kids and adults will enjoy it and hey, its a great idea for Father’s Day.  You can purchase the Slider Station online or at many retailers.  I found ours at Target.

And for your viewing pleasure, here’s a link to the Billy Mays Infomercial if you want to embed his voice into your head for the day, be my guest.

Thursday, May 7th, 2009, by Deborah Smith, Executive Editor and is filed under "Products, Reviews, Deborah Smith ". You can leave a response here, or send a Trackback from your own site.