Make the Compote

Pit and seed the cherries. Cut them in half.

Chop the bacon into a fine dice, and chop the onion, too.

Place the onion and bacon in saucepan over medium high heat. Stir regularly, mixing the ingredients, until the bacon crisps up and the onions begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes.

Add the balsamic vinegar and the brown sugar. Stir until incorporated and the vinegar has deglazed the pan, about 2-3 minutes.

Measure in the halved cherries, and lower the heat to medium-low.
Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, uncovered, or until the cherries are soft and the juices have boiled off, leaving a thick and luscious compote.

Transfer to a glass jar or another food storage container, and chill in the fridge. While you can enjoy the compote hot, we found that it holds together better once it's been refrigerated for 1-2 hours.

Make and Cook the Burgers

Preheat the grill to 600F. This may take a few minutes, so I fire mine up before I form the slider patties.

Place the ground beef, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl together. Using your hands, massage them together until incorporated.

Roll burgers into 2 ½ oz. balls, and then press into patties. (Ours were ¾” tall and 3” across.)

Repeat the process until all the slider patties have been made, and place them all on a plate that you can easily take outside to the grill.

Place the burgers onto the hot grill. Grill the first side for 5 minutes and the second side for 2 minutes, then remove from the grill. (You can always adjust the cooking time based on what doneness you want for your burgers. Since these are sliders and we were feeding our kids, we wanted them to be more on the well-done side.)

Turn off the grill, and place the Hawaiian buns on the top rack. Let cook in the ambient heat for 5 minutes, or until they get a little color.

Serve the Sliders

Place the slider patties onto the grilled buns.

Add a dollop of the Bacon Cherry Compote.

Add the bun’s top and enjoy immediately.