Sweet Glazed Ham Ball Sliders

I've turned my famous Iowa Ham Balls into a fun slider!

These sweet bites of heaven sit on top grilled pineapple and a soft Hawaiian bun.

This post is sponsored by Iowa Pork. All opinions are my own.

Summer is HERE.

Finally! We've waited awhile around the Midwest and I'm happy to say it is now full on shorts and bug weather. Yes, the two come hand in hand and I'm not complaining.

The kids JUST finished school {again, horrible winter} and are super happy I am no longer dragging them out of bed at 7 a.m. and shoving them out the door 40 minutes later. Our mornings are a bit more relaxed, but our days are still just as busy.

We may or may not have had 11 ball games last week. Yes, you read that right, ELEVEN. But, you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. The kids love it, the husband coaches them all and I want to be no other place then on the sideline watching them play.

So many memories being made.

Our meals have been hit and miss to start this busy Summer season and I've learned to just let that go. Many nights we are rummaging the fridge at 8 p.m. just getting home and well, we all survive until the next day so I'm trying to not get hung up on it too much.

BUT....a few times a week, even if we are busy I like to put a hot, put-together meal in front of them, so they don't feel Mom only serves them cold meat sandwiches during the months of June through August.

These Sweet Glazed Ham Ball Sliders made their official appearance last week. To RAVE reviews and shouts of glory. Well, maybe not "shouts of glory" but everyone gobbled and stuffed their faces and went to bed with full bellies.

My long time friends at Iowa Pork have partnered together on this fun recipe post, along with my new friends at Fareway Stores. Together we've really made a delicious one!

In case you've been living under a rock, the state of Iowa raises 1/3 of all pork eaten in the United States. That's a lot! We have a lot of pigs and we are pretty proud of it. This means wherever you live in the states you are helping to support Iowa farmers.

Thank you.

As a family we buy most of our pork locally directly from the farmer, which means I often have it all on hand in my deep freeze {bacon, ground sausage, roasts, brats, chops, etc.}. Saying this I do purchase my beloved HAM LOAF from Fareway Stores {a favorite Iowa grocery chain}. They are the only ones I've found that have it ready and made at their meat counter.

Ham loaf is simply a combination of half ground pork and half ground ham. If you aren't in the Midwest close to a Fareway, you can ask your butcher to grind up this combination for you. This ham loaf mixture is most commonly used for a popular Iowa dish called ham balls.

They are a winter comfort food around these parts and we love them!

But here's the thing. It's not winter! It's most definitely now summer and I wanted to lighten up this classic dish a bit and what better way to do that then to turn it into a slider.

I kept the meat mixture relatively the same, along with the glaze, but jazzed it up my basting that tender burger with the glaze as it cooked and adding some sweet grilled pineapple as a topper.

MY KIDS LOVED THESE.

I brought in the plate of sliders for lunch last week and you would have thought I brought home a new puppy.

Sliders continue to be fun and popular and these would be a great party food! This recipe makes 18 sliders so it can easily feed a hungry crowd. Serve up a a few fun summer side dishes {perhaps my Chicken Bacon and Ranch Pasta Salad or my Zesty Spaghetti Salad} along with a bowl of fresh fruit and your meal is complete.

Who wouldn't want to come to THAT party?

These sliders also reheat great {tested and approved, we ate them the next day as well} so no worries if you aren't hosting a party and are only feeding your family of five.

They won't last long.

I served these sliders on the delicious and famous King's Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls. They are soft and sweet and just the right slider size, but feel free to use whatever smaller sandwich bun you can find.

And heck, if you want a "bigger burger" just make into 9 regular sized versions and I'll never know. You don't need to report it to me....just do what you want! You'll just need to adjust the cooking times a bit.

Lastly, can we chat about grilled pineapple? Have you done this? If you haven't you should. Just get it slightly charred and watch that pineapple caramelize in front of you....making it super sweet, melting in your mouth.

So, so good.

A big summer high-five to Iowa Pork for sponsoring this post and to Fareway for supplying the meat used in this recipe. I will continue to work with companies in my home state that I love and respect.

Let me know the minute these sweet sliders grace your table!

Share with me on social media {tag @sweetsavoryeats} and I'll be sure to share the love with my readers and yours. Let's make these a staple food for all your summer barbecues!