Lemongrass Pork Sliders

Much more than a hamburger, tender cuts of pork are marinated, grilled, and topped with a carrot-daikon slaw. Lemongrass pork sliders are a special and tasty main dish that will surprise your guests at your next cookout. More fun than a regular burger, these sliders have it all: flavor, heat, a touch of sweetness, and crunch.

Lemongrass has a sweet-citrusy flavor and is often used to marinate meat to infuse it with flavor. In order to use lemongrass, you need to finely chop or pound the tender stalk portion. Make sure to peel away and discard the tough outer leaves first before mincing the lemongrass.

This recipe calls for a pork collar which is a portion of the shoulder that runs from the neck to the tip of the loin. It is also referred to as a center-cut boneless pork butt. You can use traditionally raised pork or really up the “wow” factor and use Kurobuta pork.

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Clik here to view. A pile of grilled pork slices are piled on a green plate.

Once your pork slices are grilled you can start to assemble your sliders.

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Clik here to view. A pile of grilled hamburger buns on a white plate.

Give the buns a light toast on the grill before assembling the sliders.

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Clik here to view. A bowl of marinade sits next to a tin container holding slices of raw pork.

Mix the ingredients for the marinade then dredge each pork slice in it so they are evenly coated.

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Clik here to view. A slider bun with layers of lettuce, pork, carrot-daikon slaw, and fresh cilantro.

Better than a traditional burger, this pork slider has heat, sweetness, and crunch.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. A canning jar filled with julienned carrots and daikon radish.

You can prepare the carrot-daikon slaw several days ahead of time and keep it refrigerated.

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Clik here to view. Three slices of pork on the grill with hot charcoals underneath.

Use either a gas or charcoal grill to cook the marinated pork.

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Clik here to view. Looking into a slider bun stacked with lettuce, grilled pork slices, carrot-daikon slaw, jalapeno pepper slices, and cilantro.

Looking into a slider bun stacked with lettuce, grilled pork slices, carrot-daikon slaw, jalapeno pepper slices, and cilantro.

Serve your lemongrass pork slider with a tall beer or glass of lemonade.

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Clik here to view. Looking into a slider bun stacked with lettuce, grilled pork slices, carrot-daikon slaw, jalapeno pepper slices, and cilantro.

Lemongrass Pork Sliders Recipe

Much more than a hamburger, tender cuts of pork are marinated, grilled, and topped with a carrot-daikon slaw.

Course Lunch

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Sandwich

Difficulty Seasoned

Method Grill

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 925kcal

Author adminsaffron

Equipment

grill

Ingredients

2 pounds pork collar

Marinade

1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons minced lemongrass
3 tabespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chili flakes (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced

Carrot-Daikon Slaw

1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 cup julienned carrots
2 cups julienned daikon

To Serve

4 hamburger buns
mayonnaise
lettuce leaves
sliced jalapeno peppers
cilantro leaves
Sriracha hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

Freeze the pork for 2 hours to firm it up for slicing.
Slice the pork collar into 1/8-inch-thick (3mm) medallions.
Tip: If you’re not using a marbled or tender cut like Kurobuta, you can pound the pork slice between two sheets of plastic wrap to make it more thin and tender.

Marinade

In a bowl, combine the sugar, lemongrass, fish sauce, soy sauce, vegetable oil, ginger, sesame oil, black pepper, chili flakes, and garlic. It will resemble a thick syrupy slurry.
Dredge the pork slices in the marinade and stack the dredged steaks in a pan. Cover and refrigerate.
While the pork is marinating in the slurry marinade, prepare the carrot-daikon slaw.

Carrot-Daikon Slaw

Mix the vinegar, water, sugar, and fish sauce in a bowl. Add the julienned carrots and daikon. Mix and taste to adjust the seasoning. Let stand in the fridge as you marinate the pork slices. They can be refrigerated for several days.

To Serve

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) or hotter. I prefer a charcoal grill if I have time.
Remove the pork slices and shake away excess marinade. Discard the marinade.
Grill the pork slices over direct heat until nicely charred and you can smell the aroma. (Be sure to eat some while you’re grilling and imagine how much Dad’s going to love it.)
If you’re using an oven, use the broiler and cook for about 6 minutes, flipping once until cooked and nicely seared.
Lightly toast your hamburger buns.
Assemble the slider by starting with the mayonnaise spread on both sides of the bun. Add lettuce on the bottom half of the bun, then add the grilled pork slices (I like two per slider). Top with jalapeno slices, carrot-daikon slaw, and some cilantro. If you don’t like cilantro, skip it and I won’t tell. Squirt some Sriracha if you like your sliders spicy.