Lemongrass Pork Sliders with Daikon Carrot Slaw

By: Harry Soo

Here's a great option for using a Snake River Farms Kurobuta pork collar from Harry Soo at Slap Yo' Daddy BBQ. These sliders enhance the juicy flavor of Kurobuta pork with Asian and citrus flavors.

Harry says: “There is much less connective tissue compared to the pork shoulder so it does not have to be cooked low and slow for 8 hours to make it tender. A quick grill and char is all that’s needed to bring out the sweet pork flavor.”

Ingredients

For the Pork

  • 2 pounds of SRF Pork Collar Buy Now
  • 6 Hamburger buns (more as you’ll want seconds)
  • 2 Green Jalapenos, sliced
  • Green leaf lettuce, washed (or butter lettuce)
  • Cilantro bunch, washed

For the Marinade

  • 3 tablespoons minced lemongrass
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes (optional if you don’t like spicy)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the Daikon/Carrot Slaw

  • 1 cup julienne carrots
  • 2 cups julienne daikon (or substitute jicama if you can’t find daikon)
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1/2 cup water

For the Pork

Freeze the pork for 2 hours to firm it up for slicing.
Slice pork collar into 1/8th inch medallions. Note, 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.
Prepare marinade. It resembles a thick syrupy slurry. (See Marinade)
Dredge pork slices in slurry and stack the dredged steaks in a pan. Cover and refrigerate. While pork is marinating in the slurry marinade, prepare the carrot/diakon slaw. (See Daikon/Slaw Above)
Once your carrot/diakon slaw is assembled - Preheat gas or charcoal grill to 450F or hotter (I prefer charcoal 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 about how much Dad’s going to love it.) If you’re using an oven, use the broiler and cook around 6 minutes, flipping once until cooked and nicely seared.
Lightly toast your hamburger buns.
Assemble the slider by starting with a mayo 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), and top with jalapeno slices, daikon/carrot 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. Enjoy with an Arnold Palmer ice-tea lemonade.

For the Marinade

Simply combine all ingredients together in small bowl.

For the Daikon/Carrot Slaw

While pork is marinating in the slurry marinade, prepare the carrot/diakon slaw. Mix the vinegar, sugar, fish sauce, and water in a bowl. Add julienned daikon and carrots. Mix and taste to adjust seasoning. Let stand in fridge as you marinate the pork slices. They can be refrigerated for several days.