Caribbean Pork Slider w/Mango Jalapeno Relish

I was asked to cook for a Church Auction held at The Richard App Gallery for about 100 people. The Auction had a theme of ‘Sail Away’ so I wanted to plan and all Caribbean menu to match the theme. I am going to post the menu here, but spread the recipes out over a few posts so I can get some mileage out of this event. Thats how this blogging thing works, right?

‘Sail Away’ Auction Menu

Caribbean Pork Slider with Mango Jalapeno Relish

Jerk Chicken Chicken Satay with Yogurt Almond Dipping Sauce

Cilantro Lime Rice and Black Beans

Melon and Mint Salad

Lime Shortbread Cookie with a Guava Glaze

Chocolate Rum Mousse with Coconut Whip Cream

So that was the menu and today I am going to feature the Pork Slider and the Mango Relish.

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Pork

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1/4 Cup Pineapple Tidbits Drained

2 tsp Cumin

1/4 to 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs

Salt and Pepper

Add Pork, Garlic, Pineapple and Cumin to bowl and mix together with your hands. It is going to be a little runny, even tho the pineapple is drained there is still a lot of moisture in there. This is where you add and mix in the bread crumbs until you get a nice burger like consistency.

Form 8 – 10 small patties and salt and pepper both sides, put them in a non stick skillet and cook just like you would any burger or sausage patty.

 

Mango Jalapeno Relish

Ingredients

1 Mango Diced

2 Jalapenos Seeded and Diced

1 small red onion diced

1 Can Chunk Pineapple drained and Roughly chopped (save juice)

1 Red Pepper Diced

Combine all ingredients in bowl and give a good mix and let sit 15 – 20 minutes so all the flavors can hang out together for a while. After your waiting time had expired place the mixture in the bowl of your favorite food processor  and a Tbsp of the reserved pineapple juice and pulse it a few times. You are looking for the same consistency as you would get in a store bought pickle relish.(If you just leave this diced, it would make a great side dish to any meal) It is important to pulse here and really watch, if you have a good food processor it is easy to turn this into mush.

 

 

Assembly is pretty easy, place the cooked pork patty on a Kings Hawaiian Roll add a 1/4 slice of Jack cheese, top with Mango relish and serve. Out of all the things I made for this Auction, these were a crowd favorite. It was hard to keep the pan stocked.

 

This is just a simple twist on a classic american favorite. I used the slider size, since this happens to be all the rage in the Grand Rapids area right now. Sliders are on just about every menu in town. If you are looking for a change from your ordinary hamburger, give this a try. It has a nice fresh taste, a little spice and heat, some sweetness from the pineapple and the roll and a little cooling from the cheese. A real nice combination of flavors in a little package.

What are your favorite twists on a burger?

 

*Sorry for the less than stellar pictures, it was a 15 hour day in the kitchen and hard to keep a steady hand*

 

---