Pork Lettuce Cups

Many snacks or oarty food are created from puff pastry because it’s quick, easy, tasty and time saving. We wanted to include a healthier party snack, which was equally as moreish and quick. The filling should be marinaded before cooking.

An additional bonus, the filling can also be prepared in advance. The minced meat filling can be cooked on the Big Green Egg, cooled and frozen.

You could also swap out pork for chicken, lamb or beef mince and change the flavour profile to your own palette.

Mrs Meat Smoke Fire is going to enjoy playing freezer bingo and taking it as a opportunity to use up lots of small quantities of mince that have been lurking in the freezer for a while.

Cooking surfaces

BBQ Temperature

Ingredients

400g pork mince
4 garlic cloves, grated
3cm piece fresh ginger, grated
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp gochujang (Korean Chilli Paste)
1 tsp chilli flakes
4 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 heads gem lettuce
2 tbsp honey
toasted sesame seeds, optional

Pickle (optional)

1 tbsp mouli, julienned
1/2 a carrot, julienned
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
1 tbsp mint, finely chopped
1/2 Thai chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp Agave syrup
Juice of half a lime

Method

Prepare the filling by placing the pork mince in a bowl with garlic, ginger, onion, gochujang, chilli flakes, soy, mirin and sesame oil. Give it a good stir, use a fork to break up the mixture. Cover, pop in the fridge and leave to marinate for at least an hour.
Set up your Big Green Egg for a direct cook at 200°C.
Pop in your stainless steel griddle, followed by a cast iron skillet.
Place the mince mixture into the skillet. Cook and fry for approx 8 to 10 mins until the mince is nicely browned and the pork reaches 74°C. If you’re making this ahead, cool the mince at this point and freeze it.
Meanwhile you can prepare the pickle: julienne the carrot and mouli. Once the mouli is chopped, place in some kitchen paper and squeeze to get rid of the excess water.
Place the chopped vegetables in a bowl, with the fish sauce, fresh herbs, chilli, agave syrup and lime juice. Give it a good stir and set aside in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Cut the base off of each lettuce, snap off the leaves and lay them out on a platter or board.
To finish the mince, drizzle with honey and cook for 2 minutes until sticky.
Spoon the cooked mince into the lettuce cups.
To finish, top with the pickle and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.