The traditional slider is a wonderful hearty appetizer, but I thought I’d jazz it up a bit with these Spicy Pork Meatball Sliders!
This is a simple meatball mixture with just a few ingredients but the key is to skewer the meatballs in kind of an oblong fashion so you can grill them over high heat and get a really nice char on the sliders.
Honestly, the pork meatballs by themselves are great as a meal on a rice bowl if you didn’t want to go the slider route, but the sliders were my favorite way to serve the meatballs.
It’s possible you can’t share these with too many people right now, but it’s a great hearty appetizer for a small get-together or just for your family!
Making the Pork Meatballs
I kept the meatball mixture simple for these, using hoisin sauce for some great sweetness and depth. I would’ve added a splash of fish sauce if I had some but was out at the moment. They were delicious without it!
Almost more important than what’s in the meatballs is how you cook them. When the mixture is ready, portion out about 2.5-3 ounce portions and skewer the meatballs with two skewers going through both sides of the meatball.
This method creates these oblong meatballs that grill up perfectly and are easy to flip.
Grill these meatballs over high heat for 5-6 minutes per side. They will get an excellent char on them and should be cooked through and perfect for sliders when they come off the grill!
Making the Meatball Sliders
These sliders definitely need a sauce and I chose a mayo-based sauce for mine. Stirred together with some cilantro, lime, and chili sauce, the creamy spicy sauce can be used pretty liberally on the sliders!
Besides the sauce and the patty, fresh green veggies like cucumbers and lettuce are great on the sliders.
More pork sliders? Try these Banh Mi Style Sliders!
Making these Sliders in Advance
If you wanted to lessen the workload a bit on these, the pork meatballs actually reheat fabulously. I tried reheating them two ways with great success. First, simply microwaving them off the skewers for 30 seconds works great.
If you need to reheat a bunch though, stick them on a baking sheet wrapped in foil and bake them for 15 minutes at 300F˚.
The meatballs will keep great for 4-5 days in the fridge!
These are some of my favorite sliders I’ve ever made and I’d highly recommend them while grilling season is in full swing.
Make some sliders even if you can’t share them with everybody you want to!
Dig in to these Pork Meatball Sliders!
Pork Meatball Sliders
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground pork
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup minced cilantro
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 12 slider buns
- Sliced Cucumbers, for sliders
- Fresh lettuce, for sliders
Easy Spicy Mayo:
- ½ cup mayo
- ½ lime, juice only
- 1 tablespoon minced cilantro
- 1 tablespoon chili sauce
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Clean grill grates well to prevent sticking.
- In a medium bowl, stir together pork with garlic, salt, hoisin, soy, and sesame. Stir together well.
- Make meatballs by portioning out 2.5-3 ounce portions of mixture and shape into an oblong oval. Skewer each meatball to make for easier grilling. You can probably fit two meatballs on each skewer.
- Repeat until you run out of meatball mixture.
- Add meatballs to pre-heated grill and grill for 5-6 minutes per side until meatballs are cooked through and charred in spots on the outside. Remove the meatballs and make sure they are cooked through by cutting one in half.
- Make sauce by stirring together ingredients in a small bowl.
- To make slicers, smear on some sauce onto your slider bun. Add lettuce and cucumber. Top with grilled pork meatball (one per slider) and add more sauce.
- Serve immediately.
- Leftover pork meatballs keep great in the fridge for 4-5 days. They reheat well in the microwave and can also be served over rice as a meal.
