March 2, 2011 | Appetizers, Meat & Poultry, Popular
One thing that happens when you buy meat directly from ranchers is that you end up with a fair amount of ground meat. The bison and grass-fed beef seem to get used up just fine in traditional dishes like meatballs and burgers. But I’m less creative, I’ve found, when it comes to using the ground pork I got from Monroe Organic Farms this past fall. Until this dish, that is.
I thought lettuce wraps would be fun to make, and the bonus was this was a simple dish that was pulled together in about 15 minutes. It would be easy for a weeknight dinner or for a fun party appetizer. Start by browning the ground pork, making sure to break it into small pieces as it cooks, then drain off the fat, add the other ingredients and simmer for a few minutes for the flavors to come together. Make sure you have Bibb lettuce on hand, as it’s much easier to fold around the filling while eating. You could also use peanuts, but I didn’t have any on hand and prefer pine nuts. And if the mint seems strange to you (like it did to my husband) just leave it out and add a bit more cilantro. Or vice versa if you hate cilantro. And if you have ground chicken or turkey around instead of pork, feel free to use that. You get the idea, right? This recipe is flexible!
- 1 pound ground pork
- ½ small red onion, diced fine
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried mint flakes
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon water
- 8 bibb lettuce leaves
- Cook pork in a skillet over medium high heat until completely browned, breaking up with a spoon as it cooks. Drain excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon with the meat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes for flavors to come together. Serve pork filling with lettuce leaves to roll up.
Looks really good! Love all the flavors and it sounds so delicious!
Fantastic photo!
WOW! it looks delicious. What a creative idea, I want to try it at home.I want to add this recipes in our dinner party recipes
with my friends.
I love your recipes and photos. I am looking forward to more delicious recipes.
Thanks Carol – happy to have you include it, but please make sure you link to my site for the recipe itself, thanks!
I love that idea…I’m not a pork eater really, but this would be great with turkey or chicken, wouldn’t it? Thanks for the idea!
Charissa, either turkey or chicken would be great!
Great work. I wish I found these in the yard when I was a kid. At least I can make them as an adult.
These look delicious. I am sending the recipe home to my husband right now to make for dinner this week!
[...] Minted Pork Lettuce Wraps A quick easy recipe, and one that can use ground beef or turkey as well! Use the fresh mint in place of the dried. [...]