The only thing I love more than a burger is a miniature burger, aka a slider! Miniature food is so cute, and it’s easy to eat! So, I made these amazing Thai Pork Sausage Sliders with roasted red peppers, aged sharp white cheddar cheese, cilantro, cucumber, and silky smooth sriracha mayo to feed my need for adorable food.

Baking Soda, Say What??

Okay, so there is baking soda in these patties! And if you’ve seen some of my other recipes using ground meat or seared meat, you’ll see there’s baking soda in those too. Why? Because baking soda both helps ground meat retain its juices (so long as its had time to rest after being mixed in– about 20 minutes or so), and helps meat (and a lot of other foods) brown more readily. When ground meat releases its juices, the excess liquid prevents the meat from directly contacting the heat source, meaning that sometimes by the time the liquid has evaporated the meat is overcooked. The ‘browning’ of meat is actually a series of chemical reactions (usually referred to as the Maillard reaction), that produces dozens of new flavor compounds. This makes meat taste extra meaty and delicious! And anyone who’s had the pleasure of a well-browned seared steak or burger knows that browning is a make or break element of flavor. And don’t worry– you won’t taste the baking soda, promise!

Smash Those Sliders!

You’ll see in the recipe that I have noted to divide the pork mixture into balls which are then squished onto the griddle into patties. The reason for this is to create nice lacy and crisp edges on the slider patties. It’s the best part!

Thai Sausage with Galangal Recipe — *Check out those crisp browned edges!*

Kewpie Mayo

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Kewpie mayo is the best mayonnaise you’ll EVER taste. Try it! It’s made with egg yolks and rice vinegar, and it’s super smooth and complex in flavor. Find it at Target, on Amazon, at your local Asian market, or even your local general grocer!

Roasted Red Peppers

I’ve included how to roast red peppers at home in this recipe. I have heard you can also roasted them under the broiler! Also, you can totally use roasted red peppers from a jar, boo.

Galangal Root

Search “galangal” on google and you’ll get dozens of results of people scolding others for using ginger in place of galangal. Listen, I know that galangal is not easy to find. But, it is a very very Thai flavor, so if you can find it, that it AWESOME! If you can’t find it, just leave it out rather than replace it with ginger– ginger can be very overpowering.

Pork Thai Sausage Sliders Recipe

Print Recipe

Galangal and Pork Sliders

Servings: 12 Sliders

Ingredients

2 tbsp sriracha hot sauce
1/4 cup Kewpie mayonnaise
2 red bell peppers
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 lb plain ground pork sausage or fatty ground pork
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp peeled and minced galangal root
4 tsp packedchopped cilantro leaves and tender stems plus more cilantro sprigs for topping
4 garlic cloves grated on a microplane or pressed
1-2 thai or bird’s eye chili peppers minced
12 sweet hawaiian rolls sliced in half to form buns
1 small english cucumber thinly sliced lengthwise into ribbons on a mandolin
.25 lb white aged sharp cheddar cheese sliced, for serving

Instructions

Make the Sriracha Mayo:

In a small dish mix together the sriracha and mayonnaise until well combined. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

Roast the Red Peppers:

Peppers can be roasted on a grill or on a gas range stove. With either approach, the roasting will take about 20 minutes, and you’ll want to remove the grill grates or the burner plate so the pepper can be directly exposed to the flame. Roast the peppers directly on the flame or hot coals until thoroughly blackened all over. (If the skin isn’t completely blackened, it will be difficult to remove later.) Promptly move the peppers to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a lid to steam for 15 minutes. After steaming, peel away the skins and dice the peppers, discarding the stem and seeds.

Make the Thai Pork Sausage:

In a medium bowl, combine the fish sauce and baking soda and stir until the baking soda had completely dissolved. Add the pork, salt, galangal, cilantro, garlic, and chilies to the bowl and use your hands to mix well. When thoroughly mixed, divide the mixture into 12 balls, (about 1.5 tbsp each), arrange on a baking sheet, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Make the Sliders

Heat a cast iron griddle on a grill or stovetop over high heat until ripping hot (400F +.) One at a time, smash the balls with a spatula onto the griddle to form lacy edges. Cook the patties in batches, about 4 at a time, spacing 1-2” apart. Once smashed, let the patties sear undisturbed about 3 minutes (This will help the patties get a gorgeous browned surface and edges.) Then flip, give a firm smoosh, and cook 3 minutes on the other side.
Serve the patties on Hawaiian rolls, topped with piles of cucumber ribbons, cilantro sprigs, diced roasted red peppers, sriracha mayo, and cheddar cheese.