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Will’s Meerkats and Pork Sliders

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Pork sliders.
sandwich

Pork Sliders

A couple of blog posts ago I mentioned I found two memory cards among William’s things. The photos I share with you today bring back fun memories of a trip we took to the San Diego Zoo. It was Christmas and William was completing his first corpsman assignment at Balboa Naval Hospital. He was beyond disgusted to be assigned to the OB/GYN department and proceeded to spend the next two years pestering his superiors to transfer him to field medicine at Camp LeJeune. He never gave up and eventually realized his dream of serving his country in the way he wanted to serve.

Meerkats.
The Sentry

Back to the zoo, I remember how much he enjoyed the meerkats. We spent the majority of our time laughing over the antics of this gang. He has more photos of the meerkats than any other animal at the zoo. He loved them. I recall us saying he and his dad were like the sentries; naturally protective of the family and ready to take action against predators.

2 meerkats.

And then there are “the 3 lazy bastards”(gosh I hear his voice like it was yesterday). He actually gave these three names, but that info. shall remain classified. The boy just cracked me up then and he sure is making me chuckle now.

3 sleeping meerkats.

Oh, William. I sure do miss you. I am grateful to have such great memories and to be able to preserve them in this blog. Thank you, son, for these fun meerkat photos and that winning smile of yours.

Will and Deacon.
my son and dog

Here is one of my recent winning recipes. It’s an Asian inspired juicy pork slider topped with 2 kinds of pickled vegetables served on a soft Hawaiian bun. Perfect for a summer party, get ready for some flavor in your mouth and a smile on your face. While I did not win the top prize I was happy to be among the top 10.

Sliced sesame pork tenderloin.
perfectly cooked pork
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Maple Smoked Pickled Pork Sliders


  • Author: Lisa Keys
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: serves 12
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Description

Perfect balance of flavors in  a slider.


Ingredients

Maple Smoked Pickle (recipe follows)

1-pound pork tenderloin

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-tablespoon sesame oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup sesame seeds

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1-teaspoon ground ginger

12 slider rolls

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Hawaiian sweet rolls with or without jalapeno

Maple Smoked Pickle

1 English cucumber, unpeeled, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, thinly sliced

1/2-cup water

1/2-cup white vinegar

1/3-cup real maple syrup

1-teaspoon kosher salt

2 drops liquid smoke


Instructions

  1. Prepare Maple Smoked Pickle (recipe follows).
  2. Place pork in a zippered plastic bag.
  3. In 1-cup measure, mix soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil; pour over pork. Seal bag squeezing out as much air as possible. Let pork marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or for as long as overnight in the refrigerator.
  4. Heat oven 400F. Line a shallow roasting pan with foil.
  5. Remove pork from marinade, pat dry and discard marinade.
  6. Brush pork all over with maple syrup.
  7. Mix sesame seeds, brown sugar and ginger on a flat plate. Roll pork in sesame seed mixture to coat.
  8. Place pork in prepared pan and roast for 25 to 30 minutes or until instant meat thermometer registers 155 to 160F.
  9. Transfer meat to a cutting surface, cover with foil and let rest 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into thin slices.  
  10. Toast slider rolls, if desired.
  11. Spread bottom half of each slider roll with hoisin sauce.
  12. Layer with pickled cucumbers, pork, jalapeno and cilantro.
  13. For Maple Smoked Pickle: Place cucumber and jalapeno in a heat-proof bowl. Bring water, vinegar, maple syrup, salt and liquid smoke to a boil stirring to dissolve salt. Pour liquid over vegetables. Let stand 30 minutes. Cover and chill until ready to use.
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Main dish
  • Method: roasting
  • Cuisine: Asian

Keywords: pork tenderloin, pickled vegetables, sliders, pork, sandwich, maple, smoked

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag me @goodgriefcook — I can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

San Diego sunset.
San Diego sunset photo by Will Keys

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Auntie EV

    July 17, 2016 at 8:01 am

    I can only imagine what names he gave the meerkats ******
    I love that smile too! 💞💕💞

    Reply
    • Lisa

      July 17, 2016 at 8:04 am

      He was just so funny and quick–nothing fake ever about him…he just told it as it was

      Reply
  2. CathyO

    July 17, 2016 at 9:34 am

    I love meerkats too, William. And my first meerkat encounter was at the San Diego Zoo !! 🙂

    Reply
    • Lisa

      July 17, 2016 at 9:36 am

      fascinating creatures that seem to love big families–you’d think they were Italian (lol)

      Reply
  3. athomewrebecka

    July 17, 2016 at 10:36 am

    I’m forever caught between joy and tears when I read your posts! Will’s passion for life jumps off the page with such beauty! Thank you for sharing the meerkat photos and continuing the beautiful legacy of your sweet sons life!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      July 17, 2016 at 8:18 pm

      and thank you for reading and taking it all in

      Reply
  4. Louis Matino (@LouMatino)

    July 17, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    Great pics – Cole is back from Honduras. All good and he seems to have a new perspective.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      July 17, 2016 at 8:17 pm

      Happy Cole is home from Honduras. He did good work and that is always a feel good experience. I am pretty sure he will always be thankful for his family and having a roof over his head

      Reply
  5. Paula Todora

    July 17, 2016 at 4:14 pm

    …AND church is out! My favorite part of this awesome post? ” – photo by Will Keys”
    (and Will lives on)

    Reply
    • Lisa

      July 17, 2016 at 8:15 pm

      he took some great photos of God’s creatures and his surroundings

      Reply
  6. Carol Walsh

    July 18, 2016 at 6:55 am

    I too can hear his voice calling those “3 lazy bastards”. Made me laugh out loud. You’ll have to tell me later the (I’m sure glorious) names he called them. 🙂
    Great post as usual mama.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      July 18, 2016 at 9:33 am

      I knew you would get it (lol), but I will never tell. I am sure you can imagine.

      Reply

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Me and my son.

Hi, I'm Lisa! Welcome to Good Grief Cook.

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