At our Food Club pick-up this week Spencer was determined to get out some tasty snacks for our members, since that plan was somewhat foiled last week due to weeds that took a little longer to pull than expected.  So, planning ahead, he got some beef and pork from Boucher Family Farm, as well as some of their amazing blue cheese at Saturday market, and decided he’d do some kind of sliders for the pick-up day.  It ended up being a perfectly beautiful evening weather-wise and just right for lighting the barbecue.  Not having time to make mini-buns for our sliders, we decided to use what we had at hand – our current favorite lettuce, Summer Crisp – to wrap the little patties in.  The meat is so flavorful on its own, only salt and pepper for seasoning, and the blue cheese on top added that little something extra.  The crispiness of the summer crisp lettuce is so refreshing and it has a great tooth to it, crispy, yet tender and completely satisfying.  We experimented with warming the wraps on the grill, but this made the lettuce a little tough.  For best results, serve patties warm on a crisp lettuce leaf.  YUM!

Crisp-Wrapped Sliders

• ½ pound ground pork
• ½ pound ground beef
• 2 oz. blue cheese, cut into squares if aged, or crumbled if soft
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 10-12 leaves of washed summer crisp lettuce

1. Preheat gas grill to medium high, or start your charcoal grill.
2. In a large bowl, gently mix together pork, beef, salt and pepper with your hands. Don’t overwork the meat, just mix enough to combine.
3. Divide meat into 10-12 small patties.  Reserve until grill reaches temperature.
4. Place patties on grill, and cook until to desired doneness.  For medium, about 3 minutes per side.
5. If desired, add cheese and let melt on patties.
6. Remove patties from grill, and wrap in summer crisp leaves, bending up the rib first, then the left and right side, then the top.  Secure with a toothpick.
7. Enjoy immediately for best results!