Ground Pork Appetizers

Use large lettuce leaves to create a lettuce wrap filled with a cooked ground pork and vegetable mixture, seasoned to your taste. Bibb, butter or Boston lettuce leaves work well because of the size and shape of the leaves. Wash the leaves and dry them thoroughly before assembling the appetizers. Experiment with the filling, using browned ground pork, sauteed vegetables and your favorite sauce, such as a stir-fry, teriyaki or hot sauce. Vegetables that work well include carrots, celery, mushrooms onions and peppers. Scoop the mixture onto each lettuce leaf just before serving. Serve the wraps next to a bowl of ranch dressing so guests can place a dollop on top, if they like.

Make meatballs with ground pork, or a combination of pork and another ground meat, such as beef or chicken. Roll the ground meat into mini meatballs for appetizer portions. For a creative presentation that is easy for guests to enjoy, place the cooked meatballs on mini skewers. Look for decorative, plastic skewer toothpicks for the meatballs. Serve the meatballs plain or include a sauce, such as barbecue, sweet and sour, or a creamy salad dressing, for dipping.

Instead of ground beef sliders, use ground pork to make the mini meat patties. Mix in your favorite seasonings with the ground pork before shaping it into small patties. Cook the patties as you would a hamburger. Check with your local bakery to find small buns that fit the sliders. Include lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayonnaise, ranch dressing, mustard and cheese at a topping bar for guests to choose.

Potstickers are appetizer-friendly Asian dumplings that typically contain ground meat and vegetables inside a dough wrapper that is boiled or steamed, then quickly pan-fried. Make potstickers with ground pork and vegetables like shredded carrots and diced onions. To save time, use packaged wonton wrappers instead of making your own dough.