Thursday, June 02, 2016

Chinese BBQ Pork

I love to order the Chinese BBQ pork at Chinese restaurants. That sweet, lacquered, porky goodness gets me every time. But it can often be tough and a little dry, not to mention who-knows-what preservatives are included in the sauce that's used, as it's usually from a can or powder. That color red cannot be found in nature!

So, I decided to make my very own Chinese BBQ at home and this is what happened...




Let me tell you, this was so good that I wish I had made more! Hubby and I were fighting over who got the last piece! This meal was worth the rice splurge on our low-carb diet. In fact, the sauce was so amazing that I'd like to see if I can get it tested for home canning.

For the record, this is a bit involved to make, so I would double the amount and maybe freeze the leftovers for future, Chinese-food-at-home-Netflix-marathons.

Chinese BBQ Pork at Home
Recipe source: Cooks Illustrated, April 2007

1 (4 lb) boneless pork butt, cut into 8 strips and excess fat removed (or use Country ribs like I did and cut off the bone)
1/2 cup sugar (I substituted Splenda to cut back on the sugar)
1/2 cup soy sauce
6 T hoisin sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp five-spice powder
1 T toasted sesame oil
2 T grated fresh ginger
2 tsps garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup honey


Place pork in a large, Ziplock bag. Combine sugar, soy sauce, hoisin, sherry, white pepper, five-spice powder, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic in a bowl and stir to mix. Measure out 1/2 cup of the marinade and set aside. Pour the remaining marinade into the bag with the pork. Seal the bag and "massage" the marinade into the pork a few times. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.


While meat is marinating, combine ketchup, honey, and reserved 1/2 cup of marinade in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup and is syrupy.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 300°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil and set a wire rack on sheet. Remove pork from marinade, letting excess drip off, and place on wire rack. Discard marinade from bag. Pour 1/4 cup water into the bottom of the sheet. Cover entire sheet with tin foil, crimping edges tightly to seal. Cook for 20 minutes and then remove the foil. Cook for another 40-55 minutes, or until edges of pork start to brown.


Remove pork from oven. Turn on oven broiler to high and set oven rack 6-8 inches away from broiler. Brush reduced sauce on pork and broil until evenly caramelized, 7-9 minutes. Turn pork over, brush sauce on other side, and broil again for 7-9 minutes. Do this one or two more times until the pork is a deep mahogany color. Remove from oven and brush pork one last time with sauce. Let rest for 10 minutes, then cut up into strips and serve.




2 comments:

Mary said...

Looks delish! Where do you buy your Hoisin sauce? It is SO expensive in the grocery store. I didn't find any on Amazon either.

Just the Right Size said...

Hi Mary!

Hmmm...I was under the assumption that hoisin sauce is pretty common in the grocery stores; that's where I buy mine. It's in the "ethnic" or "Asian" food sections in the grocery aisle. IMO, nothing in the specialty sections are really cheap, but I can't recall how much I spent for it up here in VA.

Amazon does carry it, and in fact, the Lee Kum Kee brand had the highest taste rating in the Cooks Illustrated article I got this recipe from. It's around $6 a bottle, but a little goes a long way:

http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Kum-Kee-Hoisin-Sauce/dp/B0001DMTPU/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1465001886&sr=8-2&keywords=hoisin+sauce

Happy cooking!

Kathy

 

design + development by kelly christine studio