Chinese Barbeque Pork (Char Siu) recipe

Name: Chinese Barbeque Pork (Char Siu)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Ingredients: ½ cup honey; ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper; ⅓ cup brown sugar; 4 cloves garlic, crushed; ⅓ cup ketchup; ⅓ cup hoisin sauce; ⅔ cup soy sauce; 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder; 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste; ½ cup Chinese rice wine (or sake or dry sherry); ⅛ teaspoon pink curing salt (Optional); 1 (3 pound) boneless pork butt (shoulder); 1 teaspoon red food coloring, or as desired (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place soy sauce, honey, rice wine, hoisin sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, five-spice powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and curing salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil on high heat; reduce heat to medium-high. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.

Step 2

Cut pork roast in half lengthwise. Cut each half again lengthwise forming 4 long, thick pieces of pork.

Step 3

Transfer cooled sauce to a large mixing bowl. Stir in red food coloring. Place pork sections into sauce and coat each piece. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 to 12 hours.

Step 4

Preheat grill for medium heat, 275 to 300 degrees F (135 to 150 degrees C) and lightly oil the grate. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 5

Remove sections of pork from marinade and let excess drip off. Place on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt to taste.

Step 6

Transfer pork sections to grate over indirect heat on prepared grill. Cover and cook about 45 minutes. Brush with marinade; turn. Continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 185 and 190 degrees F, about 1 hour and 15 minutes more. Do not use any more marinade on cooked meat until after you boil it.