Pork Char Sui

I’ve been wanting to try and duplicate the tasty red pork that we get at our local Chinese restaurant. After doing some research, I decided to start with a 13-pound pork butt (shoulder roast) thinly sliced into strips. Rather than use food coloring to get the usual red color, I went back to the traditional method and cured the pork first.

To cure the meat, put the sliced pork butt in a large freezer bag and coat it with 1t of Morton’s Sugar Cure for every pound of meat. Rub the cure into the meat, covering all sides. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Store in the refrigerator for 2 days, flipping the meat over once a day.

After the pork has cured, rinse it off and soak in fresh water for an hour. While the pork is soaking, prepare the following marinade:

  • 1c soy sauce
  • 1/2c honey
  • 1/2c chinese rice wine (or sherry)
  • 1c hoisin sauce
  • 3 cloves crushed garlic
  • 2t five spice powder
  • 1T crushed red pepper flackes

Put a single layer of the the pork strips in a shallow baking dish and pour enough of the marinade over to coat. Alternate layers of pork and marinade until all the meat is covered. Cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge at least overnight.

Set your grill or smoker up for an indirect cook at 350°F. Remove the pork from the marinade, shaking off any excess. Season with a good coating of Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin and roast the strips about 20 minutes per side, or until the the thickest pieces hit about 160°F internal.

Spicy, sweet and savory – very nice.

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