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Char Siu Recipe

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 20 minutes
marinating time1 day
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 1 to 2 Lbs of boneless pork shoulder cut into long 2 inch thick strips

For the marinade:

  • 3 Tablespoons of brown sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon of salt
  • ½ Teaspoon of Chinese five-spice powder
  • ½ Teaspoon of white pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon of dry wine or dry sherry
  • 1 Tablespoon of hoisin sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon of oyster sauce
  • ½ Teaspoon of sesame oil
  • 3 Cloves of garlic minced
  • A few drops of red food coloring optional

For the basting sauce:

  • The leftover marinade
  • 1 Tablespoon of honey

Instructions

  • Marinate the Pork: Add the ingredients for the char siu marinade to a bowl and use a fork to mix it all together. Then place the pork shoulder pieces into a large plastic bag and pour the marinade over it. Close the bag and agitate it so that the marinade covers all of the pork. Then just place this in your fridge and let it marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Also, make sure to take it out about 30 minutes to an hour before grilling so that the meat is room temperature.
  • Preheat your grill for indirect heat by placing half of the burners on high and the other half not turned on at all.
  • Get the char siu ready for the grill: Take the pork out of the plastic bag and make sure to shake it so that it doesn’t have any excess marinade. Then pour the marinade into a bowl, add the honey to it, and mix it. This will be our basting sauce.
  • Grill the char siu: Place the pork pieces on the indirect side of your grill, and let them cook with the lid closed for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes flip the pieces of pork and brush them with the basting sauce. Close the grill lid again and let them cook for another 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes flip the pork and baste them again. Keep doing this step every ten minutes until the pork has an internal temperature of 160 Fahrenheit. This could take anywhere between 40 minutes and an hour.
  • (Optional) Char up the pork: Once the pork has reached the desired temperature you can either take them off the grill or place them over the direct heat for a couple of minutes to let them char on the outside. Just make sure to turn them often if you do this because the sugars in the basting sauce and char quickly.
  • Let the char siu rest for 10 minutes before slicing it up. Enjoy!