Chinese New Year Part 1: BBQ Pork

The snowstorm dumped about a foot of slush into NYC, so I couldn't get any groceries. This was supposed to be char siu pork, but I was missing too many essential ingredients, so I just made BBQ pork instead. Same technique.

It looks blue because of the sunlight reflecting off the snow outside.

I got some pork butt (there weren't many meats to choose from), which I cut along the grain, because I'll slice it again cross grain after it's cooked.

I was missing maltose, fermented tofu, five spice, and hoisin sauce... so I decided to improvise.

I substituted honey for maltose, which changes the flavor a little bit. Honey is much more obviously sweet than maltose. I added a whole bunch of random things such as dark soy sauce, mirin, star anise, pepper, peppers, garlic, oyster sauce, and I let it all simmer. I adjusted the marinade to taste.

The meat was marinated overnight, and then the next morning, it's outfitted with improvised meat hooks.

Then the meat was hung over a pan of boiling water and baked at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes, and then at 325 degrees for another 10-15 minutes.

I carefully removed the meat from the rack with another "meat hook".

The meat's done at this point, but if you want really nice charred corners, you can brush it with more honey/maltose, and cook it under the broiler for a couple minutes.

Yum! Nice thin slices. Cutting across the grain will make the meat super tender.
Obviously this isn't enough for a Chinese New Year feast... so more to come on the next post.