Char Siu (Chinese Barbecued Boneless Pork)

I love barbecued pork. I have a special fondness for Chinese barbecued pork, which combines savory porkiness with sweet, caramelized, crispy bits. Our daughter, Johanna, especially loves the dim sum char siu bao; baked barbecued pork buns, which she requests specially whenever she knows I'll be near the dim sum shops of Clement Street in San Francisco. Unfortunately, this is one of the guiltiest pleasures I can think of. Knowing, as I do, that pigs are very smart animals, and how horribly mistreated the vast majority of commercially raised animals are, I cannot feel right buying even a morsel of the treats available on Clement Street. Surely these inexpensive snacks are made using the cheapest of commodity animals. In addition, what goes into the marinade? Red food coloring for sure. How about high fructose corn syrup and MSG? And the buns, with their pure white dough; what else lies within their pure, snowy, fiber and nutrient-free surface; perhaps some trans-fats?

Well, since I happen to have 3/4 of a sustainably raised pig in my freezer, I decided to make some myself! I found a number of interesting sounding recipes, and decided to combine a few, while following the technique laid out in the Gourmet Magazine Cookbook for the roasting. The results: transcendent! And not really much work at all, I might add. After cutting the meat into strips and marinating it for 24 hours in a simple to assemble sauce, I laid the strips on a cookie rack over a roasting pan with a little water in the bottom, and alternately roasted, basted, and turned the meat for about an hour. AND, I have a bunch of leftovers, which I will make into packets and freeze, as this is an outstanding flavoring agent; a little goes a long way. Last night we had pork fried rice. Oh boy.

Here is the recipe, with instructions.

Char Siu (Chinese Barbecued Pork)

1 @4 pound boneless pork Boston butt/shoulder roast, cut into strips 4 inches wide
3/4 cup hoisin sauce (I found organic at Berkeley Bowl!)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine (Chinese or sake)
2 TB honey
2 TB brown sugar
1 TB finely chopped ginger
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 TB toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp five spice powder

Stir the ingredients well to combine in a bowl deep enough to hold everything, then fully cover the pork in the sauce. Marinate for 24 hours, periodically turning to ensure that all the meat has equal access.

Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Fill a 9"x13" roasting pan with 1/2" of water. Place a cookie rack over the top. Remove meat from marinade, reserving the marinade. Arrange the strips of meat 1" apart on top of the rack, and roast for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, pour the remaining marinade in a small sauce pan and bring it to a boil. It may appear curdled. Using a brush (I have a silicone small pastry brush from Le Creuset - it's great. It cleans up beautifully; no more yucky residue!) brush marinade over all exposed surfaces of the meat, and then roast for another 10 minutes. Generously brush the surfaces with the marinade again, and turn the meat over. Baste the other side, and roast for 10 minutes more. Again baste the surfaces and roast them for another 10 minutes. By now, the marinade should be pretty much gone. Go ahead and use it up! Now increase the temperature to 400 F, and roast for 10-15 minutes more, until it caramelizes on the corners and turns a rich mahogany color. Take it out of the oven, remove the meat from the roasting pan (you can lift the whole rack) and place it on a cutting board. Tent it with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. During this time, the internal temperature will rise 10-15 degrees more.

According to Gourmet Cookbook, the flavor diminishes once the meat is cut, so you should only cut as much as you need at the time.