A summer burger with meltingly tender pork, char siu style lacquered over coals, with a crunchy cucumber salad and a smoky leek and shiitake compote. Sweet, salty, grilled, and tart: the classic pulled pork takes a very coherent Cantonese barbecue direction.
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg boneless pork shoulder
- 4 pieces brioche burger buns
- 220 ml homemade char siu marinade
- 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 6 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp Chinese five-spice
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 cloves garlic
- 25 g fresh ginger
- 1 piece leek
- 180 g fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 1 piece red onion
- 1 piece cucumber
- 2 pieces carrot
- 1 bunch scallion
- 0.5 bunches fresh cilantro
- 100 g mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- to taste fine salt
- to taste ground black pepper
Method
- Massage the pork shoulder with the homemade char siu marinade, then let it marinate in the refrigerator until it is dark, shiny, and fragrant.
- Set up the grill with a glowing red direct heat zone and an indirect zone with no coals; when the coals are covered with a gray veil and the heat is steady with the lid closed, cooking can begin.
- Sear the pork over the direct coals just enough to mark the surface and wake up the sugars; it should color quickly, smell like caramel, and not blacken.
- Slide the meat over to indirect heat, with the lid closed and the vents moderately open; turn and baste occasionally, until the crust is red-brown, sticky, and the flesh yields easily to a fork.
- While the pork rests, grill the leek and shiitakes over the direct coals, then roughly chop them when they are pliable, smoky, and golden on the edges.
- Toss the cucumber, carrot, red onion, scallion, cilantro, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and salt; let macerate until you get a bright, crunchy, and slightly juicy salad.
- Shred the still-warm pork, fold in the resting juices and a little reserved marinade, then return it briefly in a foil pan to the indirect zone so the strands become glossy and coated.
- Toast the buns over direct coals until the crumb is golden, then spread with sriracha mayonnaise.
- Assemble the burgers with the pulled char siu pork, the smoky chopped leek and shiitake, and the crunchy salad; serve immediately, while the bun is warm and the juices begin to run.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 1045.2 kcal
- Protein
- 63.14 g
- Carbohydrate
- 69.53 g
- Fat
- 56.86 g
- Fibre
- 6.32 g
- Calcium
- 82.09 mg
- Iron
- 2.03 mg
- Magnesium
- 45.65 mg
