Smoked Char Siu Pork Shoulder Steaks Recipe

Grilling

Fire up your grill and get ready for some serious smoke.

Joshua Bousel

Yield:Serves 10 to 12
Active time:45 minutes
Total time:14 hours
Rated: 5.0

This recipe appears in:

Grilling: Smoked Char Siu Pork Shoulder Steaks

[ Photographs: Joshua Bousel ]

Inspired by the sweet, salty, and earthy qualities of Chinese char siu pork, with smoky, tender meat and bits of luscious fat. The pork shoulder is cut into steaks and rubbed with a mix of five-spice powder, brown sugar, and salt, then smoked with a sweet hoisin-honey glaze.

Ingredients

For the Char Siu Sauce:
2/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup dry sherry
2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
For the Rub:
2 tablespoons Chinese five-spice powder
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 boneless pork butt, about 7 pounds, cut into steaks about 2-inches thick
2 to 3 fist sized chunks of light smoking wood, such as cherry or apple
Type of fire: Indirect
Grill heat: Low

Directions

1.

For the Char Siu Sauce: Whisk together hoisin, honey, soy sauce, sherry, and 2 teaspoons of Chinese five spice powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2.

For the Rub: Mix together 2 tablespoons Chinese five spice powder, brown sugar, and salt in a small bowl.
3.

Coat shoulder steaks all over with rub. Place shoulder steaks all in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour in char siu sauce, seal, and toss to thoroughly coat pork. Place in refrigerator and marinate overnight.
4.

Fire up smoker or grill to 225°F, adding chunks of smoking wood when at temperature. When the wood is ignited and producing smoke, place pork in smoker or grill, reserving marinade, and smoke for 5 1/2 hours.
5.

While pork is smoking, pour reserved char siu marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce has thickened and reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
6.

Brush pork with reduced sauce and continue to smoke for 30 minutes more. Remove pork from smoker and let rest for 15 minutes. Slice and serve.