Uncle Ray’s Spicy Grilled Marinated Pork

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Uncle Ray’s Spicy Grilled Marinated Pork

My good friend Ray whose nickname is Uncle Ray makes a fantastic spicy grilled marinated pork shoulder. He tells me it’s spicy because he uses a Korean style chili paste. He tried many combinations of flavors to get it just right and this version has become a family favorite. Since he made it for everyone for our family get together on Labor Day, he kindly allowed me to share his secret recipe. His secret ingredient is “Go-Chu-Jang” which is a savory and pungent fermented Korean paste made from red chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. It’s an indispensable condiment that’s used a lot in Korean dishes and its flavor is quickly catching on with many other cultures in California and is starting to appear in tacos, sushi rolls, and pasta.


Ray uses chili flakes for some spicy heat and rice wine which has alcohol as the wine helps to denature the pork protein to make it more tender. The brown sugar and honey aids in caramelization. It’s best to marinate it overnight in a Ziploc bag for the flavors to blend and marry. This dish is traditionally served with onions and Ray used some sweet Maui onions. This dish is very versatile as it can be prepared and then refrigerated, or frozen into a block, and brought to the beach or mountains or during camping. It can be thawed and quickly grilled to serve a perfect meal with some bread, tortillas, cooked rice, or noodles. It also makes a great gyro, wrap, burritos, or tacos.

  • Total Time: 35 mins
  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 4 lbs boneless pork butt, freeze until semi-solid, then slice into thin slices
  • 2 Sweet or Maui onions

Marinade

  • 1 cup Korean Go-Chu-Jang (available from Asian or Korean grocery store) or substitute with your favorite Louisiana hot sauce mixed with 3/4 cup of brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup Japanese Rice wine
  • 4 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes for heat; add more if you like
  • 2 heads of garlic, peeled and minced

Garnish

  • Green Onion
  • White sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl and then pour into a 2 gallon Ziploc bag
  2. Add sliced pork and marinate overnight
  3. Light 1 full Weber charcoal chimney with briquettes. Place a sterno below to light the briquettes
  4. Once briquettes are grey, dump it into a 22-inch Kettle on one half of the pit. Leave the other half as a cool zone.
  5. Close the lid and wait for the pit to warm up
  6. Start grilling the pork when it is medium hot where you can place your palm about 6 inches above the hot coals for 2 seconds
  7. Cook the pork on the grill ensuring you do not burn the pieces. When they are starting to brown, move them to the cooler side of your grates. Put cooked meat in a saucepan or foil pan to keep warm while you cook the pork in batches.
  8. Cook the onions in a similar manner
  9. Garnish with some chopped green onions and white sesame seeds. The meat goes great with pasta, noodles, steamed rice or as a gyro, burrito, taco, etc. Enjoy
  • Author: Harry Soo
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Category: Entree
  • Cuisine: American