Korean-Inspired Smoked Pork Shoulder

Bone-in pork shoulder is cured overnight before a low and slow smoke on the Broil King Keg or Pellet. Once fall-apart tender, it is served on lettuce cups alongside bright and zesty accompaniments for an interactive family-style meal.
Difficulty:
4/5
Prep time:
30 min
Cook time:
6-7 h
Serves:
6-8

INGREDIENTS

  • 6-pound bone-in pork shoulder
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice
  • 2 ½ cups water
  • 2 cups kimchi
  • 2 heads of bibb lettuce, torn into individual cups

PICKLED SOY ONIONS

  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 1 cup vinegar
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup soy sauce or tamari

SCALLION GINGER OIL

  • 1/2 cup neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point like rice bran, grapeseed, or canola
  • 1 cup scallion greens, thinly sliced
  • 2-inches ginger, grated
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

KOREAN-INSPIRED SPICY DIPPING SAUCE

  • ¼ cup. miso paste
  • 2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste) *sub with sambal oelek or sriracha
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS

  1. Pat pork shoulder dry with paper towel. In a small bowl, combine white sugar with kosher salt and rub the mixture all over the meat. Transfer pork shoulder onto a baking sheet with a cooling rack and cure overnight in the refrigerator.
  2. Preheat Broil King Keg or Pellet smoker to 300°F (this may take up to 30 minutes).
  3. Make soy pickled onions. In a mason jar, combine ingredients from sliced onions to soy sauce or tamari. Close the lid tightly and shake to make sure the sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
  4. Place pork shoulder on the grill and cook for an initial 5 hours. Flip every hour or so. After 5 hours have passed, wrap pork shoulder in aluminum foil and cook for another 1-2 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 195-205°F and the pork is shreddable.
  5. As the pork is cooking, make scallion ginger oil. In a small pan, heat oil on medium heat until hot and shimmering, about 3 minutes. Do not walk away. Turn off heat. Add sliced scallion greens and grated ginger to the pan and mix to combine. Season with salt and set aside to cool.
  6. In a small bowl, combine ingredients from miso paste to sesame seeds for the spicy dipping sauce. Set aside.
  7. About an hour out, make jasmine rice. Rinse the rice in a strainer until water runs clear. In a small saucepan, bring rice and water to a boil on medium heat and turn down to a very gentle simmer. Do not stir. Cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let it sit for an additional 5-10 minutes.
  8. Transfer pork shoulder to a large cutting board and shred into pulled pork.
  9. Serve on lettuce cups with pickled soy onions, jasmine rice, scallion ginger oil, spicy dipping sauce, and kimchi.

Recipe Styling & Development by Jannell Lo
Photography by Jessica Kalman