I love Char Siu Pork. I love jerky. Why not put the two together? I had to give it a try.
I started with a pork loin. You want to find the leanest piece of pork you can. Trim off any surface fat and slice the pork into ¼ inch (6 mm) thick slices. I like to do this when the pork is slightly frozen, but a good slicing knife can do the job even on a thawed pork loin.
You will hear a lot of discussion about whether to cut with or across the grain of the meat. It is true that cutting across the grain makes a less chewy jerky and with the grain gives more chew, but both are fine. Cut it whatever way is easy for you.
Mix:
- 250 ml (1 cup) soy sauce
- 60 ml (4 tablespoons) hoisin
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) five spice
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) sriracha (could substitute 3 ml (1/2 teaspoon) hot pepper sauce)
- 125 ml (1 cup) brown sugar
- 3.2 grams (2.5 ml) (1/2 tsp) Prague Powder #1
Put the pork in a nonreactive container and pour the marinade over it. Cover the container and put it in the fridge for two days, stirring the meat around a couple of times.
Spread the pork on a rack and pat the surface dry with a paper towel. Flip the meat and pat dry with paper towel. Let sit in the open for 2 hours to dry.
Preheat an oven or smoker to 200 F (95 C) put the jerky on the racks. If you don’t have enough room for all the jerky, you can put a skewer through 1 end of the meat and hang the slices between the rack bars.
Cook for 2 hours until the meat is leathery but not dry.
The surface should crack on bending but not break. I start checking about 1 hour 45 minutes.
The Verdict
This is terrific. It has a real Asian flavour reminiscent of Chinese BBQ pork. If you have not made jerky from pork loin before, do it. It gives a great texture. This is one of my favourite jerkies.
The Old Fat Guy
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.2 pounds) pork loin, after trimming
- 250 ml (1 cup) soy sauce
- 60 ml (4 tablespoons) hoisin
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) five spice
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) sriracha (could substitute 3 ml (1/2 teaspoon) hot pepper sauce)
- 125 ml (1 cup) brown sugar
- 3.2 grams (2.5 ml) (1/2 tsp) Prague Powder #1
Instructions
- Trim any surface fat from the pork loin. Cut the pork loin into 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick slices.
- Mix the remaining ingredients together.
- Put the pork in a nonreactive container and pour the marinade over it.
- Cover and refrigerate for 2 days, stirring the meat around occasionally.
- Take the meat out of the marinade and spread it on a rack. Pat both sides dry with paper towel.
- Let the meat dry on the rack for 2 hours.
- Cook in a 200 F (95 C) smoker or oven until leathery but not dry, about 2 hours. The surface should crack on bending but not break.
