Filipino style BBQ
Every Filipino family has their own version of this recipe and you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who is willing to give up their secret recipe… what you will get instead is a “basic” recipe and it’ll be up to you to create your own “secret recipe” by adding your own spin to it.
If you’re not feeding an army, you’ll need to adjust the amounts. Everything is pretty much to taste so I urge you to taste the marinade and adjust everything to taste.
10 lbs of pork butt (cut into thinnish bite-sized pieces)
1/2 bottle of 7-Up (my sister says it HAS to be 7-Up)
Juice of 6 lemons
2 cups of brown sugar
1 cup of finely minced garlic
1/2 cup of finely minced onion
kosher salt * this is to taste, I use 1/2 cup add little by little so you don’t go overboard
hot sauce * again according to taste
Mix everything and taste – the key is to make sure that it’s both a little too sweet & salty.
You have to marinate the pork for 2 days. You can try to get away with marinating it overnight but really it’s 10x better if it’s for 2 days. Oh and make sure you seal the container well, or else everything in your fridge will smell of garlic!! Soak bbq sticks in water overnight. Soaking helps prevent the sticks from fully burning in the grill.
1. After cutting pork (include the fat too!). Boil a large pot of water. Poach pork pieces until it’s no longer pink ( a few seconds) then strain. My sister (the best cook in the family) says that poaching it allows the flavor to seep into the meat even more. I’m not really sure how that works, but I usually follow everything Cheryl says – you don’t understand how good her cooking is 🙂 So yes, I do follow her blindly when it comes to cooking.
2. Once you’ve drained out the excess water, transfer pork into a container that can be sealed tightly. Add marinate mixture to pork and marinate for 2 days.
3. Remove pork from fridge and allow to it to come to room temp prior to cooking. Make sure your grill is super super hot. The key is to char the meat but not to overcook it, because it will dry up.
4. Thread pieces onto sticks.
5. Grill until edges are charred on both sides. Turning only once.
I know the meat is already dead, but Trust me, in this case the more charred the better.