Heuk-dwaeji-gui (Jeju Black Pork)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Tabletop grill, charcoal grill, or heavy cast-iron skillet
• •Kitchen scissors
• •Long tongs
• •Small heatproof metal sauce cup or small saucepan for meljeot
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the pork

   Pat the pork very dry. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, about 6g, evenly over 1 kg pork and let it sit 30 minutes at cool room temperature. That is only about 0.6 percent salt by weight, lighter than many grilled meats, because the meljeot dip will finish the seasoning. Cold pork tightens on the grill before the fat can render, so give it this short rest, but do not leave it out longer than 1 hour.

   Notebook 57 says: no marinade, 6g salt, thick cut. If the pork is good, sugar and soy only get in the way.
2. 2

   Warm the meljeot

   Put the meljeot, water, soju if using, sliced garlic, sliced chili, and gochugaru if using in a small saucepan or heatproof metal cup. Bring it just to a gentle bubble for 2 to 3 minutes, then lower the heat. The water loosens the salt, the brief cooking rounds the fermented anchovy, and the garlic and chili give it enough edge to cut the pork fat. Taste it with the tip of a spoon. It should be strong enough that one small dip seasons a whole bite.

   If your meljeot is harsh, add water 1 tablespoon at a time. Do not add sugar. This dip is meant to be briny and direct, not sweet.
3. 3

   Heat the grill

   Heat a tabletop grill, charcoal grill, or heavy cast-iron pan to medium-high. If you are indoors, rub the pan with 1 teaspoon neutral oil, then wipe away any excess. Thick black pork needs steady heat, not a violent flame. Too low and the meat leaks fat without browning; too high and the outside burns before the center is cooked.

4. 4

   Sear the slabs

   Lay the pork slabs on the grill in one layer. Grill 3 to 4 minutes on the first broad side, then 3 minutes on the second, moving pieces away from flare-ups if you are using charcoal. Stand belly pieces briefly on their fatty edge for 1 to 2 minutes so the fat renders and the skin side takes color. Do not keep turning them every few seconds. Let the surface brown properly before you move it.

5. 5

   Cut and finish

   When both broad sides are browned, use kitchen scissors to cut the pork into bite-size rectangles, about 3 to 4 cm wide. Return the cut faces to the grill for another 3 to 5 minutes, turning once or twice, until the edges are browned and the fat looks translucent and glossy. Pork collar is ready at 63 C with a 3-minute rest; belly eats better closer to 70 to 74 C, where the fat has softened. If you are unsure, use a thermometer. Guessing is not a cooking method.

6. 6

   Serve at once

   Move the pork to a warm platter or leave finished pieces at the cooler edge of the grill. Taste one piece plain before adding anything else. Add a final tiny pinch of salt only if the pork tastes flat. Serve with the warm meljeot, lettuce, perilla leaves, sliced raw garlic, green chiles, rice, kimchi, and banchan. Dip the pork lightly in meljeot, then wrap it if you like. Let it taste like itself.

Chef Tips

• •Buy thick pork, not thin bacon-like strips. A 1 1/2 to 2 cm cut gives the fat time to render while the meat stays juicy. Black pig does not mean the meat is dark; look for firm white fat, good marbling, and skin-on belly if your butcher can get it.
• •Meljeot is powerful. Dip only one corner of the pork, especially if your pork is already salted. If you cannot find meljeot, use thick Korean myeolchi-jeot loosened with water, garlic, and chili. Fish sauce mixed with water can feed the table, but it will not give the same anchovy body.
• •Charcoal is good, a tabletop gas grill is honest, and cast iron indoors works if the pan is hot and the room is well ventilated. 시대가 바뀌면 음식도 바뀌어야 해요. When times change, food must change too. The vessel can change; the plain seasoning cannot.
• •Do not crowd the grill. Pork belly throws off fat, and crowded meat browns poorly. Cook in two rounds if your pan is small, then bring everything back together at the table.
• •Keep raw pork chopsticks and serving chopsticks separate. Once pieces are cooked and cut, use clean tongs or chopsticks for serving, especially at a shared grill.

Advance Preparation

• •You can pat the pork dry and leave it uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator for 4 to 12 hours. This dries the surface so it browns faster. Salt it only 30 minutes before cooking.
• •The meljeot mixture can be combined up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Add the fresh sliced garlic and chili the day you cook so their bite stays clean.
• •Wash and dry the lettuce and perilla leaves up to 1 day ahead. Wrap them in a barely damp towel and refrigerate. Slice the raw garlic and chiles close to serving so they stay crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 445g)