Cool weather has hit so it is time to preserve meat. While I lived in Korea there were a few foods that were either hard to find or expensive. One of these was good bacon. On the other hand it was easy, and not that expensive, to buy uncured pork belly. So after we got a kimchi fridge for extra cool storage I started making bacon. Now that I'm back in the US I have only cured two pork bellies. I like my home cured bacon but the relative price difference between pork bellies and decent bacon isn't quite as far in favor of making my own. What I have done every year is make Chinese air dried pork.
 |
| Some lap yuk after taking it off the drying rack and cutting the lengths in half |
Salted and air dried meats have a long history in many cultures. Long enough that when you look them up you tend to find generic comments about 2,000, 3,000 years or longer. Hanging meat outside to dry doesn't result in a lot of identifiable tools to be found in the archaeological record. On the other hand Chinese air dried pork was something I learned from a Taiwanese friend after dropping by one day while she was hanging strips of meat on clothes hangers. She taught me how she makes it with a wet brine that is mostly soy sauce and baijiu. Distilled spirits have a long history in China with a full description of the process of making baijiu recorded in the 10th century and indications of distillation back at least as far as the Eastern Han dynasty in the 3rd century CE. While I have never seen a historical recipe for Chinese air dried pork I find it satisfying to know that the recipe I was taught could have been the same as the one in use today.
Before I give the recipe I should mention the name confusion. There are two main traditions of Chinese air dried pork. One, that I have seen called lap yuk (Cantonese), is a wet brine with very few aromatics. The other, that I have seen labeled la rou (Sichuan), is a dry brine in salt with added aromatics. After the brining process is done both methods finish the same way by hanging in a cool area with moderate humidity and good air flow. 50-59 F is good, 40s will work but it will take longer. You want 60 or 70% humidity so that it doesn't dry out too fast because this isn't thin cut jerky. If the thicker slices dry out too fast they can harden on the outside before the inside loses enough moisture.
I mix the two traditions. I love the flavors of Sichuan so I ended up modifying the original recipe. Now I use a tweaked version of that found at The Woks of Life. The lady I learned from would kill me if I compared her to a 102 year old grandmother but her recipe was really close to the “Just marinate the pork in some light soy sauce, ginger, some wine, and a little bit of whiskey, and hang it by the window. That’s it,” that is mentioned on that page.
5lbs of pork belly cut into fat strips (Costco pre-sliced pork belly works well and comes in 5 pound packages 😁) is a good size and what I used to make the marinade recipe below. On problem with the Costco pork is that it is often a little fatty. You could trim it some but I tend to go the lazy route and leave it on.
Mix up the marinade and simmer for a few minutes then let it cool.
- 3 star anise
- 3 medium size cinnamon sticks
- 1 big thumb of ginger cut into disks (don't bother to peel it)
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons of Sichuan peppercorns (no need to grind them)
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 1.5 tablespoons salt
- 3/4 cups soy sauce
- 1/2 cup kecap manis
- 1.5 cups vodka (this should be Chinese rice wine but vodka is easier to get)
I don't add sugar because the kecap manis already has sugar in it. Also, I have gone back and forth on the amount of vodka. At times I will use 1 cup vodka and 1.25 cups of soy sauce. More soy sauce gives a darker color which is closer to what you would get with rice wine. Part of me wonders if a funky rum (Hatian or a rhum agricole) would give an interesting flavor but if I was going that far I should simply find some Shaoxing wine.
After the marinade is cool add a couple of shots of whisky. I tend to use Costco Irish whisky. It should be baijiu but I'm not going out of my way to get baijiu just for this recipe. Pour over the meat in a sealable container. If it doesn't quite cover you can use something to weight it down or add a little more soy sauce. You want all the meat to be covered. Refrigerate for 3-4 days. Take it out and flip the slices daily to make sure it is evenly marinated.
 |
| A very rustic picture of pork strips drying (from The Woks of Life because mine isn't as photogenic). Their pork has less fat than the Costco pork |
Take the meat out and pat it dry. Using a small knife poke holes in one end so that you can thread a string through the meat. Websites, and my Taiwanese friend, claim to do this with a chopstick but a knife is easier. Or perhaps a crochet hook? Tie the meat onto something and hang it is a cool area with good airflow. In the US I have had success in a cool basement and in a spare bedroom with the window left open and a ceiling fan moving the air. Outside would be nice but I don't want to have to protect it from critters.
Charcuterie experts probably work by weight. I work by feel and dry it until it feels tough, a little plasticy, but still bendable. The fat will feel oily and a little tacky; that's fine. When I take it down I tend to store it in the fridge or freezer but it should be dry enough that it can be treated as you would treat beef jerky.
Comments
Post a Comment