Slow Cooker

Gochujang Roasted Pork Shoulder

by:
January 15, 2018
4.7
9 Ratings
Photo by meganvt01
  • Prep time 1 hour
  • Cook time 4 hours
  • Serves 6-8
Author Notes

I have become slightly obsessed with gochujang lately. The sweet, spicy deep flavor is such a compliment to roasted, unctuous meat. This recipe is sort of a mash up of not strictly Korean flavors that I regularly rely upon. The star of the show is a big pork shoulder. It will roast all day in your oven and make your house smell heavenly. Especially my addition of processed shallots on top of the pork that caramelize and shower the pork in sweetness. You can marinate the pork the night before or not. No big deal. In the morning when you pop the meat in to cook, you can prep a few of your sides and your sauce that will hang out all day. At dinner, when you take the meat out to rest you can pop in your coconut rice, mix the slaw and be ready in 20 minutes. When you pull the meat and shred or chop - don’t forget that delicious crunchy, sweet, dark stuff at the bottom of the pan. Use a nonstick roasting pan and scoop it up and spoon over your meat. The depth of flavor it adds is fantastic. For serving layer the rice, pork, and veg in a butter lettuce leaf and dot on some sauce. My sauce has the consistency of American style bbq sauce but you don’t need much on the wrap because the flavors are so bold. The recipe may seem to have a lot of moving parts but you can do most in the morning and sit around all day til dinner. If you don't want to bother with all the sides - you can always just make the roasted pork shoulder - it is delicious on its own. —meganvt01

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Gochujang roasted pork shoulder
  • 1 8-10 pound pork shoulder
  • 2 tablespoons Gochujang paste
  • 2 tablespoons Brown sugar
  • 3 Cloves of garlic grated on a micro plane
  • 1 tablespoon Ginger grated on a micro plane
  • 2 Large shallots, peeled and processed in a food processor or extremely finely minced (you want this almost like a paste to spread on the pork)
  • 1/2 cup Mirin
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • 2 tablespoons Soy sauce
  • Kosher salt
  • Accompaniments - you can do all of this except the rice in the morning
  • 1 Large seedless cucumber, thinly sliced (I used a mandolin)
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons Gochujaru (Korean chili flakes)
  • 1 teaspoon Sugar
  • 3 Carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 Bunch radishes, washed and thinly sliced
  • 3/4 cup Seasoned rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Water
  • 1 tablespoon Toasted seasame oil
  • 1 tablespoon Safflower or other neutral oil
  • 2 Cloves of garlic, grated on a micro plane
  • 1 teaspoon Ginger grated on a micro plane
  • 1/4 cup Mirin
  • 1/3 cup Gochujang
  • 1 tablespoon Unseasoned Rice wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup Beef broth
  • 1 Lime
  • 1/2 Head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 1 Lime, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons Soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Toasted seasame oil
  • 1 cup Coconut milk
  • 3 cups Water
  • 1 Lime, juiced
  • 3 Scallions, minced
  • 2 Heads butter lettuce, leaves carefully removed.
  • 2 cups Jasmine rice
Directions
  1. Gochujang roasted pork shoulder
  2. Season your pork shoulder liberally with kosher salt all over. Mix the gochujang, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger. Rub all over the pork. Pierce the pork with a knife all over to allow the mix to penetrate the meat. At this point you can let the pork sit over night or proceed to the next step.
  3. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees (or I Used convection at 275). Rub the minced shallot all over the top of the pork. Mix the water, soy, and mirin. Pour in the bottom of the roasting pan. (I suggest a nonstick roasting pan). Place the pork on a rack in the pan and cover with foil.
  4. Roast the pork for about 3 hours covered. Then remove the cover and cook for another 3 -4 hours. You want the meat to get to about 185. At this temperature the collagen will start to break down. I like my meat to have a little more bite - but you want stop when the meat is tender and choppable or you can proceed to the shredding stage. One caveat, keep an eye on your shallots. You want them brown but not burned. Feel free to cover with foil if things are getting too dark.
  5. When the meat is done, remove and let rest for 20 minutes. To serve, I like to slice and chop my meat, some will like it shredded. Up to you. Put your meat on a platter but don’t stop there! Head back to your roasting pan and survey the crusty goodness. Scrape up some of those nice dark caramelized bits and swirl with the mirin fat liquid. Pour this all over your meat. Don’t skip this step - it’s eveyrhing.
  1. Accompaniments - you can do all of this except the rice in the morning
  2. For the cukes - in a bowl mix the kosher salt and cucumbers. Let sit for 5-10 minutes (you can do your pickled veg in this time). Rinse well. Dry the slightly then add gochujaru and sugar. Keep in your fridge until the pork is done.
  3. For the pickled carrots and radishes, mix the seasoned rice with vinegar and water in a bowl. Add the carrots and radishes and let sit til dinner.
  4. Sauce! FYI - this makes about a cup of sauce - it may not seem like a lot but this should be used sparingly unlike an American style bbq sauce. It’s deep and spicy! In a small saucepan or skillet mix the oils and heat over medium. Add the garlic and ginger and let cook for 2 minutes. Add the mirin, gochujang, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, beef broth, and lime and whisk. Let bubble until nicely thickened and flavors have melded - about 10 minutes.
  5. Cabbage slaw - mix the lime, sesame oil and soy sauce. Right before serving, toss with slaw.
  6. Coconut rice - about 20 minutes before serving mix rice, coconut milk and water in a small pot with about 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. Boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until your rice is tender. Remove from heat and squeeze over the lime. Mix.
  7. To serve - Start with a butter lettuce leaf, add some rice, pork, cucumbers, pickled radishes and carrots, slaw, sauce and scallions. Enjoy!
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meganvt01

Recipe by: meganvt01

Attorney

5 Reviews

Laura G. March 8, 2023
This recipe delivered admirably for me under challenging circumstances: I had a very small (3 lb) roast and had to calculate the right timing (4.5 hours); had no roasting pan and rack, so cooked it in a dutch oven on a bed of carrots; my slim roast wouldn’t stand up, so I laid it on its side and turned it a couple of times during cooking. Still came out tender, chunkable/shredable, and very flavorful. Made the sauce and the pickled carrots; served with pureed winter squash and salad. Everyone was happy.
 
Lis H. July 16, 2020
I made this several times now and it is always a hit. I love that I can do almost everything the night before in 1-2 hours. I usually double the sauce because I love using the leftovers on eggs or whatever for days after :)

Note: I don't buy mirin but instead mix dry white wine with water (1:1) and a little sugar.
 
Joiebug May 13, 2020
I watched the video of your preparation of this dish and made it a few days ago along with the cucumber and carrot/radish sides. My family loved everything! We are a Korean-Irish-American family who love to cook and try new ways of preparing food and we love all things spicy and flavorful. Leftovers were eaten the next morning topped with a fried egg. I have another roasting in the oven as I write this. Thank you and you have a new fan, Food52!
 
Maria N. May 10, 2020
Made this for Mother’s Day 2020 and it was incredible. I didn’t change anything to the recipe except that I couldn’t find gochugaru so I used red pepper flakes that I crushed even more. I made a 9 pound pork shoulder and it took much longer than seven hours. I ended up raising the temp a couple of times after seven hours passed. After eight hours or so part of it was done so I removed that and put the rest back in the oven but I should have lowered the temp back down because the bits on the bottom of the pan ended up burning. Next time I’ll be sure to start this early in the morning. I got this in the oven before 11 am but we didn’t eat until close to 8.
 
Bread A. January 20, 2018
This dish is absolutely delicious. The pork melts in your mouth and has the most amazing flavors. Perfect for a crowd and a make again, for sure.