Name: Sam Sifton's Momofuku Bo Ssäm
Prep time: 6 h 5 min
Cook time: 6 h 20 min
Yield: Serves 6 to 10
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 whole bone-in, skin-on pork butt or picnic ham, 8 to 10 pounds; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt; 7 tablespoons brown sugar; 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced scallions, both green and white parts; 1/2 cup minced fresh ginger; 1/4 cup neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed; 1 1/2 teaspoons light soy sauce; 1 scant teaspoon sherry vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste; For the ssäm sauce; 2 tablespoons ssamjang fermented bean-and-chile paste (available in many Asian markets and online); 1 tablespoon gochujang chile paste (available in many Asian markets and online); 1/2 cup sherry vinegar; 1/2 cup neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed; Accompaniments; 2 cups plain white rice, cooked; 3 heads Bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried; Kimchi, if you can find it at the market

Photo by David Malosh

Test Kitchen-Approved

Author Notes

Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in: The Viral 'New York Times' Dish I Make for Friends (& Myself!) Week After Week. —The Editors

Prep time 6 hours 5 minutes
Cook time 6 hours 20 minutes
Serves 6 to 10

Ingredients

For the pork
1 whole bone-in, skin-on pork butt or picnic ham, 8 to 10 pounds
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons brown sugar

For the ginger-scallion sauce
2 ¹/₂ cups thinly sliced scallions, both green and white parts
¹/₂ cup minced fresh ginger
¹/₄ cup neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
1 ¹/₂ teaspoons light soy sauce
1 scant teaspoon sherry vinegar
¹/₂ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
For the ssäm sauce
2 tablespoons ssamjang fermented bean-and-chile paste (available in many Asian markets and online)
1 tablespoon gochujang chile paste (available in many Asian markets and online)
¹/₂ cup sherry vinegar
¹/₂ cup neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
Accompaniments
2 cups plain white rice, cooked
3 heads Bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried
Kimchi, if you can find it at the market

In This Recipe

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Directions

Prepare the pork. Place the pork in a large, shallow bowl. Mix the granulated sugar and 1 cup of the salt together in another bowl, then rub the mixture all over the meat. Cover the meat with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
When you’re ready to cook, heat the oven to 300°F. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and discard any juices. Brush off the meat to remove the bulk of the remaining sugar and salt. Place the pork in a roasting pan and cook in the oven for about 6 hours, basting hourly with the pan juices, until it collapses and yields easily to the tines of a fork. Remove the meat from the oven and allow to rest for up to an hour.
Meanwhile, make the ginger-scallion sauce. In a large bowl, combine the scallions with the ginger, oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt. Mix well and taste, adding more salt if needed.
Make the ssam sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the chili pastes with the vinegar and oil, and mix well.
Prepare rice and wash lettuce. Put kimchi and sauces into serving bowls.
When your accompaniments are prepared and you are ready to serve the food, turn oven to 500°F. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining tablespoon of salt with the brown sugar. Rub this mixture all over the cooked pork. Place in oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until a dark caramel crust has developed on the meat. Serve hot, with the accompaniments.

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Gretchen @ Backyardnotes
FrugalCat
SMSF
AntoniaJames
MMH

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21 Reviews

Gretchen @. March 28, 2020

I made this shortly after it was published in NYT magazine in January 2012 with a 5lb. pork butt since there were only two of us to eat it (over several days). I adjusted the other ingredients accordingly and it was unbelievably, outrageously good. The next time I used a 7-8 lb. piece for a family dinner and it is now a often requested birthday dish. It easily served 5 adults and two teenagers. Even my 89 year old mom eats the kimchi that goes with it!
I have found that 1⁄3 cup each salt and sugar to be sufficient for 7-8lb. Also, line a large bowl with plastic wrap and then add the sugar-salt mixture, patting it onto the meat and wrap tightly. Overnight is best.
Ginger-Scallion sauce will last several days and is good on rice, noodles, etc. The Ssam sauce will keep for at least week or more and is a great condiment. I would make both sauces a day ahead to let flavors mingle. Bibb lettuce is best for its 'bowl' shape, but red leaf lettuce works well too.

JFlitz March 8, 2020

Yecchh! Salty beyond. I like the technique but the salt was way too much.

FrugalCat March 5, 2020

8-10 pounds? Way too much, even if I have people over. What would be a good pork cut for less than 3 pounds?

MMH March 5, 2020

I will tell you that the first time I ate this was with 3 adults and a 5 year old. It was so good that we all just kept eating just because.

Coral L. March 9, 2020

Hi FrugalCat! Wrote to you in the article comment section—a smaller cut of pork shoulder (1-3 pounds) will work just as well! Just cut down on the salt-sugar mixture accordingly, and watch for doneness at around the 3 hour mark.

Denise M. March 5, 2020

Has anyone tried doing it in a slow cooker? It would save taking up valuable over real estate for 6 hours

Coral L. March 9, 2020

Hi Denise! A slow-cooker would make for a more *wet* slow-and-low method. The dry/hot environment of an oven is crucial for crisping the pork shoulder. If you're very anti-oven, you could try slow-cooking, transferring the pork shoulder to a sheet pan, patting it dry, then broiling with the brown sugar/salt for 15 min before serving?

Cyndy L. March 4, 2020

Do you serve the meat and sauces inside the lettuce? If not, what is the lettuce for?

Coral L. March 9, 2020

Yes! Use the lettuce leaves to wrap little packages—rice, meat, kimchi, sauce, etc.

delcecchi March 4, 2020

Skin on pork butts are sort of hard to find. Would it not work with a conventional skinned pork butt? Or is the skin an important part of the dish?

Coral L. March 9, 2020

Hi! A skinned pork butt would work as well—you just won't get that crisped layer of skin, but the fatcap will render/crisp in its own way!

SMSF March 4, 2020

Here are the missing steps:
STEP 4
Make the ssam sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the chili pastes with the vinegar and oil, and mix well.
STEP 5
Prepare rice and wash lettuce. Put kimchi and sauces into serving bowls.
STEP 6
When your accompaniments are prepared and you are ready to serve the food, turn oven to 500. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining tablespoon of salt with the brown sugar. Rub this mixture all over the cooked pork. Place in oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until a dark caramel crust has developed on the meat. Serve hot, with the accompaniments.

lumpy222 March 4, 2020

I don't know who proofreads these recipes. Thanks to the reviewer for the insight on what to do with the brown sugar. I know what to do with the ssam sauce, but I think it might be helpful for others that if you list ingredients you indicate what to do with them. Even to the point that some people wouldn't even know how to serve it; i.e., and the lettuce is for...

gideon B. March 3, 2020

what happens to the 7 tbsp of brown sugar???????????

Jazearley March 3, 2020

I was wondering the same thing about the brown sugar?

Maureen March 4, 2020

"When your accompaniments are prepared and you are ready to serve the food, turn oven to 500.

Check Sam Sifton's recipe in NY Times - "In a small bowl, stir together the remaining tablespoon of salt with the brown sugar. Rub this mixture all over the cooked pork. Place in oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until a dark caramel crust has developed on the meat."

gideon B. March 4, 2020

thanks

AntoniaJames March 2, 2020

So let's just say you're serving this at a dinner party. What's for dessert? And starters? Call me crazy, but I'm seriously thinking about changing up Christmas next December in a fairly significant way (serving a bunch of New England prep school-educated WASPS with advanced degrees), so I'm wondering, what goes with this on a festive December menu? I don't care about authenticity, consistency, or any other hobgoblin of little minds . . . . Thanks! ;o)

Eric K. March 3, 2020

!! That's such a fun idea, AJ.

Hm. Since the main course is so rich and meaty (albeit with fresh vegetables, white rice, and all of the accoutrements), maybe the dessert is a cleaner fruity situation?

I once had a light cinnamon granita with candied walnuts and burrata at a Korean restaurant called Atoboy. A little sweet, but very subtle and slightly savory. For dessert, you could do a no-bake cheesecake with winter fruit or go hard on the brown-sugar notes and do a sticky toffee pudding. Sometimes I just boil together some brown sugar and butter (a pinch of salt) for a makeshift butterscotch sauce over Scotch-vanilla ice cream.

Probably a light soup for the app.

I love that you're already thinking about Christmas. I can't wait for Thanksgiving, myself.

MMH March 5, 2020

We often serve a variety of sherbets with Asian food.

Our favorite came from a friend from India. In an Asian or Indian market you can purchase mango puree. Serve it in a pool with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

Deborah February 27, 2020

This is out of this world delicious. A word to the wise - it will smoke up your kitchen and set off smoke alarms. If you have an outdoor grill use that rather than the kitchen oven.

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Sam Sifton's Momofuku Bo Ssäm

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Recipe by: Food52

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21 Reviews