Grill/Barbecue

Caramel Pork Tacos with Togarashi Corn

by:
August 28, 2023
0
0 Ratings
Caramel Pork Tacos with Togarashi Corn
Photo by Valerie Gordon
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 3 hours 30 minutes
  • Serves 10 or so
Author Notes

As a pastry chef who leaned into savory cooking a few years ago, I have a tendency to bring more traditionally “sweet” ingredients into recipes. For these tacos, instead of a molasses-based barbeque sauce, I went straight for the caramel. It’s easy to make (or buy, in the interest of time!), and while the sweet/savory combination is familiar, it’s still unique. The richness of the caramel provides a complexity that is totally craveable, beware! The funk, spice and texture of the kimchi really is the perfect pairing, but if fermentation is not your thing, move towards an easy pickled onion.
—Valerie Gordon

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Caramel Pork Tacos
  • 5 pounds pork shoulder
  • 4 ounces Golden Brown Sugar
  • 1 ounce Kosher Salt
  • 1 ounce Thai Fish Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 8 ounces caramel sauce
  • 1 pound shredded white cheddar
  • 1 pound kimchee
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 1-2 packets flour taco sized tortillas
  • Togarashi Corn
  • 6 ears corn
  • 1 ounce salted butter
  • 2-3 ounces Kewpie Mayonnaise
  • 10 sprigs cilantro
Directions
  1. Caramel Pork Tacos
  2. Combine sugar, salt, and pepper in a medium sized bowl. Dredge the steaks through the rub on all sides of each piece of meat.
  3. Lay the steaks in a grill pan. Pour Thai fish sauce over the pork, then refrigerate overnight to marinate.
  4. Pull the marinating steaks out of the refrigerator, and allow to come to room temperature while you’re prepping your grill..
  5. Set your grill to 300 F, allowing space for indirect heat.
  6. Place the grill pan in your grill and close the lid. Check on the pork every hour, basting with dripping as they collect in the pan each time.
  7. After three hours, remove the steaks and pour caramel all over the surface of the meat, then return to heat for an additional 30 minutes.
  8. Place a griddle on the grill, cover with a bit of oil, then place 2-3 flour tortillas on the griddle with a generous sprinkling of white cheddar. When the cheese melts, pull off the grill.
  9. Place 2” pieces of caramel pork, kimchee, and cilantro on the cheesy tortilla, plate with Togarashi Corn, and devour!
  1. Togarashi Corn
  2. Shuck and clean your corn
  3. Place fully shucked corn straight onto the grill and baste repeatedly with salty butter. Pull the corn just as it’s starting to show a little char or grill marks.
  4. Cut corn off the cobs into a small serving bowl, then squeeze mayonnaise on top and generously sprinkle with Togarashi to finish.
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