Momofuku Bo Ssam - Amazing Slow Cooked Pork

No wings for this year's Superbowl. Instead I made Momofuku Bo Ssam, David Chang's take on slow cooked pork, served with Korean dipping sauces and kimchee.

This recipe appeared in The New York Times a couple of weeks ago, and is totally simple to make. You just (1) rub the pork with a mixture of white sugar and Kosher salt, (2) let it sit overnight, (3) cook it at 300 for 6 hours or until it collapses, (4) let it sit for up to an hours, (5) rub with brown sugar and a little salt and cook at 500 for 15 minutes. Then serve it in a lettuce wrap with a little kimchee, a bit of rice, ginger/scallion sauce, and a drop of hot sauce made of Korean miso and chili paste. The only ingredients that are hard to find are the Korean bean paste (ssamjang) and chili paste (kochujang), but you can use any Asian hot sauce you like if these are not available.

I had plenty of leftovers and made a deconstructed version in salad form. Reheated the pork slowly, placed over chopped romaine lettuce and rice, then added kimchee and the ginger/scallion sauce as dressing, passing the hot chili sauce separately. An excellent salad, maintaining the balance of the original dish but with a different texture.

Bo Ssam Salad

Although the recipe calls for a bone-in shoulder weighing 8-10 pounds, I used a 3-3/4-pound boneless shoulder, so the 6-hour cooking time worked out to less than 4 hours. The meat was Berkshire pork acquired at Heritage Farms USA's shop at the Essex Market: marbled with lots of fat that melted off in the slow cooking process, which resulted in a particularly tasty and unctuous dish.

Bobby Jay

DBGB's Glazed Lamb (or Pork) Ribs

DBGB's Lamb Riblets

A few months ago, The New York Times showcased a recipe from DBGB (chef Jim Leiken) for glazed lamb riblets. I tried this recipe with riblets from locally farmed lamb, which I found at the Union Square Market. The dish was just fantastic, full of varied flavors -- coriander and fennel seeds, Aleppo pepper, rosemary, thyme, honey -- that mingled in an interesting, even exciting, way. I immediately added it to my "best recipes" list.

A month later, I discovered a rack of Heritage Farms baby back pork ribs in my freezer and my wife suggested trying the same preparation. Even better! My friend Piglet and her husband shared this with us and he told me that they were the best ribs he had ever had. So you have choices: if pork is not your thing, go with the lamb; otherwise, pork ribs are easier to find and slightly juicier.

This recipe is not hard to make, although it has a number of steps because it has a glaze, a sprinkle and a minted yogurt sauce that, for some reason, is not included in the on-line version of the recipe. Just combine 1 cup of whole-milk yogurt, 1/2 cup of crème fraîche; 1/4 cup of mint, minced; 1 tablespoon of chives, minced; 1/2 garlic clove, grated; zest of 1 lemon; salt, pepper and tabasco or other hot sauce to taste. Although not essential, I think the sauce is a nice addition: yet another flavor and a smooth texture that contrasts with the crispy glaze on the ribs.

Try this recipe!

Bobby Jay