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Miso-Gochujang Pulled Pork
This Asian-inflected take on barbecue pulled pork was inspired by the “Pigalicious” wrap served at Bird & Ewe in Sydney. White miso and gochujang provide deep, savory-sweet notes and lots of complex flavor to oven-braised pork butt. Miso usually is sold in the refrigerator case; gochujang, or Korean red pepper paste, does not require refrigeration until the container is opened. Both are available in well-stocked supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. The pork cooks for about three hours; use this time to prep and cook the miso-seasoned onions that are combined with the meat after shredding.
6 to 8
Servings
Tip
Don't forget to skim the fat off the cooking liquid so the pulled pork doesn't end up greasy. But make sure to allow the liquid to settle before skimming so all the fat has time to rise to the surface.
4 hours
1 hour active
Ingredients
-
5
pound boneless pork butt, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
-
¾
cup gochujang, divided
Directions
-
01Heat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the lower-middle position. In a large Dutch oven, combine the pork, ½ cup of gochujang, 2 tablespoons of miso, the cilantro stems, the hoisin, ginger and 1 cup water; stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium-high, then cover and place in the oven. Cook until a skewer inserted into the meat meets no resistance, about 3 hours.
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February 12, 2023
Underwhelming
It was ok. Certainly not the taste explosion that Chris expressed on the show. I'd rather have a pork shoulder off the smoker any day - lots more flexibility for leftovers than this recipe - and no where near the effort.
April 24, 2023
Use it in quesadillas!
Loved the pork. We use it in quesadillas with extra sharp cheddar. The pickled carrots are a gooey garnish!
September 24, 2023
I find I make this now 3:1 over BBQ pork now
The winning element is the bite of the carrots and the cilantro. The vinegar balances everything so well, with the miso onions. We like less heat at the end, so we omit the last add of gochujang. This is an easy go-to in our house for when we want pork.
This was amazing! I used a 5 pound pork shoulder and cooked it in a crock pot for 8 hours. Followed the rest of the recipe for the onions and reduced the liquid as stated. It was delicious! Would definitely make this again, hopefully with the boneless pork butt!
I was disappointed that the final result of this was an overly salty dish. Quite an investment of time and effort. Probably too much miso. If I try again, I’ll leave much of the miso out, rather than add to the finished onions.
I just tried the recipe, swapping a 14 1/2 oz. can of jackfruit (in brine) for the pork and halving the ingredients. After draining and rinsing the jackfruit, I added it to the gochujang mixture and baked it for only two hours (rather than the instructed three). I then proceeded, following the rest of the recipe (shredding the jackfruit in place of the pork). The resulting dish was wonderful. My husband, who is not a fan of jackfruit, stated that it was delicious and would gladly see it in our regular rotation. Thank you for a very successful meal.
Made this today and was very impressed. I'm familiar with gochujang but rarely cook with it and was slightly concerned about it overwhelming the flavor of the pork. This wasn't the case, and it melded well with the pulled pork without being overly harsh or too saucy. The pickled carrots and gochujang sour cream really rounded out the sandwich.
This is an interesting recipe, but we liked the meat much better before adding onions with so much miso. Will omit next time. Be careful with gochujang too, better add it gradually at the end. Also I increased the temperature to 340 F and the meat was ready in 2 hrs 20 min. I think this dish will translate very well into pressure cooker.
I used my Instant Pot and it came out perfectly. I mixed the ingredients in a bowl and browned the pork in the Pot using the sauté mode, just to give it extra color and flavor. Turned sauté off, added the liquids (and other ingredients), used the pressure cook for 65 minutes with natural release for 20 minutes. Falling-apart tender is what I got, just perfect. Give it a go.
This was phenomenal. I had very little cooking liquid left after 3 hours of roasting, so I added about 1/2 cup water after skimming out the fat, and simmered that down. Also didn’t add the additional 4 T gochujang at the end, as it was already super spicy and tasted delicious without it. Just now realizing I forgot to stir in the rice vinegar at the end. Guess what - it was STILL phenomenal. When I make it again, I may not change a thing. :) Also did the pickled carrots and gochujang sour cream - both amazing. Thanks, Milk Street!!
I made this tonight and it was delicious. After reading the comments I did cut down on the miso. I cooked the onions without the miso and added miso to taste when adding the onions to the pork. I also tasted it before adding all the gochuang paste the recipe called for at the end and added it to my taste. I made the ginger pickled carrots and thought those were great. I would eat that as a salad alone. Very nice flavor.
I'm curious if sodium content varies widely by miso producer. Between it and the gochujang the final result bordered on inedible due to being far too salty. Judging from the comments people are successful with the recipe as published. Unfortunately this was a significant time investment with minimal reward.
Hi Mark -
Yes, we discovered during development of our Miso Peanut Butter Cookies, that miso varies greatly in sodium content, with some brands containing more than twice the amount of others. We suggest looking for a brand that is relatively low in sodium (about 300 mg sodium per 12 grams of miso; check the nutritional label).
Best,
The Milk Street Team
I love the flavor but screwed up a bit, insofar as I didn't read these comments mentioning the high sodium content of miso in advance. The second thing I did wrong was not check the pot after two hours. After three, the meat was brown and there was barely any liquid left in my Le Creuset. Then and there I should have poured a cup of water in--which would have made it possible in a few minutes to skim off some floating fat. Instead I said, whoa, it's already reduced! But all that fat is now mixed into the dish... For all that, it's really good. Next time I'll do it in the Instant Pot so there's less evaporation and more opportunity to test for salt and fat.
Hi Eleanor -
Yes, 1 cup of water is correct. In addition to the liquid released by the meat, the mixture is covered while in the oven. This should create a fair amount of steam/liquid that will add liquid to the pot as well. Make sure that the cover on your pot is tightly sealed before adding it to the oven.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
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Amazing flavors- so good! I followed the recipe exactly but did not notice the gochuang paste I bought was very hot and not mild. I also made the pickled carrots and sour cream as well as pickled cucumbers. Definitely will make again!