Beer-Braised Gochujang Pulled Pork

A fusion pulled pork recipe combining Korean fermented chili paste and beer for a savory, sticky glaze, braised with sweet potatoes.

This is my recipe for Beer-Braised Gochujang Pulled Pork, which braises a pork shoulder with a Korean fermented chili paste (Gochujang) for spice and depth, and beer. Braising it for 3+ hours makes the collagen break down and creates a tender meat that pulls apart easily. The resulting pulled pork works great in burgers (very juicy), with rice, or even cold.

Pork shoulder being braised.

Ingredients

The Meat & Braise

  • 1.5kg Pork shoulder Joint (skin removed, reserved for crackling)
  • 33cl Beer (Lager, Amber Ale, or Pale Ale)
  • 2 large onions (sliced thick)
  • 2 large sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into large chunks)
  • Fat for searing
  • Salt and pepper
  • Stock (optional)

The Marinade

  • 4 tbsp Gochujang paste
  • 3 tbsp Honey
  • 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
  • Garlic (minced)
  • Ginger (grated)

Optional Serving Sides

  • Brioche buns or white rolls
  • Tomato slices, salad
  • Barbecue sauce

Directions

Prep & Sear

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C
  2. Remove the skin/rind from the pork joint. Set the skin aside.
  3. Season the bare meat with salt and pepper.
  4. Heat fat in a heavy-bottomed pot that goes into the oven, or in a pan. Sear the meat on all sides until well-browned. Remove meat and set aside.

The Braise

  1. In the same pot, add the sliced onions. Fry for 3-4 minutes in the rendered pork fat.
  2. Deglaze with half of the beer.
  3. In a bowl, mix together the Gochujang, honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger.
  4. Rub half of the marinade directly onto the seared pork meat. Cover everything.
  5. Stir the other half of the marinade into the beer and onions in the pot.
  6. Return the pork to the pot, or put it in an oven-safe pot. Add the onions and braising liquid.
  7. Add the rest of the beer, and complete with stock to cover half of the meat.
  8. Cook in the oven for an initial 2 hours. Check regularly to make sure the pork doesn’t dry out. Flip it every ~30 minutes.

Adding the Sweet Potato

  1. After 2 hours, remove the pot from the oven.
  2. Add the sweet potato chunks around the meat, trying to submerge them in the liquid as much as possible.
  3. Cover and return to the oven for 1 to 2 more hours.
  4. Check if the pork is tender. If needed, separate the meat into large chunks and add to the pot to get everything covered in liquid.
  5. The dish is ready when the meat pulls apart easily with a fork and the potatoes are tender.

The Finish (Glaze)

  1. Remove the meat and the sweet potato chunks from the pot. Set them aside.
  2. Place the pot with the braising liquid back on the stove over high heat.
  3. Boil rapidly to reduce the liquid into a thick glaze. Add a slurry (1 tbsp corn starch + a bit of cold water, mixed well) if needed.
  4. Shred the pork using two forks, remove hard or chewy chunks.
  5. Pour the reduced liquid with the shredded meat and stir well.
  6. Serve in burgers with barbecue sauce, lettuce, tomato, and brioche buns.
Pulled pork and resulting burger.

Bonus: The skin

  1. Take the skin, score it deeply, and salt it generously.
  2. Place on a baking tray on the bottom shelf of the oven during the last hour of the pork cooking time.
  3. For the final 15-20 minutes, increase oven heat to 220°C (remove the pork pot first) to blister the skin into crispy crackling.