Char Siu Roasted Wild Pork

What is Char Siu pork? Think of it as the Cantonese version of the sliced BBQ pork you’d find down South. More precisely, American BBQ pork is the southern version of Char Sui, since this dish has been popular for much longer than America has even existed.

Char Siu is a Chinese take-out staple that you can make with your wild pork. Images by author

The striking red color in Char Siu originally came from red fermented rice, but modern cooks can use a drop or two of red food coloring to get the same results. Don’t want to use red food coloring? Leave it out. It will still be delicious, but without the traditional red color.

The striking red color comes from food coloring, which you can omit it if you don’t want it in your dish.

The name “char siu” roughly translates to “fork roasted” as the meat was traditionally impaled on a fork or stick and roasted over a hot fire. We can get those same results from our pellet grill set at a relatively high temperature (375 degrees).

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Since the marinade and glaze in this one contain a lot of sugar that can burn at high temperatures, and since wild pork tends to be lean as it is, I like to cook this one suspended over a water bath. Just place a wire cooling rack over an aluminum roasting pan and pour in some water. This will prevent the drippings from burning and giving your pork a bitter flavor as well as offering up some steam to prevent the wild pork from drying out at the high temperatures.

Combine all ingredients, besides honey and hot water, in a bowl and stir to blend. Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade.

Mix the marinade and reserve one quarter cup for later use.

Cut the pork into 2-3 inch chunks or strips. Place the pork into a large bowl or baking dish and pour over the remaining marinade mixture. Turn the pork in the bowl until it is well coated on all sides. Cover and refrigerate both the pork and the reserved marinade at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

Work the pork around so that it is well coated in marinade.

When you are ready to cook, turn your pellet grill to 400 degrees. Place a wire rack over a disposable aluminum pan. Pour two cups of water into the pan to prevent drippings from burning. Spread the pork out over the wire rack, leaving space between the pieces. Grill for 35 to 40 minutes.

Place an aluminum pan directly on your grill. Add water and place wire racks on top of the pan to hold the pork.

While the pork roasts, mix the reserved marinade with the honey and hot water to make a glaze.

Mix the reserved marinade with honey and a bit of hot water to make the glaze.

You can add an additional drop or two of red food coloring to the glaze if you prefer the striking red appearance of traditional char Sui pork. After 45 minutes, brush the top of the pork with the glaze mixture.

Glaze the roasted pork on both sides.

Flip the pork, brush the other side with glaze, and roast for another 15 minutes or until the pork reaches at least 160 degrees internal temperature. Remove the meat from the rack, glaze one last time, then allow it to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing across the grain for tender bites.

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