Bo Ssam

Bosaam
Bo Ssam.  Had anyone ever heard of Bo Ssam before David Chang?  We did the Bo Ssam at Momofuku  a few years ago on a Sunday evening.  It was a totally omigod evening and we all rolled out of the restaurant.

I bought the Momofuku cookbook when it came out and decided it was time to try something.  My friend Steve made a Bo Ssam earlier in the week so I decided I'd give it a try too.

Couldn't be easier but you have to plan in advance.  The pork went into the fridge the night before with the salt/sugar marinade.  After that, it is all about just sticking it in the oven for many hours.

Ingredients:
 8-10 lb. pork shoulder or butt with the bone-in (although mine didn't have a bone and it didn't seem to be a problem)
1 cup + 1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 cup white sugar
7 tbsp. light brown sugar

Rub down the pork with 1 cup salt and 1 cup sugar and place it in a roasting pan.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Put in the fridge over night.  Easiest to do this with fat side up.

Next day, preheat the oven to 300.  Place the pork in the oven ( no plastic wrap, of course ) and bake for 6 hours.  Every hour or so, baste with the juices that are filling in the roasting pan. 

After about 6 hours, the pork should literally pull apart like butter.  If it isn't pulling apart easily, then let it roast longer in the oven.  Once it is done, take the 7 tbsps brown sugar and 1 tbsp of kosher salt and rub it over the pork. 

Crank up the heat to 450 and let the pork get crispy.  Takes about 10 minutes.  But watch it, the sugar can get burnt.  Make sure after you rub the brown sugar mixture over the pork, use the juices in the pan to baste before you crank up the heat.

Serve with pieces of Bibb lettuce to wrap the pork in.  I also made the Ginger Scallion Sauce for a sauce on the side.

1/2 cup minced fresh ginger
2 bunches of scallions thinly sliced
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
3/4 tsp. sherry vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce

Mix together and let sit at least 15 minutes before using.

I'm not into the kimchi and oysters ( soo rich ) so I served spicy brussel sprouts and sweet roasted carrots on the side.  Absolutely killer.  Delicious. 

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Comments (Archived):

  1. daryn

    Yum! I’ve been wanting to give this recipe a try, but waiting until after we taste the original.Doing Bo Ssam at Momofuku for my brother’s 40th in March!

    1. Gotham Gal

      Pace yourself.

  2. fredwilson

    this was incredible. we need to do it at least once a quarter

  3. johnnywon

    Had anyone ever heard of Bo Ssam before David Chang?Yes! Ssam is what Korean food is all about. The delightful mix of flavors…

    1. Gotham Gal

      Obviously I have been in the dark but at least I have now seen the light.joanne [email protected]

  4. stevefried

    i made this last week and it is truly amazing…and very easy…got my butt from Fresh Direct and it was very tasty. i do reccomend rinsing the salt sugar cure prior to roasting..made home made Kim Chee, the samm sauce and the ginger scallion. Had leftovers for 4 days and made killer bo ssam slidders the 2 next days. gotta love the bo ssam….maybe this year for Rosh Hashona…that would be a serious shunda…

  5. Malthe

    This is noghimg short of incredible (but I can’t for the life of me get that much salt/sugar to stick on the meat, so I do half the amount).