Korean Style Pork Shoulder Steaks

Korean cuisine is one of my favorites, it’s spicy, savory, sometimes sweet, and always delicious.

One of my favorite dishes is Samgyeopsal, which is grilled pork belly that’s usually paired with a spicy sweet gochujang sauce. Whenever you go to a Korean BBQ spot, this is usually one of the most popular dishes on the menu. I decided to take that flavor profile and apply it to another popular cut of meat in Korean cuisine which is the pork shoulder steak.

Pork shoulder steaks are common at Asian grocery stores and they’re usually pretty cheap. So I jumped at the chance to make them one night and man I was impressed. They’re incredibly flavorful and they cook up fairly quickly.

This recipe is similar to what I’ve done for previous Korean pork dishes I’ve prepared.

Typically you’re used to pork shoulders (or Boston Butt) as pulled pork, but pork shoulder steaks are tender, flavorful, and fairly reasonably priced. Pork is very common in Korean cuisine, pigs have been raised for centuries in Korea as a source of food. Unlike beef which was considered more of a delicacy, pork was fairly common and was/is widely eaten by Koreans. In fact, different parts of the pig were said to have different medicinal purposes. For instance, if someone had suddenly died or passed out, it’s said that if you fed them blood from a pig’s tail they would be healed. I don’t know about that one, seems like you’re just pouring pigs blood into a dead persons mouth, BUT WHAT DO I KNOW?! I’m just a dumb food blogger.

In contrast to pork, beef was considered the ultimate delicacy in pre-modern Korean society. The reason being that cattle was very valuable, not just as a food source but as a labor tool. Cattle were used to work the land and provide food, so consequently they were considered servants and held in high regard. Not that it prevented cows from being eaten, it just prevented them from being eaten in mass quantities because they were valuable. Imagine if your car was a delicious hamburger, yes of course you’d LOVE to eat it, but then how are you gonna get to work? So instead you use your car until your just about ready to get a new one and then you dine in a lunar celebration on delicious car cheeseburger. *I know that was completely unnecessary*

Anyways, enjoy your pork shoulder steaks!

Recipe- Korean Style Pork Shoulder Steaks

Ingredients

1 Pound of Pork Shoulder Steaks (typically can be found in Asian Grocery Stores)

1 Tbsp Gochujang Red Pepper Paste

1 Grated Asian Pear

1 Tsp Fresh Grated Ginger

1 Tsp. Garlic Powder

1 Tsp. Onion Powder

2 Tbsp. Rice Wine

1 Tbsp to 2 Tbsp. Peanut Oil

Method

Step 1- Mix all the ingredients except the peanut oil and rice wine together in a mixing bowl.

Step 2- Marinate the steaks in the ingredients above, minimum 30 minutes, over night ideal.

Step 3- Heat Peanut Oil in a large non-stick pan

Step 4- Once oil is hot, add your steaks in batches (don’t do it all at once if it’s going to crowd your pan)

Step 5- Brown on each side, reduce heat if you notice your sauce is smoking, the sugar in the pear will run the risk of smoking.

Step 6- Once Steaks are cooked through, remove from pan, use rice wine to deglaze the pan, reduce to a sauce and pour over steaks.

Step 7 – Enjoy!