Cantonese Char Siu - "Meat Candy"

9×13 cake pan** with marinade included - "Including the sauce in here, I found really helpful to giving more moisture, more flavor" 32. **Cover tightly with foil

"Really crimp" - Traps moisture

"Really crimp"

325°F for 30 minutes** = initial heat-up - "Preheated 30 minutes" - "Initial stage of cooking was just to get everything up to temp" **Stage 2: Low and Slow (225°F for 3-4 hours)

34. **Drop to 225°F after 30 minutes** - "Lower the oven temperature to 225" - "Jack up the time again around 4 hours max"

"Lower the oven temperature to 225"

Pork collar (neck end of shoulder) = ideal cut

"I think the most prized cut is this collar here" - **Why:** "Uniform distribution of fat and connective tissue that when you cook it becomes nice juicy succulent"

Why: "Uniform distribution of fat and connective tissue that when you cook it becomes nice juicy succulent"

"I think the most prized cut is this collar here"

1,500g piece for 4 steaks

~5" wide piece - Cuts into four 1.25" thick steaks

" wide piece - Cuts into four 1.25"

Trim excess fat cap (but leave marbling)

"As soon as I reach lean, I still have some fat remaining. I'm going to leave that on" - Remove only thick external fat - Preserve intramuscular fat

"As soon as I reach lean, I still have some fat remaining. I'm going to leave that on"

1.25" thick steak portions** specification - "Bulk of it is about 5 in across. So, I'm looking for roughly an inch and a quarter thick steaks" - **Purpose:** Increases surface area for marinade penetration 5. **Recognize leaner vs fattier pieces

"This sloped part tends to have a little bit more lean tissue" - "This end piece is a bit leaner...it has a little bit less connective tissue, a little bit less fat" - Affects cooking time

"This sloped part tends to have a little bit more lean tissue"

Leaner cuts = shorter cooking time

"For leaner cuts, we actually are going to look to cook these a little bit less time" - "We don't want to risk this piece drying out too much"

"For leaner cuts, we actually are going to look to cook these a little bit less time"

Steak format = portioning + surface area

"When it comes to portioning, we want these nice strips, right?" - "Also want to increase the amount of surface area that is exposed to the glaze and the marinade" - "That's the iconic look of char siu"

"When it comes to portioning, we want these nice strips, right?"