Momofuku Bo Ssaum (Korean slow-roasted pork) David Chang, chef, Momofuku Ssaum Bar, Manhattan New York Times Magazine, January 12, 2012 Sam Sifton Yield: Serves 6 to 10 Pork Butt 1 whole bone-in pork butt (pork shoulder) or picnic ham (8 to 10 lbs.) 1 cup white sugar 1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. kosher salt 7 Tbsp. brown sugar 2 cups plain white rice, cooked 3 heads bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried Ginger-Scallion Sauce SsaumSauce Kimchi (available in many Asian markets, and online) Place the pork in a large, shallow bowl. Mix the white sugar and 1 cup of the salt together in another bowl, then rub the mixture all over the meat. Cover it with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight. When you are ready to cook, heat oven to 300o. Remove pork from refrigerator and discard any juices. Place the pork in a roasting pan and set in the oven and cook for approximately 6 hours, or until it collapses, yielding easily to the tines of a fork. (After the first hour, baste hourly with pan juices.) At this point, you may remove the meat from the oven and allow it to rest for up to an hour. Meanwhile, make the ginger-scallion sauce and the ssaum sauce. Prepare the rice and wash the lettuce. Put the kimchi and sauces into serving bowls. When you are ready to serve, turn the oven to 500o. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining Tbsp. of salt with the brown sugar. Rub this mixture all over the cooked pork. Place in oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until a dark caramel crust has developed on the meat. Serve hot, with chopsticks and the accompaniments. Additional Notes: David Chang says, "Once that last bit of sugar and salt is on the meat and the meat is back in a hot oven, you want to watch it carefully. You're not looking for a color so much as for the moment when the fat and the skin begins to fluff up a little. It's not so much about the sugar caramelizing as it is about the fat starting to bubble." Sifton continues, "Let it rest a little while longer. Then to eat it, take a piece of lettuce, place into it a torn string of meat, a dab of rice, some hot sauce or kimchi (or pickles aumented with red pepper). Fold and bite, fold and bite. Try it with a scissored shard of the candied pigskin. And repeat."

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