Grilled Hard Apple Cider Black Pepper Pork Ribeye Steaks (燒烤蘋果酒黑椒豬排, Siu1 Haau1 Ping4 Gwo2 Zau2 Hak1 Ziu1 Zyu1 Paai4)

This recipe was updated on 01 May 2016. The Chinese name for the recipe was added.

I used a bottle of hard apple cider and soy sauce as the basis for the marinade for this grilled pork ribeye steak recipe. You can of course use regular apple cider in place of the hard apple cider; just use whatever’s available. The marinade is discarded and freshly ground black pepper is used to coat the pork before grilling.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2-4	2-4	Pork rib eye chops (豬排, zyu1 paai4), about 1 lb. (500 g.) each
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
4 cloves	4 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
12 oz.	355 ml.	One bottle hard apple cider (蘋果酒, ping4 gwo2 zau2)
½ cup	125 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
		Freshly ground black pepper (黑椒, hak1 ziu1) to coat the pork

Equipment

		Garlic press
4 qt.	3.8 L.	Covered bowl
		Tongs and an oil coated paper towel
22.5 in.	57 cm.	Covered charcoal or gas grill (or larger)

Instructions

1. Use pork chops at least 1-inch (2.5 cm.) thick – the thicker the better. Marinate the pork in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, hard apple cider, soy sauce, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the pork overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. Discard the marinade and remove as much liquid from the surface of the pork (a paper towel to blot the pork chops works well). Coat the pork surfaces with freshly ground black pepper.
3. Prepare the charcoal or gas grill for indirect cooking following the manufacturer’s instructions. Light the charcoal or preheat the gas grill accordingly. Soak the smoking wood (pecan, oak, or any other wood can be used) for one hour if desired. I use dry and not soaked wood.
4. If using a charcoal grill, arrange the lighted coals on one half of the grill. The side of the grill with the coals (the “hot” side) will be used to grill the pork and the side without the coals (the “cool” side) will be used for smoking the pork. For a gas grill, follow the manufacturer’s instructions as to which burners to leave on for indirect cooking. Clean the grill grate and then, using tongs and a paper towel coated with oil, lubricate the grate to prevent the pork from sticking. Put the smoking wood onto the coals or as per the instructions for the gas grill.
5. Place the pork chops on the hot side of the grill for 1½-2 minutes uncovered. Rotate the pork chops 90⁰ and cook for another 1½-2 minutes uncovered to produce the grill marks. Turn the pork chops over and repeat the procedure to produce the grill marks on the other side. Due to the high sugar content of the hard apple cider, take care not to burn the pork chops during this phase of the grilling.
6. Move the pork chops to the cold side of the grill, cover the grill, and indirect heat will be used to roast the pork chops for 10-15 minutes. For thicker pork chops, the amount of time cooking needs to be increased. The temperature of your fire and previous experience with your grill will determine the total cooking time for the pork chops. Remove the pork chops from the grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.