Vietnamese-style Pork Collar

Serves
serves 6
Time
1 hour 30 minutes

DREW ANTHONY SMITH

Pork collar is a great cut for a long marinade and a quick cook time—it gets nice and crispy on the outside and stays juicy inside, thanks to its marbled fat. This recipe comes courtesy of chef Chris Shepherd of Underbelly in Houston. Cooking note: Allow at least 4 hours for marinating.

Featured in: A Houston Cookout with a Far East Reach

Ingredients

¹⁄₄ cup fish sauce
¹⁄₄ cup fresh lime juice
¹⁄₄ cup sugar
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 serrano peppers, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 bunch scallions, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 lb. boneless pork collar or shoulder, trimmed
Sliced cucumber, lettuce, and tomato, for serving

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Instructions

Step 1

Purée fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, serranos, cilantro, scallions, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth; transfer to a bowl with pork, cover, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Step 2

Build a medium-heat fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to medium. (Alternatively, heat a cast-iron grill pan over medium.) Remove pork from marinade, pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper; grill, turning as needed, until slightly charred and cooked to medium, 1 hour and 15 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of the pork reads 140°. Let pork rest 10 minutes; slice against the grain into 1⁄2-inch-thick slices. Serve with sliced cucumber, lettuce, and tomato.

Purée fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, serranos, cilantro, scallions, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth; transfer to a bowl with pork, cover, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
Build a medium-heat fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to medium. (Alternatively, heat a cast-iron grill pan over medium.) Remove pork from marinade, pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper; grill, turning as needed, until slightly charred and cooked to medium, 1 hour and 15 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of the pork reads 140°. Let pork rest 10 minutes; slice against the grain into 1⁄2-inch-thick slices. Serve with sliced cucumber, lettuce, and tomato.