Flame-Kissed (Though Not on Purpose) Korean Pork Loin on a Cedar Plank

Note about the return guest blogger- Jake Donahue

Jake is a man of many talents- he makes a living as a designer, writer, photographer, multimedia-er (check out his stuff at www.jakedonahue.com)  but he makes a stir when at the grill. Thanks Jake!

Since I first learned of the miracle that is cedar-plank grilling, I’ve been thinking about what to ‘cue almost every day. Whether a flank steak or salmon, eggplant or bread, my mouth is running faster than my mind. And as great as my charred concoctions may be, my health-conscious wife will only let me grill every so often – apparently red meat isn’t as good for you as, say, most everything else? Nevertheless, I still stand in awe of the plank.

Oh, sure, I could Google a never-ending array of recipes, but how fun is that? What’s more, why try something that you know works well? Especially when there’s a chance you can produce planked perfection or barbecue brilliance all on your own.

Nay, I say and Google be damned. For today I create my own recipe!

Side Note: When it comes to mixing flames and flammable cooking materials, don’t just read the instructions – adhere to them like a child’s diaper! Some idiot before you (somebody like me) has already tempted fate by neglecting the rules. So, please, unless you want to risk burning down your house (or marriage), follow the directions!

That being said, I obviously did not. While I was instructed to soak the cedar plank for 1-2 hours, I decided to forgo any advice and dunk it for no more than 30 minutes. To see why that is a bad idea, check out what happened: 

Anyway, as for the recipe itself, it turned out quite well. I mustered my own marinade and soaked the meat for a solid 45 minutes (not in the fridge). Some people say to always marinate in the fridge, but as far as I’m concerned, anything less than an hour is fine on the counter. It seems to me that if the meat is less-cold, it absorbs the juices more thoroughly.

Five minutes before the meat is ready, toss the soaked plank on the grill to warm up. Once the plank is warmed up, drape that saucy loin straight in the center.

Remember that video above? Yeah, my plank made it 12 minutes before succumbing to physics:

Rather than call it quits, I finished the pork on the grill – but it was still amazing! Sure, I can only imagine how much better it could have been, but not all was lost. Once the meat was done, I wrapped it in a loose foil tent to rest for another ten minutes:

After the juices settled and the meat cooked itself, slice that piggy up and serve immediately. I might recommend flanking the protein with sides of corn, grilled (in foil, garlic, oil and rosemary) potatoes and flame-grilled garlic toast. Freaking delicious!

As for the specifics, here you go. I started with a marinade I had tried before on steaks, but the switch proved most succulent! Also, while this marinade is essentially a Korean BBQ sauce, I was adding more and less than the recipe said, dialing in the flavor I wanted. Feel free to do the same.

MEAT

1 Pork Tenderloin (1-2 pounds)

MARINDADE
1 Green Onion, finely chopped

Zest of one orange

½ cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon honey

2 cloves minced garlic

1 ½ teaspoons sesame seeds (ground)

1 teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon minced ginger root

Grind the red peppers and sesame seeds with a mortar and pestle. Then grind in the minced garlic. You want to talk about perfection? You just created the base for it! Place all the ingredients in a bowl, mix together. Add meat to a Ziploc bag (larger = better) and pour marinade over all of it. If grilling in less than an hour, leave in bag on counter. If longer than an hour, keep refrigerated. And, as with most marinades, the longer the better!

COOKING Direction
Soak the cedar plank for AT LEAST TWO HOURS; don’t make me remind you again why this is a good idea. Once the plank is soaked, preheat the barbecue to medium-high. Set plank on grill for 5 minutes and then lay pork loin on pre-heated board. Wait 15 minutes, flipping pork halfway through; flip pork and baste with marinade every 2 minutes for the last 10 minutes of grilling. Remove meat from grill and place in a loosely-fitting foil tent for 10 minutes. Boom shakka lakka, dig in!

Welcome to your weekend.