Bulgogi: Korean BBQ

A couple of years ago my wife, Liz, mentioned to me that we should find a bulgogi (pronounced bull go gee, with hard g's) recipe, and I was like Bull-whatty?  She rolled her eyes, and said "bulgogi, it's Korean".  My stomach instantly dropped as my only real previous experience with Korean food ( I was a picky eater growing up, but that is a story for another day)  involved kimchi, and I was not a fan.  Look my intention here is not to infuriate all of my Korean readers, but rather to relate my opinions and experiences.  When Liz was in grad school she had a Korean friend named Yeoung,  and her dad was a minister and the family was a very traditional Korean family that often got together, at the church or the Korean market,  and made traditional Korean dishes.  Once Liz tagged along on one of the gimbap making party's, and along with the gimbap she brought home kimchee, and a lot of it.  For those that don't know, kimchi is a very traditional Korean dish with many variations, but basically it is fermented cabbage, that smells and taste about like you think it would.  Many westerners propagate stories of Koreans putting cabbage in jars and burying them in the ground in the fall and leaving it there until the spring.  Now I do not believe this is actually how it is made but after smelling and tasting it, initially, you would have had a tough time convincing me otherwise.  She loved it, but me....not so much, in fact I was glad when it finally made an exit from the fridge.  Not sure if it actually went bad, if that is possible, or if she ate it all.   Liz still remembered this "kimchee incident" when she suggested we find a bulgogi recipe, and then very nonchalantly added "it's Korean".   She also knows me well enough to know what I was thinking when I replied, "nah I'm good" and walked out of the kitchen.  "It's Korean barbecue you goofball", and she knows I love it when she calls me a goofball! Wait.... what?  I mean she knows I love it when she utters those three magic words.... Bar-B-Cue! I stopped in my tracks! It all was slowly coming into focus, as my BBQ brain was racing trying to process all that I had just heard.  Could it be? I began to realized this whole interaction was a set up, she knew how I would react, she knew just what to say to get the responses she wanted.  She was toying with me, like a cat will do to a lizard sometimes, rather than going straight in for the kill,  and I loved her for it.

A quick google search told me all I need to know.  It is beef, spices, marinade and involves a grill.  That was all I needed to know, I just had to try it, so I started searching for recipes.  I found a recipe that I could start with which began my bulgogi evolution.   I have tried many different recipes and various cooking techniques, and the recipe I share here with you is the culmination of several years of trail and error, well mostly trail as I never really had a version that was unfit to eat, just some versions that were better than others.

GETTING STARTED:
I always start with a decent cut of meat, as using good meat is good foundation to any recipe.  On this particular day I chose a couple of good looking sirloin steaks which I know isn't always the most tender of cuts, but for this recipe it's fine, tenderization, is a major part of the recipe.  First I covered the steaks with some plastic wrap and pounded them into submission with my meat mallet.  After being taught a lesson the steaks were immediately sent to the freezer for 30 min!  Why? You may ask, especially since the steaks had already been punished, with a mallet, for some unknown transgression.  The steaks need to be cleanly sliced, against the grain, into thin strips.  This is hard to do with room temperature meat, so I like to put the steak into the freezer for about 30 min, which allows it to firm up just enough to slice with ease.  Now the meat is ready for the marinade.  Now here is your chance to "Dean it up", that is a reference to my last blog post, which only my family read apparently, but it basically means that you should feel free to take what I give you, and do your own thing with it.  My recipe is a combination of several different ones that I have found over the years. 

Tip: Put the steaks in the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm them up.  This should make it much easier to cleanly slice into thin strips, which is a must for this recipe.  Always slice against the grain for tenderness.

RECIPE: (serves 4)
1-1.5 lb ribeye or sirloin steak
1/3 cup soy sauce (use less if worried it will be too salty)
1/2 cup of crushed Korean or Asian pear (a Bosc pear will do.  Don't skip this ingredient, as pear is a natural meat tenderizer.
1/4 of a medium yellow onion, halved and sliced into medium moon shaped silvers.
2 tbl of toasted sesame oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbl white sugar
1 tsp ginger, minced
3 chopped green onions (use all of one except the roots, including the white, for the marinade.  Use the green parts of the others for a garnish before serving)
1 pinch of black pepper
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Combine all of the ingredients, except the steak, into a med sized mixing bowl.  After that mix it all up and add the meat, making sure all of the strips are covered.  Now I typically pour all of this mixture into a gallon size zip lock bag and remove as much air as possible.  Squish it around  or give it a squeeze and refrigerate for at least 30 min but the longer the better, I typically shoot for at least 4 hours.

COOKING DIRECTIONS:
I have cooked bulgolgi several different ways.  The first was right on the grill grate over med-high heat coals with the juices dripping down on to the coals getting vaporized adding flavor to the meat as it cooks.  The down side to this is you loose all of the tasty juices that my family likes to add back to the meat and over the rice when it's time to eat.  I know many folks frown on cooking with the marinade that was used to flavor the meat.  I get it, it is likely contaminated.  However, I did this time, but I made sure that the marinade more than boiled the appropriate amount of time while cooking to be safe to eat.  However, if this practice concerns you please please please do not try it at home.  I would suggest making double the marinade and holding half of it in reserve to cook with, or cook the strips using a totally different method than I describe.  

Once you have decided on your cooking method, it is time for the FIRE! I usually fill a chimney starter full Kingsford Charcoal (not a sponsor but, I am open to negotiation for the right price, just have your people call my people to set up a meeting of all of the people), and light it.  When the coals are ready I dump them out on one side of the grill, like any other 2 zone cooking set up, that I'm sure you have done before.  Then I dumped the ziplock bag of bulgogi strips and marinade into a sheet/baking pan as I was ready to cook.  Once the coals are ready and the grill is good and hot, place the pan full of meat slices and marinade on the indirect side to the grill and shut the lid.  I left things alone, except for the occasional "stirring", for about 15 minutes and came back to the grill.  The marinade was boiling like crazy.  I stirred the meat around and then spun the pan around 180 degrees, and let it cook for another 10 min with the lid shut, all the while the liquid is boiling vigorously. 

Place the beef strips and marinade on the "cool" or indirect side of the grill and close the lid

Now the real fun begins!  I used tongs and pulled out the meat and spread it all out on the grate, right over the coals on the hot side of the grill, and it immediately starts to steam, sear and sizzle, and I truly love all of the sights and sounds this generates, I bet you do too! After the initial fun the work begins, start moving the strips around trying to get as much of each strip seared as possible.  You have to keep moving, it is a fine balance between searing for the taste (think maillard reaction and grill marks), and getting the meat over done.  The meat is plenty cooked before you even put it on the hot side of the grill, and this quick searing is for flavor only, rapid moving and flipping of the strips allows for the meat to not get well done.  When you are satisfied with the doneness/browness of the bulgogi, remove from the hot side and place back into the pan.  This helps with moisture as the bulgogi strips have likely dried out some from the high heat.  If you did not use the original marinade in the pan, you probably now want to use your reserve marinade in the pan (new/clean pan), and place the bulgolgi into the liquid of the pan, still on the indirect side, and let simmer just another minute or two.  Remove pan from grill.  It is easy to see why this method works so well, it is the best of both worlds really.  The meat basically "braises" in the pan which makes it tender and moist.  Then with the searing you get the vaporization of the juices, and the browning of the maillard reaction, combining to producing oh so tasty goodness.  

The real fun is all of the sights, sounds and smells of the beef when placing on the "hot" or direct side of the grill, right over the hot coals. I love all of the steaming, searing and sizzling that goes on.

Now it's time to eat.  We like to eat ours over rice, using the cooked juices poured over the bulgogi and rice, then garnished with the reserve green onion.  Although this is all I need, my wife insists on vegetables to accompany the bulgogi and rice.  We typically use some form of steamed or sauteed vegetable or vegetable medley of whatever moves us on that particular day.  We have a nice balanced sweet and smokey Asian rub that we lightly sprinkle on the vegetables.  I will leave the sides and such up to you, I basically wanted to share with you my experiences cooking Korean BBQ, and let you decide your path for this wonderful dish.

Side Note:  In the years since I was first introduced to bulgogi, my palate and my belly have expanded, and have discovered that Korean food is generally wonderful, with many flavors that I love, and use often at home in the kitchen.  However, I still have not developed a taste for kimchee.  I'm still trying, I'm hoping it will grow on me, like the taste of beer did as a teenager, I mean in my early 20's! See y'all next time.