David Chang is a Pork God.

I have no idea if David Chang, of Momofuku fame, would be thrilled with me anointing him a Pork God, but honestly, it is one of the biggest compliments I could pay him. I have never been fortunate enough to actually eat at his restaurants.  And I don't even own the cookbook where this recipe can be found.  But I do believe that this one experience with a Momofuku recipe, following excruciatingly simple instructions (that I still muddled with), transforming a cheap piece of meat into something sublime, qualifies him for the title. 

I found this recipe on Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy, a visually stunning blog that inspires me regularly.  In fact her header design actually helped inspire my recent renovation to my blog.  I recommend adding her to your must-read list.  The instructions for this pork are so simple, it was hard not to tinker with them.  In the end, I was forced to tinker slightly but only minor cooking time/temperature changes to make my life easier.  The original recipe was written to be cooked throughout the day, and I adjusted it so I could cook it overnight by lowering the cooking temperature and extending the cooking time.  The end result is the most tender, succulent shredded pork.  

The brown sugar creates a delectable crust that I found myself seeking out.  The long visit with a salt and sugar rub beautifully flavor the pork.  In fact, the pork was so perfectly seasoned that I didn't salt the end result it at all.  The shredded pork tasted just like the salty-sweet perfection of bacon.  Seriously. A pork shoulder transformed into bacon.  Pork God, I told you.

I served this dish plain in a bun alongside coleslaw.  The original recipe calls for a variety of other goodies to make a Korean Lettuce Wrap of sorts. I am not sure if the name of the recipe, Bo Ssäm, refers to the lettuce wrap or the pork, but be sure to check out the Momofuku Cookbook or Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy for the original serving suggestions.

Shredded Pork

Bo Ssäm adapted from Momofuku via Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy

Ingredients

1 (4- to 6-pound) bone-in pork shoulder or pork butt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon coarse salt
4 tablespoons light-brown sugar


Directions

1.  Place pork in a large bowl or roasting pan. In a medium bowl, mix together granulated sugar and 1/2 cup coarse salt. Rub sugar mixture all over pork and cover bowl with plastic wrap; transfer to refrigerator for at least 6 hours and up to overnight.

2.  Preheat oven to 270 degrees.  Discard accumulated juices from roasting pan that pork is in. Transfer roasting pan to oven and cook, tightly covered, for approximately 9 hours (overnight).

3.  In the morning, increase oven temperature to 300 degrees.  Uncover pork and baste meat with accumulated juices every 10-15 minutes for about 1 hour.

4.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together remaining tablespoon coarse salt and brown sugar.  Rub mixture all over pork.

5.  Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Return pork to oven until sugar has melted into a crisp crust, about 10 to 15 minutes.

6.  Shred pork with forks and serve as barbeque pork or in Korean Lettuce Wraps, or just eat it like it is bacon - be careful not to burn your fingers!