Salt-Grilled Pork Ribs (Sogeumgui Deunggalbi)

Ingredients

• Pork ribs: 1.2–1.8 kg (2.6–4 lbs)
• Onion: 1/2 to 1
• Garlic: 8-9 cloves
• Ginger: 2 pieces
• Cheongju (Korean rice wine) or soju: 4 tablespoons
• Cooking wine: 3 tablespoons
• Sugar: 1/2 tablespoon
• Espresso: 1 shot or instant black coffee: 1 tablespoon
• Bay leaves: 3-4 leaves
• Whole black peppercorns: 1 tablespoon
• Salt: 1 teaspoon
• Olive oil: a moderate amount
• Sesame oil: a moderate amount
• Lemon pepper: a moderate amount
• Sauce 1: Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wings Sauce, 2 tablespoons
• Sauce 2: Chamsauce (Korean sweet soy sauce), 2 tablespoons; Vinegar, 1 tablespoon

Recipe

Cut the onion into quarters and halve the garlic.

Place the ribs in a pressure cooker.

Add the onion, garlic, ginger, cooking wine, mirin, sugar, espresso, bay leaves, and whole peppercorns.

Pour in enough boiling water to cover the ribs completely and cook on high heat.

Once the pressure cooker starts to whistle, cook for about 10 to 12 minutes. Then, turn off the heat and carefully release the pressure to let the steam escape.

Remove the ribs and transfer them to a baking sheet. Cut the ribs into individual pieces, then drizzle them with olive oil and sesame oil.

Put on vinyl gloves and rub the oils evenly over the ribs.

Broil in the oven for about 3 minutes on each side, for a total of 6 to 7 minutes.

Remove from the oven and use a kitchen torch to evenly char the surface.

Generously sprinkle with lemon pepper and season with salt to taste.

Prepare two dipping sauces to serve

Sauce 1 (International flavor, young taste)
A suitable amount of Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Sauce.

Sauce 2 (Korean flavor, adult taste)
A mixture of soy sauce and vinegar in a 2:1 ratio.

Instead of soy sauce, you can also use a combination of soy sauce, water, and vinegar in a 1:1:1 ratio, or try yuzu ponzu or yuzu kosho based on your preference.

Notes

You don’t need to drain the blood from the ribs. 

You can omit the cooking wine, but we recommend not omitting any of the other ingredients. 

After another 10 minutes of cooking, the ribs will be tender enough to pull apart, and after 12 minutes, they will be fall-off-the-bone tender. 

Be careful not to cook for more than 12 minutes, or the meat will break down. 
Tilt the weight on the pressure cooker to release the pressure and let out the steam. Otherwise, the meat will be overcooked and fall apart.

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, simmer in a regular pot for about 40 minutes, removing it when the meat is tender enough to separate from the bones but not falling apart. 

The sesame oil will add a pleasant flavor to the pork without any off-putting tastes. 

You can also mix it with olive oil for a more luxurious flavor and aroma. 

Season the pork to taste with salt, as it is on the fresh side since it wasn't seasoned while cooking.

If you don't have lemon pepper, whole or tri-color peppercorns will work just as well.