I am cooking brisket and pulled pork for about 120 people this weekend. It would be a pretty straightforward cook, except a lot of the people we have coming are going to be Chinese families. The leader of our Chinese congregation is pretty sure they will enjoy the meat, but I am trying to figure out how to give it a Chinese flair. Maybe a specific sauce to offer with the meat? I have a the Chicago Chinatown practically in the same neighborhood as my church, so getting specialty sauces or spices will be no problem. Let me know what y'all think!
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My vote is to stick with the traditional BBQ brisket and pork. Maybe after a good showing you can collaborate with folks and come up with an American/Chinese BBQ fusion. Best of luck either way! 😎-
Agree. Trying to add a Chinese flavor will probably open you up for criticism. Do American BBQ. They'll love it. -
I third this recommendation! The master (Meathead!) has spoken!
While I've done an excellent Gochujang rubbed Boston butt for pulled pork sandwiches with a Korean BBQ sauce, I found it was also not to everyone's taste who expected traditional BBQ. Don't experiment on a meal for 120 people. Do that on your own on a smaller scale...
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My suggestion is stick with what you know you can make turn out well. They’re expecting American BBQ. I would give them just that. The next time you cook for them ask some of them join you with their Chinese take on flavor. When they know what you make they can suggest flavor changes or they may ask you to leave it alone. They get Chinese all the time.Comment
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So I haven't done chinese flavored BBQ but often make a korean-esque versions of barbecue. In fact I did a korean inspired pulled pork last weekend. In that case, I used MMD as the rub but added gochugaru to the rub and then after it finished cooking, I pulled it and mixed with a korean style bbq sauce I made with gochujang, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, etc.
I would certainly recommend playing around with that but swap the gochujang/gochugaru with chinese sauces/spices like doubanjiang, five spice powder, sichuan peppercorns, hoisin sauce, Lan Go Ma chile crisp, etc. I think a doubanjiang based sauce would go great with bbq (see below). Alternatively, you can look into the sauce used in baked cha siu buns as something that would probably work with pulled pork.
Additionally, there are two recipes from the Mala Market that I've been meaning to cook but haven't gotten around to making. Those links are below and may give you some inspiration.
Sichuan style spare ribs (I would skip the marinade, cook on the PBC and glaze with the sauce at the end)
Doubanjiang sichuan sauce for grilling (I want to use on grilled chicken thighs or boneless short ribs)
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I agree with sticking with what you know. You could ask a Chinese friend to suggest a Chinese dipping sauce for those who want it.Comment
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+1 on the advice you have gotten already. Offer up quality BBQ, and let them enjoy it as is. You're not going to make Chinese food better than they can make at home, so don't try. The way I look at it, if Meathead were coming to my place for dinner, the last thing I am going to make is a brisket. He's had and made way better brisket than I ever possibly could, so it's a losing proposition even if I make a great one. Now my Mediterranean chicken made with my custom rub? He might not have had something like that a hundred times before and might possibly enjoy it. The point is, don't try to impress with something that you are not as good at as the people you are serving. Go with what you are are good at and hope it leads to getting invites to their places to try their food. Then everyone is a winner.Comment
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While in Rome......While in 'MericaComment
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As mentioned stick with bbq that you know, keep it traditional. If you haven't made any traditional Chinese sauces before don't even think about it. If you want to have some fun or have a sauce in mind maybe make a small portion of one of your meats with that sauce and ask your guests for an honest opinion of your flavors.Comment
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Thanks y'all! I will stick with the tried and true method. We were going to go 50% BBQ/50% Chinese from a restaurant. I offered to do it all as I am saving us around $300 for the overall meal and I figured who doesn't like smoked meat! Hopefully that sentiment is shared with the folks who come. The invite doesn't specify the cuisine and we are going to pair it with rice and some Chinese green beans for those who want Chinese food. I will let our Chinese leader get something to pair with the meat if he wants. I think we will also have more traditional American sides for those who prefer that.Last edited by J-Melt; October 29, 2025, 07:33 PM.Comment
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I'm going to try this next week. It does require a few special ingredients which I have ordered from Amazon. It does look fantastic.
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Love the fact you're going with what you know. Hopefully your BBQ inspires someone to collaborate with you to create a cool fusion and, even better, make a new friend with whom you can discuss BBQ. Good luck! Looking forward to pics!Comment
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+7 on the regular BBQ because they probably are looking forward to enjoying something different than what they get every day.Comment
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This cook is in the rear view mirror! Though the cooker is heating up again for cleanup…cabinet smokers are definitely a beast to clean after a cook! And a bigger beast if left unclean and ready for mold…
I started the first brisket on my 7:30pm last night. I used Kingsford Professional…I gave up on Kingsford a while ago and this cook reminded me why…I had a really hard time getting the cooker hot enough. Ended with my dampers opened way wider than normal, it leveled out at around 232 degrees in the cooler part of the cooker.
I had 3 briskets and 4 pork butts. Major win was dry brining on Thursday evening. This was my first time doing a 2 day brine and it made the meat taste incredible! By 8:30am when we needed to head to church, the briskets were still not done, so they had to finish in the oven at church set to 265ish. I used pink butcher paper I bought a while back, but was too anxious to try, but I ran out of foil. I’m impressed with the results! I may switch to wrapping in butcher paper after this.
The taste on these briskets was top 5 for what I’ve done and I got lots of good reviews from folks. We did not have any specialty Chinese sauces, but they enjoyed it as is! Thank you for y’all’s thoughts as I prepared to do this cook.
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