Argyle & Oak

The first time I tasted the idea behind this dish, I was standing in the back of a Texas kitchen beside a Vietnamese sous chef who barely spoke but carried the calm of someone who knew exactly when things were ready, brisket, tempers, you name it.

He smoked meat like it was meditation. Taught me, without saying a word, how patience could taste like lacquered bark and rendered fat. He used hoisin in his mop sauce, five-spice in his rub, and had a way of turning scraps into something sacred.

Years later, I lived off Argyle in Uptown Chicago. Right off the Red Line. Summer there smelled like grilled pork, garlic, and the distant brine of fish sauce wafting from pho shops and family kitchens. There was joy in the smoke. Stories in the air. I used to wander that street just to breathe it all in.

Somewhere between those two worlds, Texas oak and Vietnamese caramel, this dish was born.

It’s not fusion. It’s not some clever mash-up.
It’s what happens when you’ve lived enough to know that fire speaks many languages.
And that sweetness and char belong to all of us.

These burnt ends are a handshake between places, pork belly or brisket glazed in fermented bean curd, hoisin, and honey. Smoked slow. Glazed with fish sauce caramel until they sizzle and stick to your fingers. You eat them outdoors if you can. On a hot day. With cold beer. And someone nearby who knows the good parts are found in the silence, the scrap ends, and the waiting.

This one’s for him.
And for all the things we learn in kitchens that never make it onto paper—until now.

Char Siu-Style Burnt Ends

Target Cooked Yield: 3.75–4 lbs finished glazed product
Raw Weight Needed (with trim/yield loss): 6–7 lbs pork belly or brisket point

Meat Options

• Pork belly (skin off, center-cut, 1.5–2 inch strips)

• Brisket point (fat cap on, trimmed and cubed post-smoke)

Char Siu Marinade (24–48 hrs)

• 50g red fermented bean curd (with a touch of its brine)

• 60g hoisin sauce

• 45g honey

• 20g soy sauce

• 15g dark soy sauce

• 15g Shaoxing wine

• 10g five-spice powder

• 25g minced garlic

• 20g grated ginger

• Optional: 5g white pepper or Korean chili flakes for heat

Blend all marinade ingredients until smooth.

Toss pork belly or brisket thoroughly in marinade. Place in a non-reactive container or vacuum bag. Marinate under refrigeration for 24–48 hours.

Smoking

• Wood: Oak with cherry or apple

• Temp: 250°F smoker

• Time: 3–4 hours until internal temp hits ~185°F and bark is formed

• Optional wrap for moisture: butcher paper after 2–2.5 hrs, if bark is set

Remove from the smoker, rest 15–20 minutes, then cut into 1.5-inch cubes (if brisket). Pork belly may stay whole for glazing or be portioned before.

Vietnamese Caramel Fish Sauce

• 100g sugar

• 50g water (initial)

• 30g warm water (to stop caramel)

• 15g fish sauce

• 10g tamarind concentrate or paste

• Optional: small squeeze of lime juice

Caramelize sugar and initial water in a saucepan until deep amber. Carefully deglaze with warm water to stop cooking (stand back). Stir in fish sauce and tamarind. Reduce slightly if needed. The glaze should coat the back of a spoon.

Glazing

Return meat to a shallow hotel pan or grill-safe tray. Toss gently with glaze. Finish on hot grill, salamander, or 450°F oven until edges sizzle and lacquer. Turn and baste once or twice. Hold warm and glazed for immediate service, or chill and reheat gently with extra glaze before plating.