Filipino Pork Barbecue on a Stick are as much fun to eat as they are delicious. With a sweet, salty, and slightly spicy flavor combo, they're absolutely addictive!
Since our weather is beginning to heat up here in Texas, and G has been firing up the charcoal pit almost every day, I thought I'd repost our favorite thing to grill.
Filipino pork barbecue is a meat kebab made of pork slices marinated in a sweet and savory sauce and grilled to perfection. It's popular street food in the Philippines, commonly peddled on makeshift grill carts at street corners. It's also a regular mainstay at parties and special gatherings and widely enjoyed as a viand with hefty servings of rice or as portable appetizers to complement ice-cold beer.
Pork cut to use
The success of your pork barbecue is half the marinade and half the type of pork you use. For the best texture and flavor, choose a cut with adequate ribbons of fat, such as pork butt (kasim). Pork belly is too fatty to use, and pork loin or tenderloin is too lean and dry.
Make sure to slice in very thin, uniform sizes to ensure even cooking and across the grain for a tender chew. You can also have the butcher slice the meat for you; ask for pang-BBQ.
Marinade ingredients
Like most mainstream dishes, every Filipino cook or household has their version of barbecue pork. While calamansi or lemon juice appears to be standard for most Filipino pork barbecue recipes, I use vinegar instead to help tenderize the meat.
I first marinate the thin pork slices in a mixture of vinegar, 7-up, soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, chili peppers, and copious amounts of garlic to amp up the flavor and then finish off the partially grilled meat with a basting mixture of oyster sauce, banana ketchup, and sesame oil to achieve gooey, sticky, yummy goodness.
This recipe makes about 50 barbecue sticks. Who needs 50 pieces of Filipino pork barbecue, you say? Please take one bite. Youโll thank me later.
These barbecue pork on a stick are seriously addictive; you'd wish you made more! A delightful marriage of sweet, salty, and spicy, you'll be hard-pressed to stop at just one.
Ready to grill a batch? Check out my tips below for the best pork barbecue ever!
Helpful tips
- Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before skewering the meat to prevent them from burning when grilling.
- Drain the sliced pork well and pat dry so the excess liquid does not dilute the marinade.
- For great depth of flavor, marinate the meat for at least 4 hours or overnight for best results. I don't recommend marinating the meat longer than overnight as the acids in the marinade will break down the protein fibers of the meat.
- For food safety, discard the marinade and make a fresh batch of basting sauce. If you want to use the marinade, boil it for 10 to 15 minutes to reduce the marinade and kill off any bacteria from the raw meat.
- To prevent excessive charring and the meat from burning before fully cooked, grill the pork FIRST for a few minutes on each side before basting. Once the meat changes color, start brushing with the sauce.
How to serve and store
- Filipino-style barbecue is traditionally enjoyed as a snack or party appetizer. It's popular street food, usually with vinegar dipping sauce and a pulutan served with hard drinks.
- It's also commonly served as a main meal with pancit or rice. Try it with Java rice and homemade atchara for a delicious feast the whole family will love!
- As the recipe makes a huge amount, you may want to keep the seasoned meat in the freezer for future use. Transfer to resealable bags or air-tight containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
More grilled recipes
Ingredients
- 6 pounds pork butt, sliced to 1-inch wide and ยผ-inch thick
- 3 cups 7-up
- 2 cups soy sauce
- 2 cups vinegar
- 2 cups oyster sauce
- 3 cups brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup garlic, peeled and minced
- 10 Thai chili peppers (siling labuyo), minced
- 2 cups banana ketchup
- ยฝ cup sesame oil
For the Spiced Vinegar Dip
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- ยฝ onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 Thai chili peppers, chopped
- โ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- ยผ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Rinse pork strips and drain well. Pat dry.
- In aย large bowl, combine 7-up, soy sauce, vinegar, 1 cup of the oyster sauce, brown sugar, garlic, black pepper, and chili peppers.
- Add pork and massage meat to fully incorporate. Marinate, turning meat once or twice, in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight for best results.
- Thread 2 to 3 meat slices onto each skewer.
- In a bowl, combine remaining 1 cup of oyster sauce, banana ketchup, and sesame oil. Set aside.
- Grill meat kebabs over hot coals for about 2 to 3 minutes each side.ย
- When pork starts to lose its pink, baste with oyster sauce-ketchup mixture. Continue to grill and baste, turning on sides, until meat is cooked through.
- Remove from heat and serve as is or with spicy vinegar dip.
For the Spiced Vinegar Dip
- In a bowl, combine vinegar, garlic, onion, chili peppers, ground pepper, and salt.
Notes
- Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before skewering the meat to prevent them from burning when grilling.
- Drain the sliced pork well and pat dry so the excess liquid does not dilute the marinade.
- For great depth of flavor, marinate the meat for at least 4 hours or overnight for best results. I don't recommend marinating the meat longer than overnight as the acids in the marinade will break down the protein fibers of the meat.
- For food safety, discard the marinade and make a fresh batch of basting sauce. If you want to use the marinade, boil it for 10 to 15 minutes to reduce the marinade and kill off any bacteria from the raw meat.
- To prevent excessive charring and the meat from burning before fully cooked, grill the pork FIRST for a few minutes on each side before basting. Once the meat changes color, start brushing with the sauce.
Video
Nutrition Information
โThis website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.โ
Angรฉla says
Hello, can I use lemon juice and honey in this ingredients.
Lalaine Manalo says
Yes, you can ๐
Susan says
Hi Lalaine! I have a question regarding the actual marinade...do you add a cup of banana ketchup? I only saw banana ketchup on the basting sauce ingredients not on the marinade. Just curious if this was an oversight Thanks for the recipe! Canโt wait to try it.
Lalaine Manalo says
I use the ketchup as part of the basting sauce mixed with oyster sauce and sesame oil.
DANILO ANG says
Hi
I like the recipe but how can it be proportion to less than 6 pounds of meat ? The marinade is in cups. Can the marinade be cut down as to the weight of the pork.
Example measure 3 cups of oyster sauce in lbs and divide that to 6lbs of pork butt. You will come out with marinade per lb. Do you think this feasible?
Lalaine Manalo says
The measurement converter in the recipe card should do a rough estimate for you. Just use the serving box and put in the amount you need.
Vivian Villanueva says
Hello po, maraming salamat po sa recipe... im gonna make 200 BBQ in skewers po, ilang kilo po ng pork ang kailangan po? Thanks and God bless po! ๐๐
Lalaine Manalo says
This recipe is about 3 kilos and yields more or less 50 sticks so I think 10 to 12 kilos should get you around 200 pieces ๐
Michelle Ohya says
Hi Po maโam,banana ketchup here in japan is only sold in Philippine Stores and Thai store. Can I use Tomato catsup instead?
Lalaine Manalo says
Yes, you can. Just adjust the sweetness with sugar if needed.
Anna says
Hi Lalaine, your metric measurement are no right))) i guess thats site calculating it, but its not correct. 3cups in us - its 750ml in metric, but site saing it 2000ml, and 1 tablespoon of pepper us - shows 2tablespoons in metric and etc. I guess thats why some people was disappointed with receipe)))
i want to try this receipe, seems to be very good)))
Question:can i substitute 7up with mineral water with gas? (dont like soda)))
sorry for my english, i live in ukraine)))
Lalaine Manalo says
You can use club soda or pineapple juice instead of the 7-up. Enjoy!
Future chef JB says
Hi
I like the recipe its very yummy hmmm thank you po
Lalaine Manalo says
You're welcome. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you so much, Anna, for bringing this to my attention. The plugin converts automatically so I fixed it.
Anafe Brickell says
thank you for posting your recipe its amazing
Lalaine Manalo says
Hi Anafe! My pleasure. Let us know how it goes if you try it.
JD says
Do you have the recipe and measurement to make the fresh batch of basting sauce?
Lalaine Manalo says
It's in the recipe card. Oyster sauce, banana catsup, and sesame oil ๐
CJ says
Hello, how many sticks can you make out of this? I found on your recipe says itโs 50. But i have red one of your comment saying 100? Thank you!
Lalaine Manalo says
It depends on how many slices you put on the sticks. I use to thread two or three pieces but I guess that's not a lot of meat so I adjusted the number of servings.
Mike K says
Making this tomorrow...stay tuned
Lalaine Manalo says
Let us know, Mike!
Vic says
I just did this recipe 6 weeks ago using 6 lbs pork butt with:
2 liters 7 up
4 cups soy sauce
4 cups vinegar
6 cups brown sugar
2 cups minced garlic
When I revisited this recipe at this time,the measurements of above ingredients were reduced to half but still for 6 lbs meat. Wonder if this is a revised version and if the outcome is still the same.I knew I commented about the amount of the marinating liquid in my previous message.Thank you and God bless you always for all of the wonderful recipes you've been posting.
Lalaine Manalo says
Hello, Vic,
Yes, I tested the recipe again and adjusted the marinade. Still same ingredients, I just halved the amounts. I apologize for the confusion. I use to make this when I did catering and I guess I was so used to making a huge batch.
Becky Bonilla says
This recipe is a winner and a keeper for my family.
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you, Becky! It's one of my Family's favorites as well.
Daze says
Tried it just now. Tasty even just marinated for 3 hours. What more if overnight. The baste added more taste on it. Thanks for this recipe.
Lalaine Manalo says
That's good to hear, Daze! Yum.
Kirstie says
Iโm not sure but it seems like the marinade measurement is off. Followed it using 8lbs of meat and I was left with still A LOT of marinade that can probably be used for 24lbs more of meat still. Is it really 2 liters of 7 up?
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you for your feedback. I adjusted the marinade amounts and it should be fine now. I am sorry, the previous amount was what I always used but I tested the recipe again and cutting the amount of the marinade is fine.
Marti Dorais says
Hi Ate Lalaine,
Your recipe sounds great! I'm going to try it on my family this weekend. Regarding the vinegar, would apple cider vinegar be ok? Or do you recommend just white vinegar?
Salamat,
Maritess
Lalaine Manalo says
I would recommend just white vinegar, Marti!
Vic says
Kidding aside,it's the best barbeque I have ever tasted, I made this today and my wife said the same thing. It is warming up here in Illinois and this coming Memorial holiday,our gathering will be greatly treated with this equally great bbq.
P.S. the marinade was really too much to throw it away,hope you find a way to make it a little concentrated.
Lalaine Manalo says
Glad you guys liked it, Vic!