try beet juice

That's a great idea.

I saw it as an ingredient on some very red Taco Bell branded bag of tortilla chips, and did a quick google search yesterday after my post and it showed up as a red dye coloring agent on multiple sites.  Not sure how it would affect the taste though.

try beet juice

That's a great idea.

I saw it as an ingredient on some very red Taco Bell branded bag of tortilla chips, and did a quick google search yesterday after my post and it showed up as a red dye coloring agent on multiple sites.  Not sure how it would affect the taste though.

It's such a strong colorant that I bet you could use at a levels below taste threshold and still get some decent results.

In the "old days" in the South, beet juice was used to make red velvet cake red, so I would assume it doesn't have much flavor, just color.

Made Char Siu yesterday and added a little beet juice to the marinade. I think it, ahem, worked. Color did get toned down after glazing. Will add photos of cross section once I cut into it.

For me, your cooking picture is the color I am used to and trying to achieve , for my finished product!

For me, your cooking picture is the color I am used to and trying to achieve , for my finished product!

I think if I would have added the beet juice to the glaze it would have gotten there.

Haven't tried this one, but was posted at work.  From looking through the ingredients, it seems legit.

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Char Siu Barbecue Pork
2 oz light brown sugar
2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
2 oz Honey
0.5 tsp Chinese Five Spice
1 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tbsp Sherry cooking wine
1 tsp Red food coloring
1 tbsp chopped garlic cloves
Supposed to be enough for 3 lbs of pork.  Someone try and let me know, 'cause I'm going to have to wait until the weekend to find out.

OnEdit:  Left out the part where you're supposed to marinade for 12-24 hrs.  I'd go with 24 if I could.

Maybe this and this!  Thanks to both of you!

For me, your cooking picture is the color I am used to and trying to achieve , for my finished product!

I think if I would have added the beet juice to the glaze it would have gotten there.

Char Siu Barbecue Pork      
2   oz   light brown sugar
2   tbsp   Hoisin sauce
2   oz   Honey
0.5   tsp   Chinese Five Spice
1   tsp   Kosher Salt
2   tbsp   Sherry cooking wine
1   tsp   Red food coloring  Beet Juice.
1   tbsp   chopped garlic cloves

This is the recipe I use. Note that the original glaze recipe used Maltose which is found is Asian markets. The stuff is a PITA to work with so I've used brewers malt syrup. This time used light corn syrup as it has a more neutral flavor. I also reduced the water and syrup in the glaze as it makes much more than needed. I've included the original and modified.

Ingredients:
Rub
Sugar: 3/5 cup sugar or 130 g
Mei Kuei Lu Chew: 1/6 cup or 40 mL

Pork Shoulder Butt: 2.25 lb or 1 kg 
Soy Sauce: 3/8 cup (6 tbsp) or 90 mL 
Oyster Sauce: 1 tbsp
Hoisin Sauce: 1 tbsp
Ground Bean Sauce: 1 tbsp
Shallot: 1/5 cup or 47 g minced 
Salt: 1 tsp
White Pepper: 1 tsp
Five Spice: 1.5 tsp
Ginger Powder: 1 tbsp
Garlic Powder: 1 tbsp
Dark Soy Sauce: 1 tsp
Sesame Oil: 1 tbsp

New Glaze
1/4 cup water
1/4 Cup Brown sugar
150 gram Corn Syrup

Original Glaze:
Maltose: 350g
Brown Sugar: 1/2 cup
Water: 1/2 cup


Rub the sugar into the pork, then rub in the wine.
Marinate at least 3 hours.
Mix dry ingredients then add rest of ingredients
After 3 hours, rub the sauce into the pork and marinate 4-6 hours or overnight.
Remove pork from marinade but reserve marinade for basting.
Cook at 325 for 30 minutes, basting at 15 minutes
Remove the pork and raise oven to 400.
Glaze the pork well and put back in oven for 5-10 minutes. Turn oven off and let pork rest another 5 minutes. Internal temp should be 165.

Bregent - so, to modify your recipes, old and new, add beet juice to both the rub and either glaze?

Yeah, I would try both. Probably 1 tbls in the glaze and 3 or 4 in the marinade. See how that works and tweak if necessary.  I used my Slow Star juicer to extract the juice from 3 large beets. I probably used a quarter cup in the marinade and froze the rest in an ice cube tray.

Cool, let us know how it works for you.

Char siu pork loin roast. Not a traditional cut of pork for this dish but it’s what I had in the freezer. We enjoyed half of it. The other half is vac sealed and in the freezer and will be resurrected for fried rice or homemade ramen soup at a later date.

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 Sorry didn't mention this 1st      Yours looks great love this stuff.

Made some up a while ago.  Used a Butt and made my sauce.  Turned out great.
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I believe it is used, it is usually just cut into strips and made that way.  More surface area for the sauce.

Char siu pork loin roast. Not a traditional cut of pork for this dish but it’s what I had in the freezer.

Made some char siu from a 1/2 of a pork belly I picked up from Costco. I'm curing the other half for pancetta.
Also picked up an Oklahoma Joe Bronco drum smoker on clearance - couldn't resist - and used that for the cook. It turned out good, but I think I'll stick to shoulder for char siu - belly is just too fatty (although my kids don't mind). Forgot to take a plated shot.