Coke Pork Barbecue: Filipino Barbecue Marinate with Coke

Coke Pork Barbecue is your typical Filipino pork barbecue. The pork is marinated in ketchup, soy sauce, calamansi juice, garlic, onion and soda. Usually and historically, Sprite or 7 Up is the most common choice of soda. I remember my mom making her barbecue out of it. The result is sweet, tangy and savory.

The possible logical explanation of adding soda is to tenderize the meat. It contains carbonic acid which probably helps in breaking down the meat protein for more tender meat. Aside from that, it adds a subtle sweetness to the pork barbecue. You know, we love sweet and savory dishes.

Its been several weeks now and the whole Metro Manila is in Enhance Community Quarantine of simply lockdown. However, we are still allowed to go out to buy essential stuffs like food and medicine. In my case, I only go out to once a week to buy food.

This week, I bought a kilo of pork belly and decided to barbecue it since it’s been a while since we had it. I was looking in our fridge for Sprite however, there’s none. So, I just grab a small bottle of Coke and substitute it with sprite.

Tips

Coke Pork Barbecue is just your regular barbecue. Just substitute Sprite or 7 Up if it’s available. I decided to add calamansi juice since my mom is adding it in her barbecue sauce to add a nice fruity and tangy flavor.

This recipe uses common ingredients which I bet is common in every Filipino pantry. However, you can add herbs and other condiments if you like. You can probably add some grated ginger, lemongrass, Italian seasoning or even sriracha for extra heat.

When marinating the meat, I highly suggest to marinate it overnight. This helps the meat to absorb the flavor of the marinade and at the same time helps the meat to be more tender.

When grilling make sure that the charcoal is at least 6 to 8 inches away from the meat. If you have a lower griller, simply control the heat from the charcoal. You can sprinkle some water to lower down the heat. Do not make your charcoal too hot or you’ll end up with burnt and though meat.

For the dipping sauce, I love my barbecue when dipped in soy sauce vinegar dipping sauce. Basically, it’s just soy sauce, vinegar, calamansi juice, onion, salt, ground black pepper and sugar. The sugar simply balances the tanginess of the vinegar.

For more barbecue dishes check out our Barbecue Recipes.

Ingredients

Marinade

Dipping Sauce

Procedure

Marinade

Thoroughly clean the pork.

Combine garlic, onion, coke, ketchup, soy sauce, calamansi juice and ground black pepper. Marinate the pork for 4 hours or overnight.

Grill the pork in live charcoal until golden brown. Baste with oil from time to time to avoid drying.

Dipping Sauce

Combine all ingredients. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Add chili for extra kick.

Coke Pork Barbecue

Kusina ni Teds

Coke Pork Barbecue is your typical Filipino barbecue marinated in coke, ketchup, soy sauce and calamansi juice. It’s sweet, savory and a hint of tanginess.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Main Course

Cuisine Filipino

Ingredients

  

Marinade

• 1 kilo Pork Belly, cut into thick strips
• 8 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 1 piece Onion, chopped
• 300 mL Coke
• 1/2 cup Banana Ketchup
• 1/2 cup Light Soy Sauce
• 1/4 cup Calamansi Juice
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

Dipping Sauce

• 1/2 cup Vinegar
• 4 Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce
• 1 piece Onion, chopped
• Ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Calamansi Juice
• Salt
• Red Chili
• Oil for Basting

Instructions

 

• Thoroughly clean the pork.
• Combine garlic, onion, coke, ketchup, soy sauce, calamansi juice and ground black pepper. Marinate the pork for 4 hours or overnight.
• Grill the pork in live charcoal until golden brown. Baste with oil from time to time to avoid drying.

Dipping Sauce

• Combine all ingredients. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Add chili for extra kick.

Keyword Coke Pork Barbecue, Filipino Barbecue, Pork Barbecue