Teriyaki barbecued pork

This is similar to a dish that Mom makes. It's very thinly sliced pork, marinated in a teriyaki marinade, and grilled.

I only had the idea that this is what I wanted to eat for dinner a little before noon, so I had to make a few modifications to get it done in time.

Prepare a batch of homemade teriyaki marinade by mixing soy sauce, sake, a little sugar, and minced fresh garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil in a small sauce pan, then let cool slightly. I didn't include any amounts because I tend to just throw it in a pan to taste, and also I made far less marinade than you will likely need.

You could use a commercial product, but it works better if you use something that's specifically a marinade; teriyaki sauce is generally way too thick.

The best cut is a center cut 7-rib boneless roast. I didn't have one, so I used a boneless sirloin cut. It's also best to freeze it for 2 hours, or cut it before it's fully defrosted. Since I was pressed for time, I cut it at thawed temperature which makes it much more difficult to get uniform, thin slices.

Take the best pieces and marinate them.

I like to marinate in a vacuum sealed bag because it speeds the absorption of the marinade and also dramatically reduces the amount of marinade you need. This can pretty much only be done if you have a chamber vacuum sealer, because the FoodSaver type machines will just suck the marinade out of the bag. And even with a chamber machine it's iffy a best vacuum sealing hot marinade because it wants to boil when the pressure drops. Care is required here, too. Refrigerate the vacuum bag or bowl of pieces to marinate.

There will be a variety of end pieces, oddly shaped bits, and so forth. I placed them in a lightly oiled roasting pan, seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and baked for 20 minutes at 350°F. I removed the thin pieces, then baked for another 10 minutes. These bits will be cut up, vacuum sealed, and frozen for stir fries. This made two 2.6 oz. (cooked) servings.

When ready to grill, remove the pork from the marinade. If you decide to use the marinade as a dipping sauce you can boil and strain it, but it's pretty flavorful and you might not need a sauce.

The meat is extremely thin so it only needs to cook a minute and a half on each side if you have a very hot grill.

Served with about 1 cup of rice, and a half cup of broccoli. Total is about 397 calories. I didn't do a nutrition facts label because I couldn't begin to guess how much salt was absorbed during the marinating process!

I started with a 1.33 lb. sirloin roast and ended up with two 3.6 oz. dinner servings of barbecued pork and two 2.6 oz. stir-fry meat servings. This is a great meal for one because the leftovers freeze well. You could even grill it off on a weekend and freeze all of the portions.

You can throw vacuum sealed bags frozen into the sous vide (155°F), boil-in-bag (simmer for 15 to 20 minutes), or just microwave to reheat.