Filipino Barbecue Recipe

Your choice of sweet, sticky skewers of beautifully charred pork or chicken.

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated May 24, 2024
A pile of Filipino barbecue on skewers.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

Why It Works

  • Cooking down the marinade ingredients first concentrates the sugars to create the sweet, sticky finish on the grilled meat.
  • Marinating the meat overnight allows the flavors to penetrate fully.

I've mentioned my love for Filipino cuisine, but it took some time to work my way from dish to dish to develop this fondness. The first delicious item I ever tried that kicked off this journey was Filipino barbecue, a sweet and sticky skewer of grilled pork or chicken.

I rarely leave a Filipino restaurant or family function without having some barbecue, and even though it's so common, it's been a continuous challenge trying to replicate it exactly at home. This recipe first came to me as a list of ingredients--no measurements--from the fiancée's uncle, who is known as the family barbecue chef. I'm still perfecting just the right amount of everything, but I'm proud to say that I've come pretty close, and it grills up a beautiful batch of those glistening sticks of meat.

October 2008

Recipe Details

Filipino Barbecue Recipe

Prep 50 mins
Cook 20 mins
Marinate 12 hrs
Total 13 hrs 10 mins
Serves 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

For the Marinade:

  • 1 cup Coke

  • 1 cup brown sugar

  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce

  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

  • 1/4 cup orange juice

  • 1/4 cup ketchup

  • 1/8 cup lemon juice

  • 6 garlic cloves, minced

  • 3 tablespoons oyster sauce

  • 1 tablespoon salt

  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For the Skewers:

  • 4 pounds pork shoulder or chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions

  1. Place all marinade ingredients in a medium saucepan and whisk to combine. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

  2. Place chicken or pork cubes in a large Ziploc bag and pour marinade all over. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible, and set in the refrigerator to marinate overnight, turning the bag over at least once during the process.

  3. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread coals out evenly. Alternatively, set all the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate.

  4. While the fire is lighting, thread meat onto the skewer. Each piece of meat should touch the next, but do not push tightly together.

  5. Grill directly over a hot fire, turning every 3 to 5 minutes until each side is nicely browned and the meat is cooked through.

Special Equipment

Wooden skewers (pre-soaked in water for at least 30 minutes)

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
638Calories
37gFat
34gCarbs
42gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories638
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 37g47%
Saturated Fat 13g67%
Cholesterol 153mg51%
Sodium 2047mg89%
Total Carbohydrate 34g12%
Dietary Fiber 1g3%
Total Sugars 29g
Protein 42g
Vitamin C 8mg38%
Calcium 84mg6%
Iron 3mg16%
Potassium 775mg16%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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