Use pork butt if you can find it. Pork shoulder is okay too but pork butt has better marbling and it’s easier to cut against the grain.

Slice pork butt into pieces:
You can either cut it into longish cubes — about 2 inches long, 1 inch wide, 1 inch thick
or tapa-style, thin and against the grain, about 2 inches long, 1 1/2 inches wide and 1/3 inch thick

I get rid of all gristle (gatil) but I don’t cut out all the fat; that’s what makes it nice and juicy.

You can use 7-up if you want, but these days I like going for all-natural:

Depending on how much meat you have, after you’ve cut it up add

for about 3 lbs. meat:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup vinegar and/or lemon juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
freshly ground black pepper (about 30 grinds per pound)
lots of minced garlic (about 1/4 cup), mashed into a paste with 1/2 teaspoon of salt

All of the above are “approximate”. 7-up can be substituted for the brown sugar and vinegar.

“Massage” the marinade into the meat; cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight, turning/tossing several times. I don’t like drippy barbecue, as long as all the meat is coated I don’t really “drown” it in marinade, because I prefer it when the taste of the meat comes through.

If you want to test your seasonings, pan-fry a piece, taste and adjust — before you skewer.

Tips: You don’t want to add too much brown sugar (you can add it to the basting sauce or the dipping sauce instead if you like); it toughens the meat. You don’t want it to taste like adobo either, so careful about the vinegar.

Thread on bamboo skewers. Cook over indirect heat (charcoal should be to one side of the grill, and the pork cooks over the side that does not have charcoal), about 5-7 minutes on each side, about 15 minutes total, then move over to direct heat for 5 minutes more or so to brown (or burn, as you wish) a bit.

If you want, you can baste with a mixture of

soy sauce
ketchup
a tablespoon or so of oil
more black pepper

Just the above mixed in a bowl, or mixed with the marinade that you used. Baste after turning. I like putting the marinade and the above mixture in a deep pan. When it’s time to turn the meat I dip the whole thing, skewer and all, into the basting sauce.

This is also good with ribs, and pork belly sliced thin (kinda like bacon, yum!)

To use with chicken wings for a “white meat” alternative, you can substitute honey for the brown sugar. Good luck!

If you want to use the marinade/basting sauce as dip, boil it for about 15 minutes in a saucepan, until reduced and syrupy. Adjust seasonings. (Or use Peter Luger’s or KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce.)

[Note to Chris: Sige, ready na sa Saturday pagdating namin ha! At i-blog mo para mai-link ko hehehe. — hoy, some veggies too, please, kahit ‘alang broccoli!]