With all due respect for tradition, there’s plenty of room for growth in barbecue, as writer John T. Edge noted when he visited Heirloom Market BBQ on his recent tour of Atlanta’s Korean restaurants. The hybrid dishes on the menu at Heirloom Market—one of two Korean-Southern restaurants that chef Cody Taylor runs with his wife, former pop star Jiyeon Lee—are certainly attention-grabbing: Your grandmother probably didn’t dose her slaw with kimchi, and chances are you’ve never seasoned pork butt with gochujang paste, a fermented slurry of chiles, rice, and soy that’s popular on the Korean peninsula. Cooked with love by comfort food enthusiasts from different parts of the world, though, the fare makes perfect sense. The ribs at Heirloom Market benefit from a very literal meeting of cuisines: a Georgia-style dry rub and a sweet, Korean-style barbecue sauce flavored with gochujang and Sprite.
Korean-Southern Ribs
“You can buy gochujang at any Asian market. It acts like a glue for our classic Georgia rub, and creates awesome bark. The more you use, the more Korean your ribs—or pork shoulder, or chicken, for that matter—will taste, but even a little bit helps the rub stick.”
Georgia Rub
“This is basically what we use on all ribs, chicken, and pork.”
Heirloom Market Korean BBQ Sauce
“This is an Heirloom-only creation. It will stay good in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.”
