Chadolbaegi — Thin-Sliced Beef Brisket on the Grill (차돌박이)

Ingredients

• 600 g beef brisket point, partially frozen 1–2 hours; fat cap and red muscle layer intact
• For the gireum-jang
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sea salt, fine
• ½ tsp ground black pepper, freshly ground
• To wrap and serve
• 1 bunch perilla leaves, whole, washed and dried
• 1 head garlic, cloves separated, thinly sliced raw
• 4 tbsp ssamjang

Method

1. 1
   Place the brisket point in the freezer for 1–2 hours, so the exterior firms and holds its shape under finger pressure while the core remains unfrozen — this partial freeze gives the muscle structure enough rigidity for uniform slicing without shattering the fibres. Press the meat gently; it is ready when it resists the finger firmly on the outside but yields slightly at the centre.
2. 2
   Using a sharp deli slicer set to 1–2 mm, slice the brisket across the grain into uniform sheets, working quickly so the meat does not warm and lose the firmness that makes consistent, intact slices possible. Fresh meat compresses under the blade and fully frozen meat splinters, so only this partially frozen state yields clean sheets. Lay the slices flat on a tray in a single layer and hold cold until the grill is at temperature.
3. 3
   Combine sesame oil, sea salt, and ground black pepper in a small bowl to make the gireum-jang, stirring until the salt dissolves fully into the oil so it seasons evenly rather than settling in undissolved grains at the bottom of the dipping bowl. Set it at the table alongside the ssamjang, perilla, and raw garlic.
4. 4
   Heat the grill or griddle to its maximum setting before any meat touches it, because chadolbaegi placed on a medium-heat surface releases its fat before it sears, producing a greasy rather than crisply rendered result. This is where the dish lives or dies: the grill must be roaring hot and the surface visibly smoking before the first slice lands.
5. 5
   Lay one or two slices on the grill at a time — no more — because a crowded surface drops temperature immediately and the fat stews rather than renders. Each slice will begin to curl at its edges within 20–30 seconds; when all four corners have fully curled, turn it once, keeping the total cooking time per slice to 30–60 seconds. The rendered fat pools on the grill surface as the meal progresses, and subsequent slices cooked in this accumulation taste deeper and more intensely beefy.
6. 6
   Eat immediately — within 30 seconds of leaving the grill — because chadolbaegi at rest becomes chewy as its rendered fat cools and re-solidifies on the slice. Wrap a piece in perilla with a sliver of raw garlic and a touch of ssamjang, or dip it briefly in the gireum-jang before eating.