Summer Korean BBQ in Yangjae: aged pork, spicy hagfish, Gamdol

Why do we end up eating briquette-grilled meat out in summer?

Gamdol Yeontan Jip Yangjae Citizen's Forest Branch (감골연탄집) is a Korean BBQ place in Yangjae that puts briquette grilling front and center, so I went to check it out. I don't usually eat pork when I go out. I prefer buying good cuts and cooking them at home. But summer changes things. It's so hot that I end up eating out, and if it's a dish you can never recreate at home, even more so.

Briquette-grilled meat, haha, so good. When I was young there were so many briquette grill places, but these days you almost have to seek them out. Handling the fire isn't easy, which is probably one reason. So I dropped by Gamdol, which puts briquette grilling right up front.

Gamdol Yeontan Jip Yangjae Citizen's Forest Branch: location and parking

Gamdol Yeontan Jip Yangjae Citizen's Forest Branch is on the road toward Seongnam from Exit 3 of Yangjaesiminuisup Station, right next to Cheongwaok. You can park at the restaurant.

It's a proper old-school meat place. Just from the vibe you feel the meat must be great... Even on an early Sunday evening it was packed. Some people probably came lured by the briquettes like me, others because word got around that the meat is good. As a Yangjae BBQ spot, the access is good and I like the concept.

What we ordered at Gamdol

We ordered 1 serving of salt pork belly and 1 serving of pork neck, then it was so good that we added gochujang briquette bulgogi and spicy hagfish too, haha. We ordered diced briquette fried rice as our meal, haha. The quality of the meat served in earthenware pots is really high.

Aged salt pork belly and pork neck

The salt pork belly is pork belly sprinkled with coarse salt. The texture of the meat is clearly excellent at a glance. As I ate, it was tender, probably thanks to good aging, with absolutely no gamey smell, and it seems to be trimmed to suit briquette grilling.

This is the softly aged pork neck. The quality looks great at a glance, right? Haha.

Side dishes: green onion salad, plus aged kimchi and green onion kimchi to grill

Here are Gamdol's side dishes. Nothing too spectacular, but the seasoned green onion salad was tasty, and grilling the aged kimchi and green onion kimchi was so good, haha. It hits that old-school nostalgia exactly.

How do briquette-grilled pork belly and pork neck taste?

After wiping the grill with a piece of pork fat, I grilled the fattier pork belly first. Oh, delicious! The distinctive fire flavor of the briquettes makes it even better. I'd already sensed the quality of the meat just by looking, haha, and it tastes great. The sauces come in many varieties, so dipping into this and that is fun too. I could instantly see why this Yangjae meat place is packed with customers.

Now the pork neck, my favorite cut of pork. Gamdol's pork neck isn't too dry, it's well aged and tender, and it's perfect for people like me who don't love very fatty cuts.

How to grill gochujang briquette bulgogi

Say briquette grilling and you think of gochujang bulgogi (spicy marinated pork), right? So I ordered the gochujang briquette bulgogi. Thinly sliced pork comes topped with gochujang marinade like this; mix it well in the earthenware pot before grilling, then cook it over the briquettes.

Since it's marinated meat, the key is to flip it often so it doesn't burn, haha. The fire flavor added to the marinade is so good, and this is exactly why you eat briquette-grilled meat, haha.

Oh, so delicious: the gochujang briquette bulgogi at Gamdol, the Yangjae meat place.

Diced briquette fried rice shaped like a briquette

I'd already finished a bowl of plain rice when the diced briquette fried rice finally arrived. The fried rice is shaped like a briquette. It comes with a fried egg and grilled bracken too, haha. It isn't spicy at all, and its mild flavor is perfect with the gochujang briquette bulgogi.

Gamdol's spicy hagfish is made for soju

Looking at the menu I spotted hagfish (kkomjangeo), so I ordered the spicy hagfish. Briquette grilling makes me think of hagfish or webfoot octopus... and I'm crazy about hagfish...

The crunchy texture is a perfect soju pairing. Gamdol is a Yangjae pork place where you can fully feel the charm of briquette grilling. I'm so glad there's now a place to grill good meat over briquettes.

Free slushie on the way out

At Gamdol you even get a free slushie on your way out... Oh, this is old-school nostalgia too. What do you think? I'll have to drop by Gamdol once in a while.