Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends are super tender, juicy bites full of smoky flavor. Smoke these for three hours, braise in a BBQ sauce mix, and then finish uncovered for the perfect meat candy.
Servings: 15 servings
Cost: $20
Equipment
- 1 nitrile food safety gloves
Ingredients
For the Pork Belly Burnt Ends:
- 5 pounds pork belly, sliced into 1 1/2 to 2-inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup Pork Rub (see notes for our favorite)
For the Sauce:
- 1 cup Pinot Noir BBQ Sauce
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Preheat Smoker: Set smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit using fruit wood (we like cherry for color and sweeter flavor).
- Prepare Pork Belly: Trim excess skin and fat off the pork belly and slice it into 2-inch cubes and place into a large bowl. Add olive oil and dry rub and liberally and mix with your hands. Place cubes onto a wire rack or directly on the smoker.
- Smoke: Smoke uncovered for three hours. Look for a darker red color and a modest bark develop.
- Braise: Remove the pork belly cubes from the smoker and place into a foil pan and then add your BBQ sauce, butter, and honey, and stir. Next, cover the pan with aluminum foil and place back on the smoker.Cook for an additional 90 minutes or until the internal temperature (IT) of the pork belly is roughly 200 – 203 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Finish Smoking Uncovered: Remove foil from the pan, close the lid to the smoker, and smoke for another 15 minutes to let the sauce thicken up.
- Serve: Remove from smoker and serve.
Video
Notes
Buying Guide - When buying pork belly consider the entire slab for a large crowd and trim it down. Be sure skin is removed prior to buying to avoid paying for the extra weight. If a smaller crowd, be sure to buy the center cut for the equal amounts of marbling.
Oven Modification - To modify for the oven follow the same directions of slowly cooking in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit, then covering with sauce, and finishing as the recipe suggests.
Timing - Plan 5 hours for the cooking process and 15 minutes uncovered to let them finish. You can prepare these the day before and just reheat them when you want to eat.
Reheating - If you have leftovers, be sure to save the sauce and juices it is sitting in and store in the refrigerator. The sauce will harden up.
To reheat, pre-heat an oven or the smoker to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the pork belly and all the juices it’s in into an oven safe dish and cover in foil. Reheat until it’s warm and the sauce has liquefied (about 20 minutes).
Nutrition
Calories: 1657kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 161g | Saturated Fat: 59g | Cholesterol: 215mg | Sodium: 461mg | Potassium: 667mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 470IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 5mg
