Failed pork belly burnt ends

[hooked on smoke]

I tried making some pork belly burnt ends and could use some advice/educating.
I started with 1x1 size cubes.
Generous sprinkle of Honey Hog.
Into the smoker at 250 for, oops, I was away for 4 hours. I did spritz every 40ish minutes with apple juice.
Next I put the chunks in a foil pan with about 3 tbs of butter, brown sugar and BBQ sause. Covered with doubled up foil.
Back into the smoker for another hour.
Pulled, removed the foil and back into the smoker for 30 more minutes.
The fatty stuff was melty goodness but the actual meaty portions were hard and chewy.

My apologies for the extended post but dang it, I would really like to know how to make these turn out the way they are supposed to.

Best regards

 

[JckDanls 07]

oops, I was away for 4 hours. I did spritz every 40ish minutes with apple juice.

This confuses me...

 

[kilo charlie]

You could try starting with bigger pieces

 

[JIMSMOKES]

Leaner pork belly is what worked for me. First two times I tried making them. By the time I rendered the fat. Them meat had dried out.

 

[Fueling Around]

I don't make burnt ends with pork belly very often. Mostly just plain pork belly.
I braise them to render the fat and then finish on the grill or griddle for a little crisp.

 

[hooked on smoke]

This confuses me...

Sorry, the pork was "on" for 4 hours.

 

[gmc2003]

Sounds like they needed more time in the braising step. Another tip - instead of sprinkling the cubes with your seasoning. Give them the Shake-n-Bake treatment. You'll get much better coverage. Also use something like apple juice instead of BBQ sauce when foiling them.
save the BBq sauce for the very end.
Chris