Pork Belly Plait (Braid)

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mneeley490

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Jun 23, 2011
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Everett, WA
Hadn't seen this here before, but I found the technique on YouTube. Scott Rea "invented" it.
I saw that a few others had tried it, and decided to give it a shot.
I took a 5.25 lb slab of skinned belly, and cut into 3 pieces. Those 3 were then each cut into 3 "braids".
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This one, which will be the Honey Mustard plait, got some Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning. Kind of a kitchen sink seasoning, it's got a little bit of everything.
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The rest got some SPG. Braid, and then tie the open end closed with kitchen twine.
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I'm making 3 different kinds here. Honey mustard, Char siu, and a basic BBQ with Jeff's rub. I didn't really have enough time to make up a batch of my own char siu, so I used Nor brand. They were all marinated overnight.
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And now onto a 350° grill for an hour or so, with a little sugar maple for smoke.
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Before and after basting:
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Just a few minutes left to go..
 
Those look great! I've never seen this before either.

So it is just pork belly? What temp do you cook them to?
 
Sorry, waiting for more pics to upload from my phone to my computer. Sometimes it takes a while.
 
Ok, here's the rest. All were very tender and juicy. If I had anything to do over, I might leave it in a bit longer to try to render a little more of the fat. Other than that, great!

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This was the Char Siu
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Honey Mustard
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And BBQ.
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In decending order, I liked the Honey Mustard best. I used Dijon mustard, and it had a great flavor.
The BBQ was a close 2nd. I glazed with my own bbq sauce.
The Char Sui was a bit unfair. It suffered from not being my own recipe, and also a lack of marinating time. I like it to go 3-4 days before I put it on the grill.

Definitely check this out on YouTube for a better tutorial.
 
That's definitely new to me, and looks wonderful.

Point for sure.

Chris
 
Never seen anything like that!
But I'm sure there will be a lot of guys trying this out.
Very cool!!
I'm sure this one will end up on the carousel, congrats!!
Al
 
Last edited:
Hadn't seen this here before, but I found the technique on YouTube. Scott Rea "invented" it.
I saw that a few others had tried it, and decided to give it a shot.
I took a 5.25 lb slab of skinned belly, and cut into 3 pieces. Those 3 were then each cut into 3 "braids".
View attachment 370149
View attachment 370155

View attachment 370152

This one, which will be the Honey Mustard plait, got some Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning. Kind of a kitchen sink seasoning, it's got a little bit of everything.
View attachment 370156
The rest got some SPG. Braid, and then tie the open end closed with kitchen twine.
View attachment 370154

I'm making 3 different kinds here. Honey mustard, Char siu, and a basic BBQ with Jeff's rub. I didn't really have enough time to make up a batch of my own char siu, so I used Nor brand. They were all marinated overnight.
View attachment 370157

And now onto a 350° grill for an hour or so, with a little sugar maple for smoke.
View attachment 370158

Before and after basting:
View attachment 370159
View attachment 370160

Just a few minutes left to go..

Wow I can't wait to try that. I used to work at Salt Lick Bar B Que down in Tx 25 yrs ago that would definitely be a hit if we would have known about this.
 
Wow!!! That looks awesome!!! Glad you posted that, It is something I would like to try... Point. Great looking and I bet tasting, Congrats on the carousel ride.
 
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