Pork Belly Smoke (Not Bacon)

[eriksp]

I bought about 8 pounds of Pork Belly and we typically cook it in the oven with some seasoning.

What would be a good approach to Smoking Pork Belly?

 

[thirdeye]

Option 1: If you have nailed the time-to-tenderness in the oven, just use the same time and temp on your smoker. But this time you will have some smoke flavor, so use your favorite BBQ rub. Adding salt at the end is optional.

Option 2: cut the belly into 1.5" cubes, season it, smoke it 4 or 5 hours until it has good color, then move to a pan with some liquid (some butter is optional, as is a thinned out sauce) and cook them tender, covering for the last hour or two. Just google 'pork belly burnt ends' and you will find plenty of information.

 

[Nole4L]

I'll second thirdeye. Pork belly burnt ends are no joke. I followed Malcolm Reed's recipe and they were phenomenal.

 

[realdocBBQ]

Pork belly burnt ends are incredible. I did a version I called "Dragon belly burnt ends" with hot honey and cayenne, they were incredible. My son always asks for them - did this morning as a matter of fact. But alas, I can't get no pork belly these days.

About a month ago I did pork belly 3 ways, one hot Asian chili style, one typical pork rub style and one just plain old salt & pepper. It was amazing, the plain S&P (like Texas brisket rub) was really the best of the three! Incredible flavor of the pork. You could tell the other versions were masking the pork flavor, the S&P just allowed the pork belly to shine!

Here's some pics:

S&P only version:

Dragon belly burnt ends:

 

[eriksp]

Everyone has amazing photos.

What does the cross-cutting on the fat do? I see that a lot.


225 degrees ? Same as a Butt? Also Heavy or Light on the rub?

 

[realdocBBQ]

I crosshatched it to get salt and seasoning down to the meat. Nothing really penetrates the fat. Allows the edges to crisp up a bit more, too. On the rub I go fairly heavy. Not a sprinkle, but not pouring it on, either. I tried to estimate this morning, I do about 3 tablespoons per side of a rack of babybacks.

And for temp, yeah either 225°F or 250°F, I don't remember.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I'll second thirdeye. Pork belly burnt ends are no joke. I followed Malcolm Reed's recipe and they were phenomenal.View attachment 446418

I watched him use chuck roast for burnt ends couple days ago. Looked pretty good. Will have to check this one.

 

[lancep]

I’ll go ahead and throw my vote on the burnt ends option as well. Definitely a favorite around here.

 

[eriksp]

I crosshatched it to get salt and seasoning down to the meat. Nothing really penetrates the fat. Allows the edges to crisp up a bit more, too. On the rub I go fairly heavy. Not a sprinkle, but not pouring it on, either. I tried to estimate this morning, I do about 3 tablespoons per side of a rack of babybacks.

And for temp, yeah either 225°F or 250°F, I don't remember.

Do I need a coat of mustard or oil before I apply rub? I typically do on my Pork Butts.

 

[lancep]

You can, but no, you don’t. I stopped that a while ago and just go straight on.

 

[eriksp]

Also what internal temp am I looking for on something like this?

 

[realdocBBQ]

I went the same as pork butt. Somewhere around 205. And no, I didn't use mustard, but I might have used a little oil or something to get the rub to stick a little better. But it isn't absolutely necessary.

I haven't done a mustard or oil pre-rub much, but I did yesterday, and I think I got a better adherence of my rub on a rack of BBs. I think I might start doing this more.

 

[thirdeye]

Also what internal temp am I looking for on something like this?

You're not.

The internal will be somewheres north of 200°, but just poke them with a toothpick and feel the tenderness. Snatch one off and let it cool for a sample. These things are so fatty that you could decide they are perfect and still get away with cooking them another 45 minutes.

 

[eriksp]

I assume I should probe in the bigger part? But the thin section where the probe is now is over 200 already.

The thick part is 160