pork belly sos,its bad

[tc fish bum]

225, 10hrs, brined, rub, in a vert. gas smoker and on my pit. ruined both times? second time was a tragedy, got a bark and wouldnt let out the rendering, so bad the dogs got it. i can rock star shoulder/chick/ribs/brisket/ham/links. belly not so much. i need help, really really need help, or i may have to convert to making high end dog food every time i try belly.what am i doing wrong?

 

[pc farmer]

Not sure if I can help, but I smoke at 135 . 225 seems too high to me.

 

[venture]

Plain pork belly?  Or bacon?  Rind on or off?

More info would help.

We have lots of experts here to help you!

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[jarjarchef]

What is the end result you are looking for? You can do many things with pork belly.

When I do my belly at work and home this is how I do it for tender cubes....

Rub the belly with my rub
Smoke at 250 for 4-6 hours
In a pan I put diced onion, beer and any other flavor I want to infuse with the pork belly.
Cover with plastic, then foil. Into an oven set at 325
Cook till tender. About 4-6hrs

You can either serve then or chill and reheat in a low oven.
I will save the onion mixture to use for sauces as well....

 

[tc fish bum]

rind off, brined in light brine 12 hrs, my go to maple rib rub, apple wood, not cured. im hoping for some nice cubes.i cold smoke cured bacon in the meat house with the ky style ham and shoulder. what jarjar said sounds solid,as i often do shoulder his style then add maple syrp. and cook down for a sauce. but im up for any interesting ways....they will all be better than what im doing now!!

 

[palladini]

12 hours is too short of a brine time for bacon.  In the brine are you using any curing agents or just spices and sugars?  I brine bacon for 6 to 8 days.

 

[tc fish bum]

i cure bacon about a week with salt/sod.nit mix then cold smoke in the cold house for about a week to ten days. im trying to get renderd out cubes from fresh belly.

 

[tc fish bum]

i should say i dry cure bacon, sorry

 

[jarjarchef]

You can do the belly in the 3:2:1 style, not time frame.
So belly in smoke for X amount of hours. I would do 4-6 hrs

Wrapped with a foiling sauce till tender. I love the idea of maple syrup! Maybe take the drippings and reduce with some toasted pecans and a bit of heat like chipotle to make a glaze......

Unwrap and back into smoker to set a glaze and render a bit more of the fat. This glaze could have a bit of aged balsamic or other type of sweet acidic glaze.......


I am not a huge brine fan. I do vacuum marinating at times, but mostly rub and then into the smoker.

Also keep in mind that the belly is very fatty and rich. So you will need to balance it a bit with a bit of acidity with the rest of the dish. pork belly will and can take on almost any flavor profile, so be creative once you get a handle on the process......

Keep us posted.

Jeramy