Okay, a friend of mine and I have been talking about smoking pork belly for four years. Yesterday, we made it happen. I bought two bellies just under 10lbs each. I prepped each one with rub but injected only one with a Chris LIlly marinade to see if there was a significant difference in the flavor profile. Both bellies were placed in my MES 40 with a first run of peach wood, followed by cherry. I smoked them for four and a half hours at 225 degrees. At that point I foiled them (with little bit of apple juice) and put them back in at 230 degrees for another four hours. With an IT of 198, I packed them in towels and put them in an ice chest to rest. Before serving, I took the non-injected belly and put it on the grill, adding some sauce to create a glaze. I sliced them up and .... OH MY GOODNESS!!! I can't believe I waited four years to smoke my first belly! Both were excellent, but the injected marinade was the favored belly of the dinner. These were non-cured bellies. Next time - cured!!!
Delicious!!!!!!
Delicious!!!!!!
