Treat Belly Like Butt?

[Count Porcula]

Six days back, I fired up my new WSM and made a clumsy effort to copy Malcom Reed's 300-degree no-water-pan pork butt. The result was magnificent. He scores the fact caps on his butts (sometimes) into cubes, and the cubes turned into bark-covered knobs of pure joy. The entire butt was great, but the fat was the best part.

I have never smoked a pork belly. It occurred to me that a belly would probably be like the fat cap on a butt, except without all that unnecessary actual meat. Today I bought a slab at Costco, and I want to see what I can do with it. I might also buy a small butt to smoke at the same time, since there is a limit to the decadence I can endure.

There could be, anyway.

So...if I treat this pretty much like the butt I smoked, will I get what I want? Scored on one side. Three hundred. No water pan. Hickory chunks. Basic rub. Remove at 160-ish internal and finish on a broiler pan covered with a foil tent.

Maybe I should just cut it in cubes to begin with, but that would increase the work.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I just smoked a belly like John did for his tacos. Man that good stuff. This what he did. I think it will work for what you want to do.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/pork-belly-tacos-w-appleslaw.334824/#post-2625567

 

[Count Porcula]

That looks pretty interesting.

The tip about using the broiler sounds useful.

I want to score my pork, though, and I want a nice, dark bark, so I would be doing things a little differently. I would use the same rub I used last time.

It occurs to me that with all that fat and no water pan, I could have problems with burning grease. I wanted to omit the pan because it's what Reed did, to get added flavor from fat hitting the coals.

 

[thirdeye]

I smoke 3" strips of belly, scoring the fat cap and stuffing herbs in the slits.

 

[Count Porcula]

Looks fantastic.

 

[JLinza]

My opinion is... yes. You can cook this very similar to a butt.

 

[Count Porcula]

Now I'm concerned about grease fires. I do not want to use a pan, but a grease fire sounds like no fun whatsoever. I mean, sure, fun if you planned it...

Maybe I'll have to do this with a pan. That kills the direct heat as well as the fat smoke.

I am only planning to do half a slab. I wonder if that's small enough to avoid problems.

 

[KonaRich]

Six days back, I fired up my new WSM and made a clumsy effort to copy Malcom Reed's 300-degree no-water-pan pork butt. The result was magnificent. He scores the fact caps on his butts (sometimes) into cubes, and the cubes turned into bark-covered knobs of pure joy. The entire butt was great, but the fat was the best part.

I have never smoked a pork belly. It occurred to me that a belly would probably be like the fat cap on a butt, except without all that unnecessary actual meat. Today I bought a slab at Costco, and I want to see what I can do with it. I might also buy a small butt to smoke at the same time, since there is a limit to the decadence I can endure.

There could be, anyway.

So...if I treat this pretty much like the butt I smoked, will I get what I want? Scored on one side. Three hundred. No water pan. Hickory chunks. Basic rub. Remove at 160-ish internal and finish on a broiler pan covered with a foil tent.

Maybe I should just cut it in cubes to begin with, but that would increase the work.

"like the fat cap on a butt, except without all that unnecessary actual meat"....no. just no.

What goes with it? A nice hot bowl of beef tallow with pats of butter floating in it?

Now, I gotta eat a beef or pork tenderloin to get the thought of this out of my mind. :D

 

[Elf@shore]

Now I'm concerned about grease fires. I do not want to use a pan, but a grease fire sounds like no fun whatsoever. I mean, sure, fun if you planned it...

Maybe I'll have to do this with a pan. That kills the direct heat as well as the fat smoke.

I am only planning to do half a slab. I wonder if that's small enough to avoid problems.

NO PAN?
I would do this ?
Add a pan with Apple juice , like half inch or less?
As it cooks, flip the meat and add a tad of water to prevent burning.
When that is done ?
Add more liquid?, But there should be from the meat ?
It tenderizing the meat and adding flavor that you chose.
then for a bark?
Remove the pan
Proceed
All I can is try the water pan, maybe let it dry out, the ditch it?
I am a firm believer in a water pan with juice !
I guess its an educated element that I know what works ?
Ball in yur court !
Have fun !
ELF

 

[Count Porcula]

I have half of the slab in there, scored and covered in rub. No pan. The temperature is 257 right now, going up slowly. It hit 313, but that was after I opened the lid. Then it dropped. Added a little charcoal.

I am going to have to study up on WSM temperature control.

The Cajun Bandit door was tricky to adjust, but it seems to work very well. One strange thing is that it appeared to have a gap when viewed from outside, but from inside, it seemed tight.

 

[InstinCure]

First things first, I said it in your other thread but check out the hot smoked bacon forum, Pop's brine in particular, and get some prague #1 or insta cure either online or at a local butcher shop.

I've tried lots of weird scoring ideas on the fat. Hasselback/jacketed both rolled and hung in hopes of crispy hot smoked bacon. My favorite is probably skewering bacon-burnt-ends; Cubes of cured belly (I.e. bacon).

A wet cure penetrates about 1/4" of meat from all sides, so cubed belly only needs a couple days brine.

I imagine skewering uncured pork belly burnt ends is superior to using a pan.

 

[Count Porcula]

I have some pink curing salt here somewhere. I got it to make the Smokin-It create a smoke ring. What is the purpose when making pork belly?

I'm not trying to create bacon, although that is a worthy pursuit.

The belly looks very good so far. Wetter than the butt and faster. It's in the oven now. I think I'm going to take the foil off since it's not as dry as the butt.

I pulled it after it passed 165, and I am shooting for 200 now.

No sign of a grease fire, so I guess there was a lot of hype in the talk about the danger.

 

[Compulsive Smoker]

That looks pretty good to me! I'm interested to hear how it turns out for you...

 

[Count Porcula]

Here is the story.

I took it out at 200. The bark was blackish and chewy. Very nice. The fat had reached that weird state where it sort of falls apart in the mouth. Tons of smoke flavor. I love my Smokin-It, but this is better; no ifs, ands, or buts. The aggravation of the charcoal is worth it.

Nice smoke ring. Delicious lean part, or whatever you call the part that isn't fat.

Could have been a little juicier. I think the brining tip, above, was right on the money.

It was very rich. I couldn't eat as much as I wanted to. For my taste, this is better than brisket, but then I have not made brisket on the WSM. I have never made brisket, period. It's hard to quit smoking pork.

This stuff tasted so good, I could not make myself put sauce on it. It would have ruined it. I think it would be great to fix this and spare ribs at the same meal. I think pork belly would make a great sandwich on Texas toast.

On the web I see people doing a bunch of different things with this meat, so I will have to try some more options.

Really looking forward to getting better with the WSM. I'm not doing the slickest job right now, so I know the food will be even better later.

The smoker behaved a little oddly. Last time, I got it up to 400, and I read that I was using too much fuel, so I used maybe 30 briquettes this time, and the smoker really wanted to stay at 240-250, which was not where I wanted to be. I added more charcoal a few times, and I ended up at 300, my target. I ordered a chimney so I can do this right in the future.

I used briquettes because Malcom Reed recommended them, and I read that I should not use lump, but then I saw Harry Soo using lump charcoal, so I plan to do that next time, and I will arrange the wood the way he does.

I had no issues at all with grease catching fire. I don't know what other guys are doing to cause fires, but I must not be doing it.

The thermometer has already gone bad, as expected. It was maybe 50 degrees off. It was right on the money during the first two smokes. Thank God for Inkbird.

I haven't put the hinge on the lid yet, but I will get on that, along with the casters. I bought stainless zip ties to attach the charcoal ring to the grate.

I'm getting all sorts of ideas. I'm wondering if I can come up with a good rub using cloves. I would combine them with mustard and brown sugar. It may work. This combination works in spiral ham crust.

 

[Count Porcula]

"like the fat cap on a butt, except without all that unnecessary actual meat"....no. just no.

What goes with it? A nice hot bowl of beef tallow with pats of butter floating in it?

Now, I gotta eat a beef or pork tenderloin to get the thought of this out of my mind. :D

How did this vegetarian get in here?

 

[KonaRich]

Here is the story.

I took it out at 200. The bark was blackish and chewy. Very nice. The fat had reached that weird state where it sort of falls apart in the mouth. Tons of smoke flavor. I love my Smokin-It, but this is better; no ifs, ands, or buts. The aggravation of the charcoal is worth it.

Nice smoke ring. Delicious lean part, or whatever you call the part that isn't fat.

Could have been a little juicier. I think the brining tip, above, was right on the money.

It was very rich. I couldn't eat as much as I wanted to. For my taste, this is better than brisket, but then I have not made brisket on the WSM. I have never made brisket, period. It's hard to quit smoking pork.

This stuff tasted so good, I could not make myself put sauce on it. It would have ruined it. I think it would be great to fix this and spare ribs at the same meal. I think pork belly would make a great sandwich on Texas toast.

On the web I see people doing a bunch of different things with this meat, so I will have to try some more options.

Really looking forward to getting better with the WSM. I'm not doing the slickest job right now, so I know the food will be even better later.

The smoker behaved a little oddly. Last time, I got it up to 400, and I read that I was using too much fuel, so I used maybe 30 briquettes this time, and the smoker really wanted to stay at 240-250, which was not where I wanted to be. I added more charcoal a few times, and I ended up at 300, my target. I ordered a chimney so I can do this right in the future.

I used briquettes because Malcom Reed recommended them, and I read that I should not use lump, but then I saw Harry Soo using lump charcoal, so I plan to do that next time, and I will arrange the wood the way he does.

I had no issues at all with grease catching fire. I don't know what other guys are doing to cause fires, but I must not be doing it.

The thermometer has already gone bad, as expected. It was maybe 50 degrees off. It was right on the money during the first two smokes. Thank God for Inkbird.

I haven't put the hinge on the lid yet, but I will get on that, along with the casters. I bought stainless zip ties to attach the charcoal ring to the grate.

I'm getting all sorts of ideas. I'm wondering if I can come up with a good rub using cloves. I would combine them with mustard and brown sugar. It may work. This combination works in spiral ham crust.

View attachment 742244

I threw up a little in my mouth...:D

 

[Count Porcula]

That post should be in the "throwing up in my mouth" subforum.

 

[KonaRich]

How did this vegetarian get in here?

It's said that "Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean." Relative to this thread, I'm definitely on the Jack Sprat side. I do love bacon, though...the only meat in which I enjoy the fat content. For all others, I cut off visible fat on my plate. That's why I prefer beef or pork tenderloin. Invisible fat, like in pork butt sausages, is just fine.

It's a choice. You do you, and I'll stand on the sidelines and make fun of it. That's me doing me. :D

 

[Count Porcula]

Fine. You make fun of my culinary triumphs, and I'll come over to your threads and make fun of your sawdust-tasting jerky rods. I didn't know SMF had hecklers.

 

[KonaRich]

Fine. You make fun of my culinary triumphs, and I'll come over to your threads and make fun of your sawdust-tasting jerky rods. I didn't know SMF had hecklers.

I'm not heckling. Just surprised that's an audience for cooked lumps of pork fat. The world continues to surprise me.