So this was a first attempt, and I'll probably tweak a few things during my next cook, but I can definitely vouch that pork belly burnt ends are fantastic. To me, it was like a delicious cross between bacon, a fatty sausage, and smoked pork, and well... if anyone's(like my wife) mouth doesn't water when reading that, it's their problem.
Anyway, after getting a tip about about the crisped skin, I decided to go the skin on route, and I basically attempted a hybrid of a couple recipes that I saw.
Step 1 - Poke holes, dry/salt the skin overnight to pull as much moisture as possible out of the skin as possible. I frankly have no idea if this really did anything, but the end result was good, so I'll probably keep this step in my recipe.
Step 2 - Cube meat into 1-2 inch cubes without cutting the skin, and season generously with your favorite BBQ rub. I used meat church's honey rub, and it worked great. Flip over, place on a wire rack above a drip pan with beer/water, and salt skin side again before placing on the smoker at 300. Cooked 1.5 hrs for a 2 slab
View attachment 16520
Step 3 - To crisp skin, remove salt crust from skin, pat dry with paper towel, and place under broiler until skin starts to bubble and brown. House will pretty much smell like bacon after this, so prepare your wife
View attachment 16521
Step 4 - Take out, cut into cubes, place in pan and brush with favorite BBQ sauce and brown sugar. Now, I will say that the one downside to any further cooking at this point is that it will take some crispness out of the skin, but I really wanted that burned in glazed taste, so I dealt with it. If you really like the crunch of the skin, you may want to stop here, though, and just eat the cubes with a side of sauce or something similar
View attachment 16522
Step 5 - After brushing with sauce and brown sugar, I put them back on the smoker in a pan at 375 for ~ 30 more minutes. Now again, I like stuff like this genuinely just about burned, so you may not want to cook them quite so long with sauce on, but all I can say is man... these things were delicious. I still have a few left that I'm planning to warm up in a little bit, and I can't wait. I'll also mention that pork belly is super cheap at around $4/lb compared to brisket, so if you like burnt ends, I highly recommend them for a change of pace.
Let me know what some of y'all have tried when cooking them. I'm already anxious to do these again with a few tweaks to see what ends up turning out the best
View attachment 16523
Anyway, after getting a tip about about the crisped skin, I decided to go the skin on route, and I basically attempted a hybrid of a couple recipes that I saw.
Step 1 - Poke holes, dry/salt the skin overnight to pull as much moisture as possible out of the skin as possible. I frankly have no idea if this really did anything, but the end result was good, so I'll probably keep this step in my recipe.
Step 2 - Cube meat into 1-2 inch cubes without cutting the skin, and season generously with your favorite BBQ rub. I used meat church's honey rub, and it worked great. Flip over, place on a wire rack above a drip pan with beer/water, and salt skin side again before placing on the smoker at 300. Cooked 1.5 hrs for a 2 slab
View attachment 16520
Step 3 - To crisp skin, remove salt crust from skin, pat dry with paper towel, and place under broiler until skin starts to bubble and brown. House will pretty much smell like bacon after this, so prepare your wife
View attachment 16521
Step 4 - Take out, cut into cubes, place in pan and brush with favorite BBQ sauce and brown sugar. Now, I will say that the one downside to any further cooking at this point is that it will take some crispness out of the skin, but I really wanted that burned in glazed taste, so I dealt with it. If you really like the crunch of the skin, you may want to stop here, though, and just eat the cubes with a side of sauce or something similar
View attachment 16522
Step 5 - After brushing with sauce and brown sugar, I put them back on the smoker in a pan at 375 for ~ 30 more minutes. Now again, I like stuff like this genuinely just about burned, so you may not want to cook them quite so long with sauce on, but all I can say is man... these things were delicious. I still have a few left that I'm planning to warm up in a little bit, and I can't wait. I'll also mention that pork belly is super cheap at around $4/lb compared to brisket, so if you like burnt ends, I highly recommend them for a change of pace.
Let me know what some of y'all have tried when cooking them. I'm already anxious to do these again with a few tweaks to see what ends up turning out the best
View attachment 16523
