Pork Belly Burnt Ends

I had never tried this before. Now it is a new favorite. You’ll need a smoker to make this. I have a Big Green Egg, but I mostly cook on my RecTeq now. Why RecTeq and not Traeger? Better build quality. The parts, like Traeger, are made in China, but the steel is a higher grade and they bring it all back here to assemble. More importantly, the electronics are American made, not Chinese. Also, a RecTeq gets hotter and their customer service is among the best in the industry.

Regardless, use a smoker for this recipe. Also, I found this recipe by following Jason Wilson on Instagram. He sent me the link and the original recipe. As he made it, and as I made it, the recipe uses a Japanese style barbecue sauce that gave the meat a sweet teriyaki flavor that actually went brilliantly with the pork. I cannot recommend enough that you get that sauce and try it that way.

You will want to use a low viscosity barbecue sauce, i.e. one that is very liquid and not very thick. So think about Stubbs or something like that if you don’t want to use the Bachan Japanese one.

Ingredients

1 uncured pork belly between 3 and 5 pounds. I order from Porter Road.

Barbecue sauce. Set aside 1/4 cup. I used Bachan’s Japanese for a sweet teriyaki flavor that was excellent.

Favorite barbecue rub. I use Lanes BBQ signature rub.

1 stick of unsalted butter

1/4 cup light brown sugar

Directions

Set the smoker to 250ºF.

Cube the pork belly into 1 to 1.5-inch pieces.

Cover lightly with the barbecue sauce to serve as a binder for the rub, then sprinkle on the rub, using your hands to pack it on.

Spread the pork across the smoker, leaving room between each piece for air flow. Leave it for 2.5 hours.

After 2.5 hours, melt the butter in a large measuring cup. Add the brown sugar and a quarter cup of barbecue sauce. Whisk together.

Place the pork in an aluminum pan. Pour the butter mixture over it. Wrap tightly with aluminum foil and place back on the smoker for another hour.

Remove after an hour and rest for fifteen minutes. Serve on tortillas, or just eat the cubes.