Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Delicious, melt-in-your-mouth smoked pork belly burnt ends that are perfect for any occasion.
Servings
–
Ready In:
3 hrs
Good For:
Appetizer
Inroduction
About this Recipe
If you own a smoker, I highly recommend trying our Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends recipe. A salty, sweet, tender treat that literally melts in your mouth. It is one of our most popular and favorited dishes at parties and is 100% guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
For Burnt Ends:
- 10 lbs pork belly
- seasoning of choice (we used a mix from Pullin Premium BBQ called Sassy BBQ Rub)
- Apple Cider Vinegar Spray (Add 1:1 ratio of ACV and water in a spray bottle)
For Sauce:
- 1 cup Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- (optional: red pepper flakes, cayenne or hot sauce)
Our Tips:
- True “Burnt Ends” are a little more on the sweeter side. However, if you’re like us, you can always add less brown sugar or honey so your burnt ends are more savory than sweet.
- Cutting a giant slab of pork into little cubes can be a little difficult sometimes. Try cutting your pork belly while it is still cold or even place it in the freezer for a few minutes. It will be firmer, making it easier to cut.
- We like to use apple wood chips, but cherry is good too.
- Try different BBQ sauces or seasonings. We always try a different rub every time we make burnt ends just for fun.
- We like to split our burnt ends in two batches. One hot, one sweet. That way our guests can choose whichever they prefer. For the hotter versions, we just add red pepper flakes, cayenne or even some hot sauce until it reaches our desired spice level.
- Leftovers are great for tacos or midnight munchies!
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat smoker to 275 degrees.
Cut your cold pork belly into one to two inch cubes.
Step 2
In a large bowl, genorously season your pork belly with your spice mix of choice.
Step 3
Place your seasoned, cubed pork belly onto a wire rice, fat side up. It’s okay if they’re touching.
Put into your smoker and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Spray with ACV mixture every 30 minutes.
Step 4
Remove burnt ends from smoker.
In a bowl or aluminum tray, toss your burnt ends with your BBQ sauce mixture until evenly coated.
*Since we like to do two different versions when we make this recipe, we split our burnt ends and sauce in half during this step. One half spicy, one half regular. For the spicy we just add red pepper or hot sauce to the BBQ sauce mixture.
Step 5
Add your burnt ends back into your smoker and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes.
We like to put ours back onto the wire rack for a crispier end result. However, you can also just toss them into an aluminum foil pan and cook them that way too.
Step 6
Remove from smoker and serve hot.
Enjoy!
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