Pork belly burnt ends have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years as a pork version of the ever popular brisket burnt ends. As big name brands such as Matt Pittman (Meat Church), Jess Pryles (Hardcore Carnivore), and others have posted about them, more and more backyard cooks have tried their hand at making these porky pillows of deliciousness.
At first glance, it sounds daunting because a $40 pork belly is no small investment to make on something you’ve never tried cooking before. What if I don’t cook it right and they’re either too burnt or the fat doesn’t render enough? That’s $40 and several hours of time down the drain.
Never fear, we’re here to help you cook them just right.
Pork belly burnt ends are, obviously, made from the pork belly. The good news is that while your local grocery store likely doesn’t carry them, pork bellies are still pretty easy to find these days. You can get pork bellies at Costco, Sam’s Club, or your local meat market. The bad news is pork prices are going up at the moment. I used to pay $2.99 a pound at Costco, but as of today they’re $3.79 a pound.
If you buy from Costco they will already be pre-trimmed, or if you buy from a meat market you can ask them to trim it for you. Just make sure to buy a pork belly without the skin. Skin-on pork bellies can be used for other dishes, but we don’t want the skin for burnt ends.
How to Cook Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Prep
Start by firing up your smoker to 250-275 degrees indirect heat using your choice of wood. I like to use cherry for pork belly burnt ends, but any fruit wood, pecan, or hickory will do.
Remove your pork belly from the packaging and set on a large cutting board. If it requires any trimming, trim off any large hunks of fat or any of those little straggly pieces that might still remain. A pork belly is about 50 percent fat and 50 percent meat. You will of course have a lot of fat on it, but you want it to be proportionally even for your slices.
Use a long sharp knife to slice one-inch slices, then slice those into one-inch cubes. Place those cubes into a mixing bowl and season liberally with our Down With the Swine rub. Mix well to make sure the rub is on all sides.
Now, set your cubes individually onto a wire rack on top of a sheet pan. This allows airflow underneath the cubes. Also make sure to leave a small gap in between each cube (don’t pack them too close together) so the smoke can reach all sides.
Smoke
Place that into your smoker and let them smoke for about 2.5-3 hours. As long as you keep the smoker temperature around 250-275, you won’t need to look at them until they’re about 2.5 hours in. Just let them gather smoke. At this point, take a peek and see how they’re doing. When they start to look like they are burning, it’s time to foil them.
Place the cubes into a foil pan and then top them with maple sugar, honey, and pats of butter all around. Cover the pan with foil and return it to the smoker for another 1-1.5 hours. This is the step that will really render out the fat and turn them nice and soft.
After 1-1.5 hours, check them to make sure the are nice and squishy. If they are, remove the foil pan from the smoker. Carefully transfer your burnt ends into a new, clean foil pan (out of all the liquid). Now, douse them with our Up North Barbecue Sauce, carefully making sure they are coated on all sides. I like to use my own Up North sauce, which is a tomato-based cherry maple sauce, but any sauce you like will do the trick.
Finish
Put them back into the smoker, uncovered this time, for about 15 minutes. You just want to let the sauce set and caramelize at this point. If you let them go too long, the sugars in the sauce will start to burn. Be careful not to let this happen.
Once they are nice and sticky, it’s time to pull them out and eat!
Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Pork belly burnt ends have exploded in popularity in recent years and for good reason because these porky pillows of deliciousness (also known as pork candy) are sure to wow your guests.
- Smoker
- Long sharp knife
- Foil pans
- Sheet pan & wire rack
- 1 Pork Belly (skinless (and ideally, trimmed))
- Down With the Swine rub
- 1 stick Butter (sliced into 1-inch slices)
- Maple Sugar
- Honey
- BBQ Sauce
Fire up your smoker to 250-275 degrees indirect using your choice of wood. I like cherry with pork belly burnt ends, but any fruit wood, pecan, or hickory works well too.
Unwrap your pork belly and trim off any large chunks of fat or straggly pieces. If you buy your pork belly from Costco it should already be trimmed, or if you buy from a meat market you can ask the butcher to trim it for you.
Use a long sharp knife to slice the belly into 1-inch cubes. This is much easier to do when the pork belly is very cold. The longer you let it sit out prior to slicing, the more difficult it will be to slice evenly.
Place your cubes in a mixing bowl and season liberally with your Down With the Swine rub.
Once seasoned, place your cubes individually onto a wire rack set on top of a sheet pan. Don't pack them together too tightly because you want all sides to gather smoke.
Place the racks into your smoker and let go for about 2.5-3 hours, keeping the smoker temperature steady at 250-275 throughout.
After 2.5-3 hours, once it looks like they are starting to burn, carefully transfer them to a foil pan. Sprinkle some maple sugar over them, drizzle them with honey, and spread your butter slices around the pan.
Cover with foil and place back into the smoker for another 1-1.5 hours.
Once the fat has rendered down and they are very squishy, they are ready to sauce. Remove from the smoker and transfer your burnt ends to another clean foil pan. Douse them with your favorite BBQ sauce. Carefully mix them to make sure all sides are coated without breaking the pieces apart.
Place back into the smoker for another 15-20 minutes, uncovered, to allow the sauce to caramelize.
Now they are ready to serve!