Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends - Tender, sweet, easy, lip-smacking recipe! (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to smoke pork belly burnt ends at 225? ›

Smoke. Set the wire rack directly onto the grill grates and smoke between 225°F and 250°F for 2 ½ to 3 hours until dark red and a nice bark starts to form. Sauce the meat. Transfer the pork belly cubes to a disposable pan and add BBQ sauce, butter, and honey, stirring to evenly coat the cubes of pork belly.

Preparing Pork Belly Burnt Ends

Try using a mix of soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger for best results. Once the marinade is ready, let it sit overnight before cooking.

How Long to Smoke Burnt Ends. It takes approximately 10-12 hours to smoke burnt ends. The initial smoke takes around 6-8 hours, followed by 3 hours wrapped in butcher paper, then a final 1-2 more hours once cubed and cooked in the BBQ sauce and brown sugar.

Can you overcook pork belly burnt ends? Absolutely — smoking for too long dries out the pork belly cubes, leaving them tough and rubbery.

Smoke for another 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until the pork belly burnt ends reach 195-205 degrees F and the thermometer slides in like softened butter. Rest and serve. Remove everything from the smoker and rest for 15-20 minutes. Serve with extra sauce and enjoy!

To cook pork belly properly, we have to give it the time and temperatures it needs to render both the fat and the collagen. This usually means low, slow cooking. Any meat will expel its available free water at temperatures above 180°F (82°C), becoming tough and dry.

Despite their name, burnt ends aren't burnt at all. Their toothsome, BBQ bark crust gives them a burnt appearance but is chewy and tastes like smoked spices and meat. BBQ bark develops when dry rub, smoke, and meat proteins combine, initiating a chemical reaction that develops the flavorsome “bark”.

Arrange the pork belly cubes on a wire rack, fat-side down, then place the rack on the grill grates. Close the lid and cook until the internal temperature reaches 190-195°F, about 3 hours, spritzing with apple juice every 45 minutes or as needed if the pork starts to look dry.

The best side dishes to serve with burnt ends are french fries, cornbread, crispy green beans, southern mash, dirty rice, baked beans, mac and cheese, cauliflower rice, coleslaw, potato salad, grilled corn on the cob, biscuits, pickle spears, hush puppies, collard greens, and corn pudding.

What do you eat pork belly burnt ends with? ›

You can eat pork belly burnt ends on their own, on a bun, in tacos, or for a truly decadent experience, use them as a topping on a burger!

Roast in a slow oven for 2 1/2 hours at 140°C/285°F so the flesh becomes tender; Level the pork so the skin is level (ie. as horizontal as possible) by propping up the belly with balls of foil beneath. This makes the crackling cook evenly = perfect crackling.

Do you cover brisket burnt ends in foil? You'll regret it if you do! Leave the meat uncovered when smoking burnt ends to get that signature crispy coating all over. The meat is already cooked through from the first round of smoking — the extra time is really to get it more tender and delicious.

Return to the smoker, close the lid, and smoke for another 1-2 hours until the sauce has caramelized and the meat is practically falling apart. The temperature should be between 190 and 205 degrees F. Serve. Serve with extra BBQ sauce and sliced white bread.

If you have the time, 225°F is an excellent sweet spot for low-and-slow cooked pork butt.

Pork belly is ready to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, which takes about 3 to 4 hours at 225 degrees F. At that time, you can wrap the pork belly in aluminum foil or butcher paper and continue to cook it until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees F.

With your smoker running steady at 225 degrees F, you can typically plan about 2 hours of cook time per pound of pork. For example, an 8-pound pork shoulder will take about 16 hours from start to finish. Quick note! Every cut of meat is a little bit different, so plan ahead for variations in cook time!