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Overhead shot of smoked pork belly burnt ends in a cast iron skillet.
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Pork Belly Burnt Ends Recipe

These Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends are smoky, sticky, sweet, spicy, and so tender they practically melt in your mouth! Burnt ends are usually made from the of a brisket, but let’s be real, that’s a whole lot of work (and a whole lot of meat). Enter pork belly burnt ends: the shortcut version that gets you all the juicy, finger-licking flavor in a fraction of the time.
Author: Nikki Lee
Servings: 4 to 5 servings as a main dish, 6 to 8 servings as an appetizer
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours 50 minutes
Total Time 5 hours

Ingredients

Dry Rub

  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Pork belly

  • 1 ½- 2 pounds pork belly cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ cup apple juice For spritzing

Sauce

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon bbq sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce
  • Green onion slices for garnish, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat your smoker to 225°F during your prep time.
  • Mix all the ingredients for the rub together in a small bowl.
  • In a medium mixing bowl add the pork belly, drizzle the olive oil and toss to combine.
  • Sprinkle the dry rub over the top and toss the meat to coat evenly.
  • Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a wire cooling rack on top. Spray the rack with cooking spray and arrange the pork belly on top so there’s space in between each piece.
  • Place the baking sheet on the smoker and close the lid. Smoke for one hour uninterrupted.
  • Increase the heat to 250°F at the 1-hour mark, open the lid and quickly spritz with apple juice in a spray bottle. If you don’t have a clean spray bottle you can brush them quickly with a pastry brush. Close the lid and smoke for an additional 2.5 hours. (Spritz the meat quickly every 45-60 minutes during this time)
  • During the last few minutes of this smoke time you can make the sauce.
  • In a cast iron skillet over medium heat add the butter, brown sugar, honey, BBQ sauce, and sriracha sauce. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the butter is melted and the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat.
  • Remove the pork belly from the smoker and place in the cast iron skillet and toss in the sauce.
  • Wrap tightly in foil and place back on the smoker for about 60 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 200F. Remove the foil, toss the pork belly to coat in the sauce again, and smoke for an additional 20 minutes to help the sauce set up a bit to stick more to the pork bites.
  • Remove from the smoker and serve garnished with green onion slices and with your favorite BBQ sides or steamed veggies and rice.

Notes

  • Many types of wood pellet types are good for this recipe. I tried it with cherry and apple. 
  • Taste the sauce to see if you want to add more sriracha. This is a personal preference if you want these pork belly bites to be more sweet or more spicy. 
  • If you don’t have a cast iron skillet or don’t want to clean up a mess in a cast iron skillet you can make the sauce in a small saucepan and put the pork belly in a disposable aluminum pan on the smoker for the last step. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, as a main dish | Calories: 2270kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 223g | Saturated Fat: 83g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 23g | Monounsaturated Fat: 103g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 308mg | Sodium: 591mg | Potassium: 876mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 1177IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 3mg

Find it online:

www.soulfullymade.com/smoked-pork-belly-burnt-ends/