I have a weak spot for a sticky, sweet, smoky treat! These Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends are my go-to recipe when I am craving a delicious appetizer.
🐖 Ingredients
There are three categories of ingredients for this recipe.
Pork Belly – Buy a small, precut pork belly from the butcher. Ask for the skin to be removed. This is a very fatty cut of meat and will render nicely on the grill.
Dry Rub – Use yellow mustard as a binding agent for the dry rub to stick to the pork belly cubes. You can add some *zing* to the dry rub by including a bit of cayenne pepper.
Sauce – The honey and BBQ sauce will make the sticky coating sweet! Mix up the BBQ sauce to change the flavors altogether!
🖋️ Instructions
Step One: Cut the pork belly into one inch cubes.
Step Two: Coat the pork belly with mustard. Don’t worry, as the mustard flavor disappears as it is cooked. The mustard will serve only as the binding agent for the dry rub to stick to the pork belly cubes.
Step Three: Add all of the dry rub ingredients to a Ziploc bag. Mix it well and then add the pork belly. The Ziploc trick is an excellent technique to achieve an even coating over the pork belly.
Step Four: Brush the canola oil over the bottom of the cast iron skillet. You really don’t need much, as the pork will render down over smoking cycle, but it may help with the initial cooking.
Step Five: Place the pork belly in a single layer in the skillet and place it on a smoker (or grill) set to 225°F. Let it cook for about two hours. Move on to the next step as soon as the pork belly is darkened and a little crispy.
Step Six: Mix the ingredients for the sauce and pour it over the pork belly in the skillet. Move the cubes around to make sure that they are evenly coated and let it smoke for another 50-70 minutes.
Step Seven: Remove from the grill when the internal temperature reaches at least 195°F. This allows them to cook down and become extremely tender. Serve warm.
🗒️ Recipe Substitutions
Add a bit of a kick with Cayenne pepper. This complements the sweetness of the sauce just perfectly!
Adjust the sweetness level of the sauce by changing the BBQ sauce and reducing the amount of honey used.
Use maple syrup and you know how much I love to use bourbon in my smoking recipes. Combine any jam with bourbon to make a new sauce like I did with the Easy Homemade Cherry Bourbon BBQ Sauce.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
You can spritz them with apple cider periodically, or baste them with the sauce collected from the bottom of the pan.
Yes! This is an excellent option if you want to use some of the pork belly for other recipes. In fact, it will be easier to slice after it has spent time on the smoker.
Related Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- BBQ Grill
Ingredients
Pork Belly
- 2 lbs Pork Belly cut into 1" cubes
- 1 tbsp Yellow Mustard
- 1 tbsp Canola Oil
BBQ Rub
- 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tbsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ tsp Chili Powder
Sauce
- 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 3 tbsp BBQ Sauce
- 2 tbsp Butter salted, melted
- 2 tbsp Honey
- Green Onions as garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker or grill to 225℉. If you are using a grill, set it up for indirect heating.
- Coat the pork belly cubes with the yellow mustard. This will serve as a binding agent for the dry rub, and you won't taste the mustard when it is done.
Dry Rub
- Mix all of the ingredients for the rub together in a Ziploc bag.
- Add the mustard-coated pork belly to the Ziploc bag and shake it until all of the pork belly cubes are evenly coated with the rub.
- Grease the bottom of the cast iron skillet with canola oil.
- Place the pork belly in a single layer in the greased cast iron skillet.
Making the Sauce
- Mix the brown sugar, BBQ sauce, honey and melted butter in a small bowl.
Smoking
- Place the skillet on the smoker, close the lid, and let it smoke for about two hours.
- After about two hours, check the pork belly. It should be dark with a nice bark. If it is, pour the sauce into the skillet and move the pork belly cubes around to get them evenly coated in the sauce.
- If the pork belly isn't dark, close the lid and check it again after it has more time to smoke.
- Once the meat is evenly coated with the sauce, increase the temperature to 250℉ and smoke it for another 50-70 minutes.
- Remove from the smoker and serve it warm!
Notes
- To add a little bit of heat to the recipe, add ⅛ tsp of cayenne pepper to the rub. This complements the sweetness of the honey.
- Save yourself some energy and use a disposable aluminum pan instead of the cast iron skillet. Just throw it away when you are done.
- I really like a mild fruit wood for the smoke, and I have a full post and printable on choosing the best wood for your smoking.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. If your family is anything like mine, there won’t be any leftovers!
Nutrition
Jason’s been firing up the grill for over 30 years after graduating from the US Coast Guard Academy. His love of finely-grilled steak and chicken led him to buy his first Weber grill to put on his apartment patio in 1992. Each military move led to a new grill (a mixture of gas and charcoal) until he fell in love with the Big Green Egg in 2008. Since then, he has added another 4 grills to the collection. Yes, he has a problem. Jason loves smoking in the ceramic BGE with exotic woods including olive wood from Egypt and hard to find varieties such as sassafras and orange wood. Jason takes the term “foodie” to a whole new level, jumping at the chance to take food tours and cooking classes during foreign travels. These have provided inspiration to incorporate new ideas into recipes when he gets back home. He has been featured in Fox News, Parade, Yahoo News, Kansas City Living and more. After retiring from the military and moving to southwest Florida, he has focused grilling and smoking locally sourced meats and fish (read: he likes to catch his own fish!)
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