Another cook of pork belly burnt ends

blind99

Malcom Reeds recipe is money.  I modify a couple of things.  Also, I think of the cook in 3 parts: smoking, tenderizing/rendering, and caramelizing.  Each step takes about two hours.

Cube the pieces a bit bigger than you want it to finish.  They’ll lose some fat and moisture. Add rub.  Smoke for about two hours.  The pieces will start to turn a little brown. I use dizzy pig IPA for this. 



Then put the pieces in a tightly foiled aluminum pan.  Raise the temp of the cooker to 300 or so.  This step will steam them, cooking them through to tenderize, and render the fat.  After about two hours, remove the foil and drain off all the liquid.



Finally, cover liberally with brown sugar, drizzle with honey, and add worcestershire and some tabasco.  Do not let the temp run away here or you'll scorch it all.  Keep an eye on it and stir every 20 minutes or so.  Add more sugar liberally.  Add salt and or rub to taste.

I don't add MR's glaze at the end because I build the flavor as I go with the worcestershire and tabasco and whatever else it needs.  Cook and caramelize to whatever done-ness you like, but be careful not to scorch all that sugar.  




Cheers!

JohnInCarolina

They’re a winner for sure.  Not sure why it took me so long to try them, but I’m glad that I did.  

lousubcap

Now that is the way to bring it home.  Most eggcellent-congrats on the cook and results.  

Skrullb

Great looking cook. I’ve done MR’s recipe a few times, and the last round didn’t come out great. I’ve been reading about these modifications and will be trying some of them the next time I make them. The recipe is so good when you nail it. My last batch wasn’t very tender, I couldn’t figure out if they were over cooked or under cooked. 

blind99

lousubcap said:

Now that is the way to bring it home.  Most eggcellent-congrats on the cook and results.  

Man I’ve tried cooking pork belly bites a LOT of different ways over the past few years. I haven’t achieved my holy grail yet but this recipe is by far the best I’ve made. 

YukonRon

I want to try that. Thank you for posting.

bgebrent

Great cook and presentation.  Bravo.

johnnyp

well done.  I'd crush a helping or two

SciAggie

Those look delicious.

caliking

Goddaaamn!! 

I keep jearing about Malcolm Reed’s recipe and have been meaning to try it. Sounds much simpler when you break it down like that. Thanks!

saluki2007

Bravo sir!  Like the modifications.  Will have to give this route a try next time I do them.

bluebird66

I need to try this!

SSQUAL612

Quick question on the mods...you mentioned you skipped the glaze in MR's recipe so when you added the sugar and honey did you omit the butter as well?

blind99

SSQUAL612 said:

Quick question on the mods...you mentioned you skipped the glaze in MR's recipe so when you added the sugar and honey did you omit the butter as well?

I’ve done with and without. Honestly I’m not sure it needs it because there’s so much fat in the belly. But I figure it can’t hurt to add some butter! The biggest thing I found was that if you don’t put enough rub on at the beginning you’ll need to add salt. 

Skrullb said:

Great looking cook. I’ve done MR’s recipe a few times, and the last round didn’t come out great. I’ve been reading about these modifications and will be trying some of them the next time I make them. The recipe is so good when you nail it. My last batch wasn’t very tender, I couldn’t figure out if they were over cooked or under cooked. 

My guess would be undercooked, unless you went realllllly long at a high temp. 

@caliking yeah, with all the steps it is kind of a PITA. If you can simplify it I’d be very appreciative!

thetrim

Great recap and awesome instructions.