Pork Belly Burnt Ends - COVID Cure

Mark_B_Good

I think once I get the hang of making pork belly burnt ends, digesting copious amounts of it will be my death, long before COVID will kill me, haha!

Gonna try this recipe ... 

https://howtobbqright.com/2017/04/17/pork-belly-burnt-ends/

Thanks to @lousubcap for posting this.

Don't mean to plagiarize, but this is the easiest way to find the recipes when I do these cooks in the future, by locating them in "My Posts"

In summary, dice about 1.5" cubes, apply dry rub, and smoke indirect at 250F for around 2h.
Then in pan with brown sugar, honey and butter, foil over the top, and back in grill at 250F for about another 2h.
Remove pan, drain fat, apply bbq sauce based glazing (apple jelly good to use) and back in grill open topped for 10 min.

Can't wait.

Looks like I'll need a cooking rack with 0.5" apertures though, to get through the first step. Is that right?

4TheGrillOfIt

I’ve done this cook recently, and I used a quarter sheet pan cooling rack.  I also use them for things like moink balls and other small items—makes transfer to and from grill a lot easier. 

Here’s the result:

lkapigian

Once  you nail this, move on to Bacon Burnt Ends......Next level from this ,, and a reason to make your own bacon 

Langner91

Mark_B_Good said:

Looks like I'll need a cooking rack with 0.5" apertures though, to get through the first step. Is that right?

Yes.  They shrink a lot and are a little gooey.

I used a "pizza screen" for mine. I sprayed it down with cooking spray to make clean-up easier.  

If you have two grids, you can put one on top of the other at 90° from each other.   I have two half grids and the original grid, so that works.

You can use an aluminum pan and poke several holes in the bottom. to let the grease drain away and the smoke to circulate.  You just don't want them swimming in their own juices while smoking them.

My quarter sheet pan rack is a little too long (or wide) and it won't let the dome seal.  It could be fixed with a wire cutter.

JohnInCarolina

These are pretty incredible when done well, and Malcom's recipe is a great place to start.  Enjoy!

buzd504

4TheGrillOfIt said:

I’ve done this cook recently, and I used a quarter sheet pan cooling rack.  I also use them for things like moink balls and other small items—makes transfer to and from grill a lot easier. 

I use cooling racks for all sorts of things - salting/resting meat, baking bacon, etc, etc.  They are well worth the little bit of cash if you don't have any.  Get multiple sizes.

Mark_B_Good

I think I might have a cooling rack ... or let me correct, my wife might have one. It may go missing this weekend ... I might be in trouble ... won't matter when I'm eating these babies and downing them with a cold beer. Nothing else will matter at that point ...

4TheGrillOfIt

buzd504 said:

4TheGrillOfIt said:

I’ve done this cook recently, and I used a quarter sheet pan cooling rack.  I also use them for things like moink balls and other small items—makes transfer to and from grill a lot easier. 

I use cooling racks for all sorts of things - salting/resting meat, baking bacon, etc, etc.  They are well worth the little bit of cash if you don't have any.  Get multiple sizes.

Me too.  I use the racks when dry brining all the time.  In fact, quarter and half sheet pans and racks get a lot of use around our house.  I am constantly roasting vegetables or baking with them.  

Langner91

Mark_B_Good said:

I think I might have a cooling rack ... or let me correct, my wife might have one. It may go missing this weekend ... I might be in trouble ... won't matter when I'm eating these babies and downing them with a cold beer. Nothing else will matter at that point ...

We will remind you of this post when she has a mouthful of your a$$ because her favorite cooling rack is now forever covered in pork fat.  I hope the beer is realllllly cold!

Egg on!

Mark_B_Good

This weekend, I cooked fish ... I was like, don't I have like a vegetable grate or something I can use to put the fish in, so I don't make a mess of my grill. Well, after digging in my bbq cabinet ... I found a 1/4" wire basket!!! 

I'm good to go, to make these burnt ends this weekend, without compromising my marriage. 

OhioEgger

Malcolm's recipe is the standard, but there have been quite a few enhancements posted here. No matter what you do, this is always a crowd pleaser!

Mark_B_Good

Ok I did this cook, this weekend. First of all, I want to tell y'all how upset I am at you ... for not letting me know about thus dish sooner! Lol. Man what a tasty dish!

So I started by removing the skin and cubing up about 6.5 lbs of pork belly in 1.5" pieces. Then I covered liberally in dry rub (Cluck & Squeel).

I put the pieces in a wire basket and placed into the BGE at 275F for 2h to  brown up nicely.

After that I placed them in an aluminum pan with 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 stick non salted butter (sliced up) and ample amounts of honey drizzled all over. Covered pan with foil wrap and back in at 250F to 275F for another 2h.

Prepared a glaze of 1/2 cup bbq sauce, 1/4 cup of apple jelly, and 1/4 cup of apple juice, and brought frying pan to a simmer.

Took out aluminum pan with pork cubes in and drained it, then mixed in the glaze. Back in the oven for 10 minutes, and it was then all good to serve.

Wow, what a tasty meal!  Here's some pictures.

Langner91

Nice! You nailed it!

Gamecockeggman

What ^^^ said!!  Nice job.  Now I’m hungry 🤤 

TheToast

I really want to try this but also fear that this will be the end of me. 

Langner91

TheToast said:

I really want to try this but also fear that this will be the end of me. 

I always said, I don't want to die of old age.  

Do it!  All the cool kids are!

Mark_B_Good

TheToast said:

I really want to try this but also fear that this will be the end of me. 

Haha, well ... two things. (1) most of the fat melts off during the 4h cook.
(2) I think it's okay, unless you're eating this stuff every weekend. I'll do this maybe one to two times a year at most. I mean, I can't see eating a bag of Doritos being any worse to be honest.

All I can say is, it was REALLY good. Even my dad, who doesn't really like things sauced up (he's old school), without being prompted, said they were really good. I was surprised ... I thought he'd complain about the remaining fat and glazing.

Teefus

I've made this recipe 3 or 4 times. They were very good, but eat sparingly. You can hurt yourself with these things.

nolaegghead

Looks good!  Question:  will it help if I add bleach or maybe some light, inside?