Pork Belly Burnt Ends

Directions

1. Cut the pork belly into approximately 1 inch cubes. It’s okay if they are a bit larger since they will shrink during the cooking process.

2. Spray the pork belly cubes with duck fat spray as a binder to let your seasoning adhere to the meat.

3. Sprinkle sweet and savory seasoning on the pork belly, ensuring that all sides of the cubes are evenly coated.

   

4. Spray a wire baking and cooling rack with duck fat spray and place the pork belly cubes fat side up on the rack, leaving a small space between cubes to allow them to cook evenly. This will make transferring the burnt ends to and from the smoker easier.

5. Let the seasoned pork belly cubes sit on the wire rack while you heat your smoker up to 275ºF using Blues Hog Lump Charcoal. Add your favorite wood chunk flavor for smoking.

6. Transfer the wire rack of cubed pork belly onto the smoker and let it cook for 2 hours, maintaining a temperature of 275ºF. 

7. After 2 hours, spritz the pork belly with apple juice and check the internal temperature of a few of your pork belly cubes. Once they reach 165ºF, transfer them to an aluminum pan.

   
8. Cover the pork belly cubes with slices from a stick of unsalted butter and top with brown sugar and honey. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and return to the smoker.
   

9. After an hour and a half, check the pork belly cubes. They should be incredibly tender after braising in the butter, brown sugar, and honey. The internal temperature should be above 200ºF.

10. Using tongs to transfer the pork belly cubes into a new aluminum pan. Add Blues Hog Original sauce to the pan and toss gently to coat. Return the pork belly cubes to the smoker uncovered for 5-10 minutes, just enough to allow the sauce to set.
    
11. Eat the pork belly burnt ends on a bun, in tacos, or for a truly decadent experience use them as a topping on a burger!