MGoBBQ: Pork Belly Burnt Ends Comment Count

GoBlueBBQ November 28th, 2019 at 1:41 PM

Note from Seth: Our good friends at Fuegobox have put together a ton of great special gift options for the holidays—I just bought the All Star Crate for my brother who says he reads my blog all the time so let's find out, huh?  Right now if you use our link it will automatically apply the 10% off promo to that or any of their gifts at checkout. Fuegobox is a hot sauce of the month club, where they bring their fans emerging hot sauces that you've probably never heard to your doorstep.

One thing I've noticed is they don't focus on insane heat or gimmicky sauces; they focus on dynamic taste accompanied by the appropriate amount of heat.

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One of the most popular BBQ recipes going right now are pork belly burnt ends. Basically, these little cubes of perfection are smoked pork belly with a sweet saucy finish. We’re going to finish ours with a whiskey molasses glaze and hit it with a torch. Sweet, smoky, salty, and caramelized to a crunchy finish. This burnt end is the perfect one-bite snack for The Game on Saturday.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Pork Belly 4-5 pounds – Skin removed. I like Costco here.
  • 1 cup honey (Maple Syrup works well)
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • Kosher Salt (Coarse)
  • Black pepper (Coarse)
  • Whiskey (Optional….but not really)

[After THE JUMP: au toothpick]

Directions:

Fire up your grill or smoker for indirect heat. I like mine set between 250 and 275 with some pecan wood for smoke flavor. As your smoker is getting up to temp, let’s make our seasoning blend. This is simple as it gets. It’s 1 part salt and 2 parts black pepper. For the 5 lb belly, you will need about ½ cup, MAX. Mix it up good.

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Dust all sides of the pork belly with your S&P rub. By the way, make a bunch of this and just store it for everyday use. This is also a great turkey breast rub. Once it’s evenly coated and the grill is up to 250-275 degrees, toss the belly on, fat side up. This is our presentation side and we need it unmarked by the grill grate.

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The belly will take roughly 2 hours to reach 175 degrees internally. We want 185 degrees internally for the bellies before we remove them. At this temp, we will still be able to slice em without losing their shape. Any higher and they would just fall apart after finished.

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Once they hit 185 degrees, remove from the heat and let rest for 5 mins. As the pork is resting, combine the honey and molasses along with a shot or 2 of whiskey and heat on low. We just want this to warm and thicken a bit. Slice the belly in even cubes. Do this with the fat side up. Once you have them cubed, place them in a foil pan and evenly coat each cube with the warm whiskey glaze. You may have to roll them around a bit, but make sure the fat cap remains up.

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Place them back on the smoker, uncovered for 30 mins. Anywhere between 250 and 275 is fine for this last step. These will finish around 200-205 internally but still hold up when you poke 'em with a toothpick.

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I pour out the extra liquid and place the cubes in a new foil pan, just for serving. If you want to go one step further, and I highly recommend we all do, grab a torch and give 'em a few fly overs. Just 1 second over the cube and the honey/molasses combo will caramelize perfectly.

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Stick a toothpick in each one and set 'em out. They won’t last long.

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If you are interested in a winning a new Route 83 Classic Chef’s Knife, head on over to Instagram and follow me @gobluebbq and check out my giveaway post. You could win a $150 knife, or you could just end up knowing about it next time I come grill near you! Go Blue.

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Comments

corundum

November 29th, 2019 at 10:25 AM ^

So I've made these meat candies several times but with tweaks to the recipe here and there. Going to suggest absolutely not using pepper. These are best if you start with a sugar-based pork rub and if you want a little spice profile use something like sriracha or a spicy bbq sauce.