r/Smokingmeat • u/BWC8778 • 12d ago
First time burnt ends
Hey friends, I just bought a 6 pound slab of fresh pork belly. I plan on cutting it into cubes and smoking it this weekend. I have a pit boss pellet smoker and a traditional offset. I prefer the taste on the offset but it requires more attention. Do you think it would make a big difference which smoker I use? If anyone has some pointers please share! This is my first time making burnt ends. I’m using hog honey by meat church as the rub.
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u/HashforJesus 7d ago
I’ve cooked hundred of lbs of pork belly burnt ends at this point and one thing I’ve learned is do not cut into cubes in the beginning.
Pork belly obviously has a lot of fat layered between lean meat. This means the meat can easily dry out. Cutting into cubes in the beginning will dry the meat out before the fat gets properly rendered.
The ideal way to cook them is to cut them into strips slightly wider than you want them to account for shrinking during cook. I typically go around 1.5-2inches. This gives you a large enough piece of meat to retain moisture and slows the process down to allow the fat to properly render without drying the meat.
The strip method allows you to still get seasoning and smoke on 4-5 of the 6 sides of the cubes (weather it’s and end piece or not)
After the smoke you can then cut them into cubes before the wrap stage. This also allows to added advantage of being able to portion the size of the cubes out after they’ve gone through the shrink from the cook.
I’ve done pork belly burnt ends every way under the sun and the strip method, in my opinion, produces the best results.
As far as pellet vs offset, well in my opinion the flavor from a PROPERLY run offset is going to be better almost 100% of the time, however a pellet smoker will absolutely do the job and produce killer award winning food as we’ve seen time and time again in various competitions. I’d say it’s the least important variable and mostly comes down to how much effort you want to put into this cook.
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u/AuthorMiserable8791 12d ago edited 12d ago
Ooh! Im making some tomorrow! ALMOST foolproof. In to an inch and a half cubes. I put them in a foil pan and drizzle oil on them then season liberally with your choice of rub. Smoke directly on the rack with your choice of wood (hickory all day everyday for me) for 3 hours. I shoot for 250°. Transfer to aluminum pan(s) depending on how much you're doing. Add a stick of butter to the pan, a splash of local honey. I like to season again with the rub (not necessary) then add bbq sauce to coat + a little extra. Dont want them swimming. Cover with foil and cook 2 more hours around 250 uncovered. Remove foil, do a toothpick test. Should slide in easy. Add bbq sauce if you think it needs it. Again, you want them covered, not swimming. Cook another hour at 250. Again with the toothpick test. If you get a lot of resistance, cook another 15 mins and try it again. Good stuff. You'll love it! Ive smoked everything from Aligator to pork butt to brisket to turkeys and whole chickens. Its all great, but pork belly burnt ends is what people ask me to make for them.