And the Valley Cooks: Pork Belly Burnt Ends

My wife and I like to host, so I’m always on the lookout for new appetizer-type ideas. So when this video came across my Facebook feed, you might say the idea of PORK. BELLY. BURNT. ENDS. Was kind of intriguing.

Belly has become one of the hot restaurant items that you can find a lot of different ways — braised is usually great. It’s pretty damn tough to beat in cracklin’ form, but this idea was definitely intriguing as well.

Burnt ends are great, and I’ve never even tried to make the original myself. For one, I still don’t have a ton of confidence in my ability to smoke brisket, plus my butchering skills to successfully remove the point from the flat.

Pork Belly can be hard to find. I happen to have a guy but overall, I suggest asking your local butcher.

Ingredients

3 lbs Pork Belly, cubed
Barbecue rub to taste
2 tbsp butter
Your favorite barbecue sauce
Honey or agave syrup (I used agave)
Olive Oil

Instructions

1. Coat the chunks of pork belly with some olive oil and then some of your desired barbecue rub. I suggest something with some sugar that will caramelize and help form a crust.

Billy Gomila

2. Place the belly chunks on a wire rack in a prepared smoker at around 200-225 degrees and smoke for about two and a half hours.

Billy Gomila

3. Remove the belly and place in a pan. Coat well with some additional rub, some barbecue sauce and a little honey or agave syrup. Whatever you prefer — I went with the agave to change things up a bit. Throw in the butter in pieces just to make sure nothing sticks to heavily to the pan. Mix and toss well.

Billy Gomila

4. Return to the smoker for another two hours or so. Next time I might try running these under a broiler for a minute or two just to try and get a little more crust. But the flavor was fantastic.

Billy Gomila