Traditionally, burnt ends are made from the point end of a smoked brisket. The pieces of fatty bark were considered "leftovers" from the more slice-worthy flat end used for sandwiches and other second-hand applications (BBQ beans anyone!). Smoked pork belly burnt ends is more of a nod to the cooking style than the meat itself, but they are tender, bursting with flavor and easy to make. Unlike our Florida Smoked Pork Belly recipe, we will trim the meat into cubes to start for more surface area and better fat rendering. Pork belly burnt ends have become one of our favorite proteins to smoke. The prep is simple, and the process is easy. The buffalo flavor in these is unexpected, but familiar and will blow your mind! If you don't have access a smoker or charcoal grill, you can make these in the oven using approximately the same cook times and temps.
Those Florida Guys seasonings used in this recipe:
Yields: 8 Servings | Prep Time: 25 Minutes | Total Time: 5 Hours
Ingredients:
3-4 lb. slab uncured pork belly
Pepper sauce (we used Crystal)
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Apple juice
Those Florida Guys FL Fin & Fowl
Those Florida Guys FL Errthang
½ stick of unsalted butter
Buffalo sauce
Hot honey (sub regular honey)
Process:
1 | If your pork belly has a thick fat cap, trim it thinner to allow for better fat rendering and even cooking. This does not need to be perfect.
2 | Slice the pork belly into 1.5 -inch-wide strips, then cut into 1.5 -inch cubes. The larger the piece, the longer the cook time will be.
3 | Place cubes into a large bowl, coat evenly with the pepper sauce as a binder, then season liberally with FL Fin & Fowl.
4 | Bring your smoker up to 225 degrees
5 | Place the cubes on a wire rack, spacing them evenly to allow for airflow, and cook for 2-3 hours or until most of the fat is rendered and internal temperature is 165 degrees. They should have a nice orange-red color at this point.
**Cook time depends on the size of the cubes and ambient temperature. Your cubes may need more or less time.**
6 | Pull cubes from the smoker and place into a large pan (we used a disposable lasagna pan).
7 | Bring the smoker up to 300 degrees.
8 | Slice the butter into pats and place into the pan with the cubes. Drizzle on 1-2 tbs. of hot honey.
9 | Pour 1-1.5 cups of apple juice (depends on size of the pan), thoroughly mixing the butter and apple juice into the meat. Sprinkle with 1-2 tbs. FL Fin & Fowl
10 | Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and place back into smoker and let braise for 1 hour, until the cubes are probe tender, or about 200 internal temperature.
11 | Remove the aluminum cover, pour in the buffalo sauce, and 2-3 tbs. hot honey. Use a spoon and mix the pork belly burnt ends with the sauce, coating them nicely in the mixture.
12 | Wrap the foil tight and put back in the smoker for another 30 mins.
**If there is a lot of liquid remaining, you can drain a little or cook uncovered.**
13 | Pull from the heat and allow to cool.
14 | Garnish with FL Errthang for a nice presentation and added crunch and texture.
15 | Serve and enjoy!