BBQ Pork Belly Burnt Ends Recipe

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Prep Time
30 min
Total Time
5 hrs
Yield
10 servings
In this Recipe

Sweet, crunchy morsels of pork? Sign us up for BBQ Pork Belly Burnt Ends!

Beef brisket burnt ends are one of the most sought-after bites of barbecue, but they have a few problems:

  1. Beef brisket is expensive.
  2. You only get a limited number of burnt ends from each brisket.
  3. You have to cook both a traditional brisket AND make burnt ends.

We have the solution to these problems that gets you easy, delicious, no-fuss burnt ends:

BBQ Pork Belly Burnt Ends.

Check out this recipe to learn more about burnt ends, why BBQ Pork Belly Burnt Ends are so easy to make and delicious, and what to serve with these morsels of pork.

What are burnt ends?

Burnt ends have traditionally been made from the fatty end of a smoked beef brisket. The lean flat part provides clean slices for sandwiches and platters, but the fatty point end is hard to serve, and it takes longer to cook!

To solve this dilemma, pitmasters start cutting the fat end into cubes, tossing those cubes into barbecue sauce, and then crisping them to perfection.

These “burnt” end pieces of the brisket are smoky, crunchy, and packed with flavor. They’ve fast become a favorite of BBQ aficionados and will often sell out before the lean cuts!

Why make BBQ Pork Belly Burnt Ends?

Since there are a limited number of burnt ends from a brisket and you have to cook a whole 13+ pound brisket to get them, it can be tough to make burnt ends for a large group.

Using a pork belly, which has fat throughout and cuts into perfect cubes, lets you make as many pieces of burnt ends as you like since the whole belly can be used for burnt ends.

Pork bellies are affordable, very flavorful, and can be found at any good butcher store!

Tell me a bit more about pork bellies.

Pork bellies are best known in America for being the cut that we make bacon from. Not all parts of the world make bacon out of the belly, and there are many other great uses for pork bellies!

Pork bellies are a boneless cut of meat that come from the belly (duh!) of a pig. They are rectangular and have skin on one side that the butcher will generally remove. There is a solid layer of fat on top and then rich dark meat with streaks of fat throughout.

Pork bellies are delicious when they’re seasoned generously and then slowly cooked using a method such as oven-roasting, braising, or smoking. There are many traditional European and Asian recipes that use pork belly, or you can enjoy this American BBQ-style recipe!

How do you season your BBQ Pork Belly Burnt Ends?

Our BBQ Pork Belly Burnt Ends get three different levels of seasoning:

  1. BBQ rub – just use your favorite rub! You can use a sweet rub, a spicy rub, a coffee rub, simple salt and pepper, whatever you like!
  2. A BBQ sauce coating – we combine BBQ sauce, honey, and stock to make a mixture that we can easily pour over the pork. This mixture will tack up as it cooks to give an incredible texture to the burnt ends.
  3. Butter – a few pats of butter on the top of the BBQ pork belly burnt ends give this dish the final kiss of flavor to take it over the top!

Can I make this recipe without a smoker?

Yes, you can just make this dish in an oven if you don’t have a smoker, or don’t want to get it set up for the recipe.

You will lose some smoky flavor notes by making your BBQ pork belly burnt ends in the oven instead of a smoker, but it is often easier to use a oven, and you can compensate by using a rub or saucy that has lots of smoky flavor in it!

What should I serve with my BBQ Pork Belly Burnt Ends?

We love to serve these as an appetizer to a big barbecue spread, but they also are great as an entree on their own.

If you’re serving our BBQ pork belly burnt ends as the centerpiece to your meal, we recommend loading up on classic BBQ sides like:

  1. Baked Beans
  2. Coleslaw
  3. Collard Greens
  4. Cornbread
  5. Macaroni & Cheese
  6. Whatever else you enjoy!

Try washing these morsels down with a crisp American lager, or pair them with a dry German riesling to provide a little acidity to counteract all of the rich fat and sweetness in the pork!

We’re hungry now, and we hope you are too! Here’s the recipe – let us know what you think, and leave us feedback with any modifications you may have made!

Ingredients

  • 4 lb LGCM Pork Belly (skin-off)
  • Custom Culinary Pork BBQ Spice (or your favorite BBQ seasoning)
  • 1 cup BBQ Sauce (pick your favorite)
  • 1 Tbsp Honey
  • 1/2 cup Chicken Broth (or beer if you like bolder flavor)
  • 3 Tbsp Butter (cut into small slices)

Directions

  1. Preheat your smoker to 250ºF using indirect heat with a light smoke such as apple or cherry wood.

  2. Generously season your pork belly on all sides with the barbecue seasoning and place it on the smoker. Cook for 2 hours.

  3. Remove the belly from the smoker, and cut it into approximately 1/2″ cubes and place them in an aluminum foil pan. Mix together the BBQ sauce, honey, and chicken broth and pour the mixture into the pan over the pork.

    Toss the pork in the sauce mixture to coat evenly and place small pats of butter over the pork. Cover the pan with foil and return to the smoker. Cook for another 1.5 hours.

  4. Remove the foil from the top of the pan and mix the pork, sauce, and butter together to get evenly coated. Cook for another 30 minutes or until the pork is tacky and the sauce is thickened.

    Remove from the smoker and serve your BBQ Pork Belly Burnt ends warm with your favorite barbecue side dishes.

    Enjoy!

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