First try at pork belly burnt ends

Kanco Connection · Jul 24, 2018

Here we go. Got guys coming over for steak and bourbon. Thought I'd try something new as an appetizer, so giving Malcom Reed's pork belly burn ends a try.

8# belly. Too big for my PBC, so cut off a little over half. Tried to cut into cubes but didn't do a great job of that--not symmetrical. Hope it doesn't matter.

Seasoned w Killer Hogz The Rub and put on a circular wire rack

On the PBC it goes...

Running at about 275 with 50/50 lump and Weber briqs.
I'll update in a moment...

Smokey Lonesome · Jul 24, 2018

op2:

op2:

Doing this next week on the PBC. Following closely!

Kanco Connection · Jul 24, 2018

They went for about 2:10 and got some color... (I checked the IT, just because I was curious--they were about 170)

Unfortunately, I didn't oil the rack, so they wanted to stick a little bit--lost a little bit of bark but not too much..

Stacked them in a half-size disposable pan, topped with brown sugar, honey, and butter

Back onto the PBC, covered. I'll give it another 90 minutes and check at that time...

Bubblehead · Jul 24, 2018

Been wanting to do this. Watching closely!

EyeBurnEverything · Jul 24, 2018

Curious how these turn out, or rather are supposed to turn out? Do they have soft fat or crispy fat like a thick cut bacon? Could you just take a slab of bacon, cube it into chunks, deep fry it a bit, then coat with rub and finish like you would with burnt ends?

Kanco Connection · Jul 24, 2018

EyeBurnEverything said:
Curious how these turn out, or rather are supposed to turn out? Do they have soft fat or crispy fat like a thick cut bacon? Could you just take a slab of bacon, cube it into chunks, deep fry it a bit, then coat with rub and finish like you would with burnt ends?

Fair questions. Not quite done yet. Been about 1:40 and getting pretty tender but going to let them go another 15-20. Guys are almost here, so won’t be able to post soon. I’ll post results tomorrow....

hurricanedavid · Jul 24, 2018

I’ve used his recipie 2x and both times have been straight money.:thumb:

Dr. Weld · Jul 24, 2018

Nice, looking good.. I made about 40 lbs of pork burnt ends this last month alone and picked up another 10lbs today. The queen loves them. SHe loves them so much, I have to make them for her company potluck next week. Yeaaaa.

EyeBurnEverything · Jul 24, 2018

Dr. Weld said:
Nice, looking good.. I made about 40 lbs of pork burnt ends this last month alone and picked up another 10lbs today. The queen loves them. SHe loves them so much, I have to make them for her company potluck next week. Yeaaaa.

Where are you buying your pork belly in PA? Its $5.99/lb in these parts of PA woods. That's a little too rich for my wallet for a potluck.

Smokey Lonesome · Jul 24, 2018

EyeBurnEverything said:
Where are you buying your pork belly in PA? Its $5.99/lb in these parts of PA woods. That's a little too rich for my wallet for a potluck.

Costco in the Pottstown/King of Prussia area near Philadelphia carries them. I forget the price though. I buy them two at a time for bacon. They are typically about 10 lbs.

Otherwise, Asian grocery stores sometimes carry.

EyeBurnEverything · Jul 24, 2018

Smokey Lonesome said:
Costco in the Pottstown/King of Prussia area near Philadelphia carries them. I forget the price though. I buy them two at a time for bacon. They are typically about 10 lbs.

Otherwise, Asian grocery stores sometimes carry.

They opened a Costco a year ago in the lehigh valley which is closer to me then philly. I wen't there, and they don't even Carry Packers. Only flats for $5.99/lb. Needless to say, i laughed at the butcher and left the store. I am so glad i did'nt buy a $60/yr membership.

Dr. Weld · Jul 24, 2018

EyeBurnEverything said:
Where are you buying your pork belly in PA? Its $5.99/lb in these parts of PA woods. That's a little too rich for my wallet for a potluck.

There’s a few meat markets around me. Price varies from $4-$5 a lb. today’s was 4.50 ish.

Do you have butcher shops or meat markets around your area?

EyeBurnEverything · Jul 24, 2018

Dr. Weld said:
There’s a few meat markets around me. Price varies from $4-$5 a lb. today’s was 4.50 ish.

Do you have butcher shops or meat markets around your area?

Yes i do. They charge the same price as Costco and other chain wholesale. Its sad to say the least. I am not willing to pay $6/lb for pork, especially if i am willing to cure and cold smoke it myself.

TravelingJ · Jul 24, 2018

Dr. Weld said:
Nice, looking good.. I made about 40 lbs of pork burnt ends this last month alone and picked up another 10lbs today. The queen loves them. SHe loves them so much, I have to make them for her company potluck next week. Yeaaaa.

I can understand that. Pork Belly Burnt Ends have to be the most raved about thing I cook. My girlfriend loves it. And, since we are Keto, it's right in our diet. We have been known to eat the leftovers cold, straight from the fridge.

We have it for around $4 a pound at our local Sams, so it's super cheap to cook. You lose a lot of weight to the cook, but I save the rendered fat and use that later at least.

Kanco Connection · Jul 25, 2018

Out of the braise, and added the BBQ/apple juice/Frank's/apple jelly glaze that Malcom Reed recommends. Put back onto the smoker for about 10-15 minutes to thicken it up a little. And pulled:

They were a huge hit. Very good overall. The guys loved them and so did my wife. That's what matters. I'd give it an A- effort. The reason I can't give it higher is that some pieces were perfect and tender and A+, and others were a little tougher (not tough, but tougher). Not sure what the deal was.

Don't get me wrong, even the "bad" ones were better than pretty much anything else you can eat, but the best ones were just so much better--among the best food I've ever made. I'm not sure why the difference in tenderness. Maybe just my poor job at slicing, resulting in some more symmetrical than others? Maybe the belly really has that much difference in parts of the meat? I don't know.

Anyway, it was a success. The only things I would change are:

1. I'd use my best, sharpest knife, and make a more concerted effort at making them into even-sided cubes.
2. I'd oil my wire rack so that there wouldn't be any sticking.

The end result was very good, thanks to Malcom Reed. Give this a try, if you haven't already. Thank you for taking a look.

Dr. Weld · Jul 25, 2018

Kanco Connection said:
Out of the braise, and added the BBQ/apple juice/Frank's/apple jelly glaze that Malcom Reed recommends. Put back onto the smoker for about 10-15 minutes to thicken it up a little. And pulled:

They were a huge hit. Very good overall. The guys loved them and so did my wife. That's what matters. I'd give it an A- effort. The reason I can't give it higher is that some pieces were perfect and tender and A+, and others were a little tougher (not tough, but tougher). Not sure what the deal was.

Don't get me wrong, even the "bad" ones were better than pretty much anything else you can eat, but the best ones were just so much better--among the best food I've ever made. I'm not sure why the difference in tenderness. Maybe just my poor job at slicing, resulting in some more symmetrical than others? Maybe the belly really has that much difference in parts of the meat? I don't know.

Anyway, it was a success. The only things I would change are:

1. I'd use my best, sharpest knife, and make a more concerted effort at making them into even-sided cubes.
2. I'd oil my wire rack so that there wouldn't be any sticking.

The end result was very good, thanks to Malcom Reed. Give this a try, if you haven't already. Thank you for taking a look.

Freeze 20-30 mins the pork before you cut it. Not rock solid, just solid that you can cut it into cubes easier.

Yes oil the rack, you want that bark on them. Lol

They look good though..

Dr. Weld · Jul 25, 2018

TravelingJ said:
I can understand that. Pork Belly Burnt Ends have to be the most raved about thing I cook. My girlfriend loves it. And, since we are Keto, it's right in our diet. We have been known to eat the leftovers cold, straight from the fridge.

We have it for around $4 a pound at our local Sams, so it's super cheap to cook. You lose a lot of weight to the cook, but I save the rendered fat and use that later at least.

We are Keto too, so they have been getting cooked often. I like them, but she loves them. Lol. She eats them cold too. Lol.

What do You do with the fat?

BillN · Jul 25, 2018

Nice work there they look delicious.

Victory · Jul 25, 2018

I made them for the first time last week. I left about 1/4 of them unsauced. The dry ones were way better. But I typically am not a fan of sauced meats

Dr. Weld · Jul 25, 2018

Victory said:
I made them for the first time last week. I left about 1/4 of them unsauced. The dry ones were way better. But I typically am not a fan of sauced meats

The queen likes the unsauced ones a bit better too. She will eat both, but prefers the unsauced ones.

First try at pork belly burnt ends

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