Pork Belly Burnt Ends
We’re talking about Pork Belly Burnt Ends! The Best part of a good brisket is the fatty point and in competitions we turn those into mouth drooling Burnt Ends. These uber tender chunks of brisket will melt in your mouth when done just right, and judges go crazy over them.
This got me to thinking and I decided to come up with my take on a version of Burnt Ends using Pork Belly.
Pork Belly is a delicacy in the bbq world, and what could be better than sweet, sticky little cubes of delicious fatty goodness. (Webster doesn’t have the adjectives to describe these things!)
For this recipe I’m starting with an 8lb pork belly cut into 1 ½” squares. The reason for cubing it from the start is to develop a slight bark on all sides of the pork belly. It gives me more surface area to apply dry rub and bark is flavor town.
Season each cube with Killer Hog’s The BBQ Rub and arrange them on a cooling rack for easy transportation.
The biggest challenge of this cook is to render the pork belly slowly, so the fat melts and leaves behind a tender bite of meat packed with flavor and moisture.
You’ll need an indirect smoker to accomplish this, so today I’m firing up my Gateway drum. Once it comes up to 250 degrees all we need is a little smoke (GrilleWood Cherry does the trick) and it’s time to get those burnt ends on the pit.
Sit the cooling rack right on the grill grate and let the smoker go to work. It’ll take about 2 hours to develop the right color on the outside, then it’s time to tenderize.
Carefully remove the cooling rack from the pit (use some gloves) and place each burnt end into an aluminum pan. Cover the burnt ends with ½ cup of brown sugar and a good drizzle of honey.
And if you thought I wasn’t going to add even more fat (flavor) to this recipe you would be highly mistaken. Slice up 1 ½ sticks of butter and scatter around the pan. Cover the pan with foil and return it to the smoker.
These Pork Belly Burnt Ends are getting real happy now!
The fat is melting and the sugars are caramelizing all over the outsides. They’ll need about 1 ½ – 2 hours in the pan to get perfectly tender so just let the cooker work its magic.
At this point you’ll want to test a couple. Don a pair of gloves and squish one in between your fingers. It should have some texture but overall feel extremely soft. I didn’t bother to test the internal temp but if I had to guess it should be somewhere in the 205⁰ ball park. Remember we want them to almost melt in your mouth!
Remove the pan from the cooker and drain the liquid. We’re not done just yet; the last step in the process is to add my Pork Belly Glaze.
Pork Belly Burnt Ends Glaze:
- 1 cup Killer Hogs The BBQ Sauce (or your fave BBQ sauce)
- ¼ cup Apple Juice
- ¼ cup Apple Jelly
- 1 Tablespoon Frank’s Hot Sauce
Combine all ingredients in a small pan and simmer over medium heat until smooth.
Drizzle the Pork Belly Burnt Ends with the glaze and gently toss to coat all sides. Set them back in the cooker for about 5-10 minutes just long enough to caramelize and you’re ready for the most amazing bite of BBQ you’ve ever experienced!
Save to BigOven 
Ingredients
- 8lb Pork Belly skin removed
- ½ cup Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub
- 1 ½ sticks Butter sliced
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- ¼ cup Honey
- 1 cup Killer Hogs The BBQ Sauce
- ¼ cup Apple Juice
- ¼ cup Apple Jelly
- 1 Tablespoon Frank’s Hot Sauce
Instructions
- Prepare charcoal smoker for indirect cooking at 250-275⁰. Add 2 chunks of Cherry Wood for smoke.
- Remove pork belly from packaging and cube into 1 ½” x 1 ½” pieces.
- Season all sides of the pork belly cubes with The BBQ Rub.
- Arrange cubes onto a full size cooling rack and place on smoking grate.
- Smoke pork belly for 2 – 2 ½ hours.
- Place each Pork Belly Burnt End into an aluminum pan and cover with brown sugar and honey. Arrange butter in between the pork belly pieces.
- Cover pan with aluminum foil and return to smoker for 1 ½ hours or until the pieces are tender.
- Drain the liquid from the pan and add the Pork Belly Glaze to the burnt ends. Toss gently to coat each piece and return to the smoker to set the glaze for 5-10 minutes and serve.
Malcom Reed
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Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Comments 74
Hello,
My name is Jeff Carter. I really enjoy your YouTube videos and have a question for you. I have been using my Traeger for about 7 years but would like to advance up. I have seen you use a Yoder and wondered if that is a good choice to step up my game? Also I am having a house built. And we are building in an outdoor cooking area. I have seen the Memphis grills and was thinking about one of those for the built in?
If you can offer any advice I would greatly appreciate it!
Thank you,
Jeff Carter
Author
Yoder and Memphis grills are both high-quality pellet smokers. If you like using the pellet smokers, then you can’t go wrong with either of those. And if you aren’t planning on moving it, then I think it would be great to have a built-in smoker in an outdoor kitchen.
I would HIGHLY recommend a RecTec.
Brian Brown from kindersley?
I just got my RT 700 and love it.
Go with the Memphis built in, you won’t be sorry. Go with the Elite if your budget allows.
look up uds smoker page on Facebook a ugly drum smoker is what you really need
Great recipe. Could the liquid drained before glazing be used as a base for a sauce?
It looks tasty.
Author
sure – you could use the drippings for a jus based sauce
Hey Sir, I just wanted to take a moment and thank you so very much for taking time to teach a lot of us about real BBQ, and how to cook it. I also appreciate you sharing your recipes with all of us. The food is truly amazing!!!
Malcom –
You and your site are AMA good!! Lov g this recipe. Question – I am transportIng these burnt ends in a car for 30-40 minutes post cook. Any recommendations on how best to serve when I get there? I’m afraid I’ll lose the moisture.
Author
Just wrap them in foil and place them in a dry cooler – they should be fine, moist and still warm if you are just going 30 minutes.
This recipe kicked pork butt (actually belly) at my 4th of July BBQ. Thank you! Simple, easy, and amazing results. Then again ….what does not taste amazing with butter, sugar, and honey? lol
Looking forward to trying more and more recipes.
Hey Malcolm,
You are the freekin man! You’ve made me the hit of my family. Thank you. I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. I bout a CASE of pork belly after seeing this video. I made about 8 lbs and it was AWESOME! BUT…….the meat seemed a little tough after I pulled it out of the glaze. The fat was decadent but the meat was chewy..Did I cook it in the bs-honey-butter too long…(2 hours at 275). or glaze it too long? (15-20 minutes at 275) Because it looked perfect when I put it in the tinfoil wrapped container. Please help, because I want to bring 20 lbs to a party I’m having in a few weeks! – By the way….love your BBQ Rub I just got!
In fact Malcolm,
The meat was pretty black. What the heck did I do wrong?
Gary
Malcolm…this pork belly burnt ends recipe has inspire the Mrs. and I to buy a smoker and try this recipe out. Looking forward to trying out all the recipes on your site.
When cooking these bad boys…do I need to put a water tray in the smoker To prevent drying out?
Your help is graciously appreciated! Have a good day!
Author
you don’t have to – it’s all up to you
Recently made these pork belly burnt ends. I did them in an electric smoker and by the time they were finished the flavor and fat were fantastic but the bacon meat was somewhat hard and dry. Any advice on what i can do different next time?
Author
try covering them with foil
Instead of smoking them at 250, drop the temp down to 225. This is the method I do on our Traeger
225 for how long?
Tried this recipe on a Traeger Timberline 1300 with a few modifications to allow for the ability to smoke at a lower temp – it was AMAZING! I rarely give myself a pat on the back for my BBQ, but brother, these turned out awesome! Thanks for sharing!
What temp did you smoke at?
These might be the single best thing I have ever pulled off my smoker. The wife already had me buy another pork belly for the next batch. Thanks so much!
Hello Malcom! Love your YouTube channel and videos! Question regarding the pork belly burnt ends. I would be cooking these in my MES electric smoker. I see you said it should be cooked over indirect heat/charcoal. Any recommendations on cooking them in my MES and having them turn out juicy and perfect?? Any recommendations or tips would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks so much for your time!!!!!
Author
It’s all about holding the temps steady – you aren’t going to get the flavor with an electric smoker, but you can still get them cooked. Might take a little longer – but just go by feel.
Hey, I was wondering if you used fresh pork belly or cured or does it matter?
Author
always fresh – cured is breakfast bacon
Hi Malcom, On the pork belly burnt ends, do you recommend removing the “hard skin” before smoking? I’ve heard both ways, but I would think if you cube rather than smoke whole you would need to remove. Thanks for your input.
Author
Yeah, I would remove the rind
Malcom,
Thank you for the great tasting Pork Belly Burnt Ends. Is there a good way to store them if you don’t eat them all. I have a vacuum sealer I can use, or should I just cover and refrigerate? How do I re-heat them? Thank you
Author
It depends on how long you are going to store them. If it’s only a few days, just place them in the fridge and reheat in the oven on a low temp until they are hot. If it’s going to be a while, vacuum seal and freeze.
Wow! Thanks for sharing your recipe and technique. I had to substitute the honey for maple syrup,but they still turned out amazing.Pork belly burnt ends are my new favorite.Smoke on Sir.
Author
glad to hear it! I like when people make the recipes their own!
I want to serve this at a location where no smoker will be available. What would be the best way to reheat this or is there a step I could stop and finish with an oven? Or how would you do it?
Thanks!
Author
You can place it in a dry cooler for 1-2 hours after cooking and serve. Or you can reheat in the oven – low temp for 20-30 min
Malcom,
I love your recipes! Quick question on this pork belly… the biggest piece I could get is 5 lbs. will it still take 2 1/2 – 3 hours to render?
Just made this for the first time as a Pot Luck entry at the 2018 Austin Rodeo and BBQ Cook-off and placed 13th out of over 100+ teams. Thanks for the original idea! It was a crowd favorite and now a judge favorite. Slightly tweaked the recipe since we didn’t have your rub and bbq sauce. I’ll keep playing around with it in future competitions to see if we can’t get a higher placement with it. Thanks again!
Hi Malcolm. I’m doing this recipe this weekend with an 8.5lb pork belly. Do you use any kind of drip pan to catch the grease or does the majority of the fat render once in the foil pan? This is my first pork belly and not sure what to expect. Just trying to prevent a mess in the bottom of my smoker. Thanks.
Author
You can use a drip pan – but I didn’t. I want the fat to drip down and hit the coals – it’s what gives the meat such a great flavor on the drum smoker.
Hi Malcom, I was wondering how long I can keep the finished burnt ends in the freezer without any damage? I used Captain Rodney’s Peach Bouchan for the glaze and it was wonderful ! I don’t have a vacum sealer so I wanted to know if a couple of weeks in a ziplock bag would be alright? Thanks for all your help to us BBQ ers .
Author
I don’t know – personally, I’ve noticed cooked meat starts getting freezer burnt after about 1-2 weeks if it’s not in a vacuum sealed bag.
Thanks for the reply Malcom! I don’t think the burnt ends will last long enough to find out,but I was curious just to find out. Keep up the great service you provide all us BBQ ers.
Malcom,
Is there a concern that when you put these love nuggets in the foiled covered pan, that you end up steaming the meat, thus losing the bark you created?
How bout a tightly wrapped foiling?
I’m doing this for a giant party and hope 2 5# slabs do the trick.
Author
You really don’t want a tough bark on burnt ends – they should melt in your mouth. You really need to the steam and pressure to get this fat rendered.
Great recipe, thanks! Could you comment on the food prep gloves you wear in the video? Brand name/where to find? Thanks
Author
I explain the gloves I use here: https://howtobbqright.com/2017/05/24/bbq-gloves-best-heat-resistant-bbq-gloves/
Just made these today. Incredible! Thanks for the recipe!
I have made this a couple times now. Here is a a big time saver tip. Season before you slice the belly!
Malcom, I have watched your videos for a long time and have very high respect for your cooking. You always put out a good product and the videos have helped me in more than one contest. The pork belly burnt ends was the first time I have tried them. Although they looked just like yours when done, my wife and I both thought there was too much fat left when tasting them. I guess I didn’t get enough rendered out even though I took them off with an internal temp of 199. I will try them again in the future and hope they turn out better. Either way, thanks for a great video on how to smoke them.
This is such a killer recipe! Broke in my new reverse flow smoker by making Pork Belly Burnt Tips for my friend Doug…….he was in pork heaven. It is so good and cannot wait to make again. For us we like a little more “kick” in the final glaze so we are going to add a “touch” of cayenne pepper next time…..starting with a teaspoon. Will let you know how it turns out. BTW, love the smoker gloves I purchased.
I buy the full un trimmed ribs, remove the spares and then use all the extra meat for making burnt ends. (Not exactly pork belly, but has less fat and turns out great).
Also I add beer or apple juice to the pan, before covering it.
Made these last weekend ! everyone loved them! I added a coue of shots of Jim Beam in the glaze ! Thanks
Malcom – don’t yell at me but I don’t have a smoker (yet!) – could I use a gas grill (I know – but it’s all I have) – indirect? Follow the same basic approach? They look great.
Author
You can check out this video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvxIkeT9YEY
HeyMalcom, this recipe is great. I’ve been watching your YouTube videos for years. Pork belly is hard for me to find around here. Would pork butt or country style ribs work well with this recipe ? Thanks
Hey Malcolm I was wondering had the pork belly been cured or no?
Bought an 11 lb pork belly for bacon and “sacraficed” about 2 lbs of my bacon to make these. Now the wife says that I will have to start buying 2 pork bellies (1 for bacon and 1 for burnt ends).
thanks Malcolm ! made these on a weber kettle and used mesquite chips, browned butter and my own homemade memphis bbq sauce…but followed your technique otherwise…these are delicious and fun to cook !
This is such an unbelivable recipe! We tryed, we loved it!!
I heat it up in the office next day and it smells and taste perfectly.
Only the butter looks yellow when it’s cold. But that’s normal.
Greets from Germany
Malcom,
You are the man!!!!
I have a small Traeger and I’m on my third batch of pork belly burnt ends. I discovered you on You-Tube and I can say that your recipes and instructions are top notch.
If any of your amatuer smokers are wondering about this super simple pork belly burnt ends. Ya gotta try it but I wouldn’t share…you’ll work yourself right into a job providing this little nuggets of love.
Thank you again, Malcom.
I want to try your chicken tighs…where can I get the pan that has the compartments?
Bill C
Author
Thanks. For the Chicken Pan – if you search for 8-cavity brownie pan – those work just as well. You can also find something similar at WalMart or Kroger in the baking section.
Hey Malcom,
I finally found a place that sells pork belly, but after getting it home it is 1/2 to 3/4 the thickness of the pork belly you show in the video. I’m worried about drying them out in the smoker. What do you think about stacking the pork belly pieces on top of each other so it has a similar thickness to what you showed? Will they impact the final product?
Author
I wouldn’t worry about drying them out – just hold them at the steady temp and let them cook until they are tender.
Hi Malcolm,
I’m planning a family BBQ and due to commitments won’t be bale to cook anything long on the day. I was planning on doing these and some ribs, cooking them up to the glazing part then freezing them. Will they be alright reheated then glazed on the day? If I freeze them in a ziplock bag will they keep for 3 weeks in the freezer? And is it better to finish them off fully then freeze them or will glazing them on the day keep this part fresher?
Thanks
Author
I would use this method: https://howtobbqright.com/2018/05/24/char-glazed-ribs/
Hey Malcom!
I love this recipe and have used it half a dozen times since I got my WSM last year. Question for you: I usually end up with more fat on the pieces than I’d like. Do you have any suggestions for getting them to render more?
Author
not really = you are cooking pork belly which is a really fatty cut
Hello Malcom,
This is the second time I am using this recipe. The first was heavenly melt in your mouth pork candy. Today I started this batch for a Razorback football tailgate. Nothing like have some sort of pork before a HOG football game!
Thanks
I did my pork belly Burnt ends with my rub smoked them for 3 hours then added brown sugar,honey and butter then cover for 2 hours. Then remove from liquid and put brown sugar and bbq sauce. Cooked uncovered for about 45 minutes. Melt in your mouth meat candy!!
Hey Malcom, should we be cooking these fat side up or down? Or does it not matter? Thanks!
Author
I’ve done them both ways; it doesn’t make much difference. When they get sauced I move them all around any way.
Hey Malcom, I love your video series. People actually think I know what I am doing when I follow your recipes! My wife balks at the idea of eating pork belly too regularly, something about the fat content makes her think it is unhealthy or something… I was going to try a boston butt version of this and was wondering if you had any tips. I was going to chunk it up raw into 1.5-2″ cubes and then follow the directions for belly, omitting the bone obviously. Do you think this stands a chance, or will I just have pulled pork the hard way? Thanks, keep up the good work!
Author
It would work – they aren’t going to have the fat content, but they will be delicious cubes of pork!