Bacon Burnt Ends Recipe

Bacon Burnt Ends Recipe

Bacon Burnt Ends just sounds delicious – and I promise you, they are. These are sticky little cubes of heaven. I first tried Bacon Burnt Ends at Heim Bbq in Fort Worth Texas. After that first bite, I fell in love with these sinfully, delicious morsels. Skip ahead a few years and several pork bellies later; I had the pleasure of running into the owners, Travis and Emma Heim, at the Certified Angus Beef BBQ Summit in Ohio. I immediately brought up those delicious Bacon Burnt Ends, and they assured me that they are still on the menu and folks still go crazy over them. As far as I know Travis came up with idea to cut slab bacon into cubes and call it “burnt ends”. I sincerely thank him for the idea and for sharing it with Texas and the world! bacon burnt ends It just so happens that my local Sams Club now has Wright’s Brand Bacon unsliced, so I grabbed a couple packs to make my own version of Bacon Burnt Ends. bacon burnt ends It’s pretty simple. I sliced the slab bacon into 1 inch cubes and then tossed them in a mixture of 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar and 2-3 Tablespoons of Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub. Bacon Burnt Ends I placed these bacon burnt ends on a chicken Rack (you can find one here >>) and placed them in my Ole Hickory Pits CTO Smoker with lump charcoal and a couple chunks of SmokerWood.com Cherry Wood. You can cook these on any smoker, just hold the temps steady at 250-275 and keep the smoke light and mild. bacon burnt ends After 1 hour in the smoke, I flipped the bacon burnt ends – so they will cook evenly and to prevent them from sticking. Bacon Burnt Ends Then after 2 hours of smoke, these little bites of sticky goodness were ready for a glaze. I removed them from the smoker, placed them in a small pan and tossed them with 18oz Killer Hogs The BBQ Sauce and 8oz Kosmo’s Cherry Apple Habanero Rib Glaze –  and then placed the Bacon Burnt Ends pan back on the smoker for 20-30 more minutes. Bacon Burnt Ends After the sauce has started to caramelize and the burnt ends are tender, it’s time to dive in. It’s hard to eat just one… they are rich, sticky, sweet and decadent. One thing is for sure, these Bacon Burnt Ends makes for one sinful appetizer that you have to try! Print
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Bacon Burnt Ends Recipe


Ingredients

  • 4lbs Wright’s Unsliced Bacon
  • 
1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub
  • 18oz Killer Hogs The BBQ Sauce
  • 6oz Kosmo’s Cherry Apple Habanero Rib Glaze

Instructions

  1. Prepare Smoker or grill for indirect cooking at 250 degrees. Add 2 chunks of cherry wood to hot coals for smoke flavor.
  2. Remove bacon from packaging and cut into 1 1/2” strips lengthwise. Cut each strip into 1 1/2” cubes.
  3. Combine the brown sugar and The BBQ Rub in a small bowl. Place the cubes of bacon in a large bowl and season with the sugar mixture. Toss to coal even.
  4. Lightly coat raised cooling rack with canola cooking spray and place bacon burnt end pieces on the rack. Use multiple racks if necessary
  5. Place the racks on the smoker and cook for 1 hour. Flip each burnt end piece over and continue to cook for 1 additional hour.
  6. Combine The BBQ Sauce and Rib Glaze. Remove the bacon burnt ends from the smoker and place each piece in a half size aluminum pan. Drizzle the sauce over the top and gently toss to coat even.
  7. Place the pan back on the smoker and glaze for 20-30 minutes. Remove the pan from the smoker and allow too cool slightly before serving.
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59 responses to “Bacon Burnt Ends Recipe”

  1. Mark Swank says:

    I have an unsliced slab of bacon that I smoked to 150 internal on my pellet grill. Will the recipe time and temp be the same since my bacon has already cooked/

  2. Keith Woosley says:

    Am so making these this weekend.

  3. Don nall says:

    Can you make cracklins??

  4. Tom says:

    I was thinking this would be great for a tailgate but I don’t have access to a smoker when we travel. Could I prepare these a few days in advance and then re-heat them in a portable camp oven? Thoughts on how they might travel without losing that “pop” of taste?

    • Malcom Reed says:

      You could cook them fully, let them cool and vacuum seal them and place in fridge. Then you might try to place them in a crock pot on low to reheat and serve. Never tried it but that might work for a tailgate.

      • Richard says:

        I vacuum seal em anthem when want to reheat I throw the vacuum pack in a pot of boiling water for about 15-20 minutes and it’s almost as good as when it cane off the smoker

    • Pete Bates says:

      I made these a day ahead, then re-heated in an aluminum pan on a weber Q at a tailgate. 8 pounds…GONE! Almost as good as straight out of the smoker!!

  5. Arthur says:

    Nice post. Thank you for sharing the receipt . Adore the smoked become especially with the beer chilling on the back house after long day.

  6. Rafael says:

    I’m from Fort Worth! I have to go try them at Heim’s. I don’t have access to a grill or smoker. Would I be able to make these in a regular stove oven?

  7. D Carroll says:

    I’ve just tried this recipe on my 3 burner BBQ here in Australia with a bit of a twist on the rub and glaze and it was a great success, awesome flavour, well worth a try.

  8. Billy says:

    Great recipe and yours are truly Bacon Burnt Ends, because you start with cured bacon . Travis smokes pork belly which is similar to Chinese Char Siu BBQ which has been around long before any of us started doing BBQ .

  9. John Coutts says:

    Where do you purchase your slab bacon? None of the markets around me carry it, just sliced.

  10. Thomas says:

    Malcom, thanks for all the great videos! Could you comment on the difference between the Bacon Burnt Ends and Pork Belly Burnt Ends? Looking to make them and cant decide between them.

  11. Eric says:

    I can’t seem to find unsliced slab bacon. My costco has slab pork belly, which they tell me is the same as bacon but unsmoked and uncured. How would this recipe turn out with pork belly in place of bacon?

  12. Gary Blake says:

    Enjoy your recipes and I do cook on a large scale for the Kansas Steak Team and we cook for Light For The Lost ministries raising money for missionaries. I like to try your recipes and let the customers sample something different. Keep on rolling smoke it’s great.

  13. Ryan Walters says:

    I had to go to a proper butcher shop to find slab bacon but what a treat! I far prefer this to pork belly version. Keep the recipes coming!

  14. Paul Schepperley says:

    I’m going to try these on a Pellet grill, since there is no way to actually set up for indirect heat, will the times be the same?

  15. Poncho says:

    do you have any other recommendation on the glaze other then the one you used. One without a kick?

  16. Adam D says:

    Malcom,

    How would these compare with your pork belly burnt ends? I’ve made that recipe many times and really enjoy, but this one seems a little easier. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for putting out such great content; I can tell you have a great passion for BBQ.

  17. Peter says:

    You’ve truly outdone yourself with this one, friend. Made them for my Memorial Day barbecue and they were amazing.

    I had a similar problem to many posters though: I couldn’t find a place near me to get good quality slab bacon. The solution? Cure my own! I did the basic black pepper bacon cure recipe from AmazingRibs and it made a fantastic base. Highly recommend to anyone who can’t find good slab bacon, it was very easy.

  18. Lisa says:

    Fellas, double the recipe. One batch for eating and one batch to use in recipes. Once you’ve used these in your recipes that call for bacon you’ll never go back. I laid claim to my son’s last batch of these to use in a baked butter bean recipe that I make. They really take my bean recipe to the next level.

  19. Double P's says:

    What am I doing wrong? Either the fat doesn’t cook down and it’s just a wad of slick fat in your mouth or it’s tough and hard to chew. These look so good.

  20. Ted says:

    I made this last weekend with changes based on what i had on hand. But man oh man it was like snacking on candy while trying to cook the rest of the food. Thanks. I am just learning how to do this and so far your Brisket and these have been very educational.

  21. Brian says:

    Just made these on the Old Smokey, they are amazing!

  22. Chucker says:

    Made them 4 or 5 times now and everyone love ,love , loves em. Out of control party hit.

  23. Malcom, you da bomb brother! I watch and share everything you do! It’s football season in Iowa and I’m ready to start cook’in. Can’t thank you enough for your free tips and tricks on how to cook/BBQ/Smoke everything!

    Thanks again,
    Michael D

  24. Jack mickelson says:

    What would you guess for a finish temp on these I may have cut mine a bit bigger than you did trying to figure my times now

  25. Shawn says:

    Followed your recipe. Except i made homemade bacon first during the smoking process i coated the cubes and smoked smooth 2 more hours. Came out great

  26. Shawn says:

    Followed your recipe. Except i made homemade bacon first during the smoking process i coated the cubes and smoked for 2 more hours. Came out great

  27. Marcus says:

    Is this pork slab that you used from SAMs club allready cured and smoked like regular bacon? Or is it just a slab of uncured pork belly. Just wondering because I could not find a slab of unsliced cured bacon from neither sams or Costco or anywhere else. Costco did have uncured slabs of pork belly. Wondering if that would work?

    • Malcom Reed says:

      Yes it was an unsliced slab of bacon. I haven’t seen it for sale in our local Sams in a while, so I’m not sure Wright’s still packages it this way. I do wish they would bring it back!

  28. Ryan says:

    The difference in process of the pork belly vs bacon is putting it in a foil pan with brown sugar and butter. Is this not necessary because the fat renders better with the bacon?

  29. Trevor Brown says:

    I’m planning on making these or pork belly burnt ends this week on my KJ. I’m wondering how big of a difference there is between the two. I actually had the pleasure of meeting Travis and Emma at their river location earlier this year and had some bacon burnt ends, what a treat! They make some amazing bbq for sure and are great people!

  30. Runee says:

    I just bought 2,5 kg (4,5 pounds i think..) of slap bacon for this?How about the skin? You left it on.. does it become chewie..? Or does it tender? Im considering cutting off… ?

    • Malcom Reed says:

      For this recipe we used a whole slab of wrights bacon that does not have skin. Most cured bacon does not have skin on it. Fresh pork belly however does have skin on it and will get chewy if not handled correctly removed. I always remove it for burnt ends.

  31. Roger Peters Jr says:

    Execellent!

  32. Kirk Johnson says:

    OMG. I have been following for a long time. How did I miss this one. I make my own bacon usually 30 lbs at a time…..or 3 full Costco bellies. I happen to have 6 1/2 Duroc bellies curing right now. Perfect timing. I have always wondered if doing this from bacon would be over the top or not. Obviously not. Thanks Malcom.

  33. can this be done about the same in a vertical pellet smoker. looks real good.

  34. John Harbour says:

    I’ve cooked your pork belly bites and they always are awesome. Thanks. But my attempt with the slab bacon was really salty….too salty to eat. Is there a way to cut the saltiness? Thanks. Love your products. I order often.

  35. Mike Phillips says:

    This is my second go at this recipe. My slab was very smoky from the butcher this time, I’m doing them in the oven, just cause I was to lazy to break out the smoker. Doctored up s
    Swamp Boys BBQ sauce with ACV avd soy sauce… Let them go an extra 30mins before I glazed them… OMG… Didn’t last 30minutes at the party… Same as last year. Thanks for the recipe! It’s a regular when I can get slab…

  36. john horton says:

    Just ate at Heims yesterday. Gonna try these for sure. One of the best things at that place. I love eating there.

  37. David says:

    Malcolm,

    Have you ever sous vide the bacon overnight, then done your process?

    I’ve made bacon burnt ends before, but it just seems like my smoker/oven time is way longer to get the bacon more crispy and less rubbery.

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