So Costco started carrying pork belly and I picked one up to cook on Sunday. It's is 9.5 lbs, but I plan on cutting it in half and freezing the half I don't cook. I'm not curing it to make bacon. I've seen a video where a guy smoked it and shredded it. I've seen it baked and braised. Anyone have suggestions on what to do with it?
Put a sweet/spicy rub on it and smoke for 3-4 hours. Cut it into cubes, add more sugar, double smoke it and make belly burnt ends.
They will be phenomenal.
Thanks Austin. That's kind of what I was thinking. Cubed is a good idea.
I've got to stop at Costco today to check for belly. Would be a great first smoke for the WSM 14.5.
Sounds great can't wait to see what you come up with . I hope my Costco has em !
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Hope my Costco has this too.
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Smoked it twice now , much better flavor cutting the belly into 2 inch wide strips. Also I let it get up to 205. So much fat, it never got close to drying out and the flavor concentrated a bit
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I wish my Costco had pork belly!
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I'm already anxiously awaiting some pictures of this cook. Those of us in condos are living vicariously through you and you must deliver.
Costco in Las Vegas has pork belly, both sliced and whole! But that will be a project for another day!
Here's a video link for more inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsAzNuwPFnw
What was the price per pound on the belly? Is the skin still on? Oh I hope my Costco sells it.
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The Costco near me just started carrying pork belly as well. Today was the 1st time I seen it. Picked up 2 10+ # slabs. The skin is still on. $2.69/lb price I think. The 2 I picked were around $20-$21 or so.
Mine had the skin removed. It is 9.5 lbs and paid around $27 for it. I already threw away the label. I ended up cutting it in half. Going to try and smoke on my mini wsm. Here's a pic rubbed with meathead Memphis dust with a slight variation. (http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/29/2a636448c80fe5474434bb41f1e28974.jpg)(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/29/77ad1d05ece6b51e531e2d4161a2a124.jpg)(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/29/8b1e52169be28b6f012a7bb3738beef9.jpg)
Going to go with a smoke around 225 and see what happens. I'll post pics throughout the cook. Thanks for the replies.
Threw it on this morning. Using my mini and its a perfect fit (I cut it in half). Using the minion method with 7 fully lit coals to get it going and three chunks of Apple wood. (http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/30/e292d28a425112f8aad1559e32348aa3.jpg)(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/30/dbd5ccac7e93ed21a02b635a2848c14a.jpg)(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/30/8da5b853a92517fc0b4d8a42ddf10351.jpg)
About 3 hours in. Temp has been steady around 245. I love this mini!(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/30/2f7a830dd6ef5bb938c3b120bbae3414.jpg)
So I cut it in half again. Wrapped half in foil with a little butter, hot sauce and maple syrup. Added a little rub and back on the mini. The other half I sliced about 1/2" thick, covered all sides with rub and back on the mini. (http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/30/930d15279fe0dd4cba97ee6b81f1cd1b.jpg)I have 5 pieces that wouldn't fit, I don't have my second grate in, so I'm going to pan fry like you would do bacon
My Costco didn't have belly :(
Here's the larger chunk. Cooked to 208 degrees. It's ready to fall apart. Still lots of fat left. Going to pull it in about 30 min and take out the larger fat chunks. (http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/30/e6edfbeea299738f05a451781b840f92.jpg)(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/30/e1974a81b19cd0bacfbb45082b6abd61.jpg)
Ok all done. The larger chunk shredded really well. But was a little drier than I would have thought. I left it on longer to try and tender down the fat a little more and maybe that was a mistake. Flavor is great tho. (http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/30/a7ca9b3362928553bf032c2512118eea.jpg)
Not the burnt end style that Austin recommended are amazing. I put some sweet siracha bbq sauce on them. (http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/30/887a5ecee6c60909e8500564f671c32d.jpg)
If I were to do it again I would slice the whole thing before cooking and go with the burnt end style.
Sorry for the ugly foil plated shots. Not a whole lot of time, off to my parents for dinner.
Looks pretty good! Glad the burnt ends worked out!
Hey Brett, you did a real good job on this one. The slices look like candy on post #15. Which Costco did you get a whole pork belly from?
Looks great, I've got plans for a mini too!
Couple questions for ya (and my apologies for sounding green as grass on these, I'm just getting into smoking, grabbed a SJ just today to turn into a mini soon)...
You said you wanted to roll at 225 degrees originally but ended up at 245 for a long while and then 208. Did you change your mind during the cook or was the temp change a product of the amount of fuel?
What was the final overall cook time?
Was anymore apple wood added during the cook or did was it just the 3 original chunks?
Final shots look delicious, thanks for sharing.
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I actually really like the foil shot! especially the "candy" sitting right in the center!
Quote from: Santo on August 31, 2015, 06:09:51 PM
Couple questions for ya (and my apologies for sounding green as grass on these, I'm just getting into smoking, grabbed a SJ just today to turn into a mini soon)...
You said you wanted to roll at 225 degrees originally but ended up at 245 for a long while and then 208. Did you change your mind during the cook or was the temp change a product of the amount of fuel?
What was the final overall cook time?
Was anymore apple wood added during the cook or did was it just the 3 original chunks?
Final shots look delicious, thanks for sharing.
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The smoker got up to 275 right off the bat. I had all the vents wide open at that time. I closed the bottom vent half way and the temp went down to 245 and hung around there all day. I didn't want to close the bottom vent anymore than that and I always leave the top vent wide open. So 245 is where I ended up, which was fine with me. The 208 temp was the internal temp of the meat when I took it off the smoker. I added one more chunk of Apple wood after I sliced the burnt end parts, and added another handful of charcoal too.
Cook time was about 6 hours
Quote from: brettbrown on August 31, 2015, 06:36:51 PM
Quote from: Santo on August 31, 2015, 06:09:51 PM
Couple questions for ya (and my apologies for sounding green as grass on these, I'm just getting into smoking, grabbed a SJ just today to turn into a mini soon)...
You said you wanted to roll at 225 degrees originally but ended up at 245 for a long while and then 208. Did you change your mind during the cook or was the temp change a product of the amount of fuel?
What was the final overall cook time?
Was anymore apple wood added during the cook or did was it just the 3 original chunks?
Final shots look delicious, thanks for sharing.
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The smoker got up to 275 right off the bat. I had all the vents wide open at that time. I closed the bottom vent half way and the temp went down to 245 and hung around there all day. I didn't want to close the bottom vent anymore than that and I always leave the top vent wide open. So 245 is where I ended up, which was fine with me. The 208 temp was the internal temp of the meat when I took it off the smoker. I added one more chunk of Apple wood after I sliced the burnt end parts, and added another handful of charcoal too.
Gotcha, thanks. Being new to smoking, would it be wise to keep a log of the cooks, maybe help dial in fuel/wood/time?
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My brother keeps a log of his cooks, but he uses a pellet smoker whick is a little easier to control and duplicate cooks. I''ve always just shot for a temp anywhere between 220-270.
Sounds good, thanks for the tips. Again, nice job on the cook, it looked delicious from the photos!
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Looks fantastic! I've been wanting to do this for some time. Now I just need to get off my butt and do it. Nice job!
I have done several. The meat comes out great. Fat can almost never be rendered completely because, well, it's mostly fat and that is what most want...to a point.
I would love to know how to make a good cook with crackling. The skin is either hard as a rock or rubber. I have only tried it on a OTG 22"
My Costco doesn't carry them. I might have to swing by the butcher.
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This belly had the skin removed so there was no cracklings this time. We did make some when we were camping. We grilled it and flipped it a lot till it got crunchy. Some was good, the rest was like you said. Rock hard or floppy.
If you happen to have some pig skin lying around...
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/chicharrones-cracklins-pork-rinds/msg98062/#msg98062
Asian style dish with pickled carrots and steamed green beans and asparagus, over rice with a 62 degree poached egg:
(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/10/9b7e643f73d1bac88d4a6d548878b02b.jpg)
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Brett, did you score the fat side before your cook?
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That looks pretty good. Ill have to see if my local Costco has these.