Pork belly burnt ends, the under-promoted meat candy
Burnt ends, traditionally, come from the point of a smoked brisket. You cook a whole packer, separate the point from the flat after the stall, cube the point into 1.5-inch chunks, toss with sauce, and smoke another hour or two until caramelized. The result is the best bite in all of BBQ. It's also a 14-hour cook for a side dish.
Pork belly burnt ends are the backyard hack. You take a 3-pound slab of pork belly, cube it before the cook, smoke for 2 hours, braise in sauce for an hour, and you've got something that tastes 90% as good as the brisket version in a quarter of the time.
I've been making pork belly burnt ends for about 6 years. The method has barely changed. Here it is.
Why pork belly works
Pork belly has roughly the same fat-to-meat ratio as brisket point: about 50/50 by weight. Fat renders into the surrounding meat during the smoke, making every cube rich and moist. The cubed shape maximizes surface area for bark and for sauce to cling to.
Brisket point burnt ends have a slight edge because brisket flavor is unique. Pork belly burnt ends are 90% as good and infinitely more accessible. A 3-pound pork belly at Costco is about $15-20. A whole brisket for burnt ends is $80 and you're not going to waste the flat on a side dish.
Buying pork belly
Fresh, skin-off pork belly. The skin adds complexity because you'd need to render or remove it, so buy skin-off if you can. Costco carries 6-8 pound whole bellies in Cryovac; cut one in half for two cooks.
Asian grocery stores often have pork belly at great prices (around $4/lb). Regular supermarkets may label it "fresh side pork" or just "pork belly." Check the butcher counter.
Avoid: frozen belly (texture suffers), bellies with skin still attached (extra work), bellies with less than 40% fat (won't render properly).
The cube
Cube the belly into 1.5-inch cubes before the cook. This is non-negotiable. Cooking the belly as a slab then cubing after gives you unevenly cooked cubes with only the outer faces developing bark.
A sharp knife, a large cutting board, and a few minutes of work. Aim for uniform cubes so they finish together. Bigger cubes (2-inch) are fine if you want more of a "bite" texture.
The rub
Pork-friendly rub with some sweetness. Here's my go-to:
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp mustard powder
Or buy Meat Church Honey Hog or Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub. Either works.
Toss the cubes in a large bowl with the rub until every face is coated. Let them rest 30 minutes while the pit comes up to temp.
The cook
Phase 1: Smoke (2 hours). 225F pit with hickory or cherry wood. Lay the cubes out on a wire rack (so air circulates underneath) set on top of a sheet pan or inside the smoker. Fat side up if the cubes have a discernible fat side.
After 2 hours, the cubes should be dark mahogany with firm bark. Internal temperature will be around 165-175F.
Phase 2: Braise in sauce (45-60 minutes). Transfer the cubes to a foil pan or a disposable aluminum half-pan. Add:
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's, Stubb's, or homemade)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons butter, cubed
Toss to coat. Cover tightly with foil. Back on the smoker (or pit) at 225F for 45-60 minutes, until the cubes are tender and the sauce has thickened.
Phase 3: Tack the glaze (15-20 minutes). Remove the foil. Return the pan to the pit uncovered. The sauce reduces, the surface tacks, and you get a final layer of caramelized crust.
Total cook: about 3.5 hours. Active work: maybe 20 minutes.
Doneness signals
Cubes are done when:
- Internal temperature reads 200F in the center of a test cube (this is the collagen-breakdown threshold).
- A toothpick slides in with almost no resistance.
- The surface is glossy, dark, and sticky.
- The sauce has reduced by about 1/3 and coats the cubes like a glaze.
What to do with them
Most common and best: a side dish. A bowl of cubes hits a table and vanishes in 20 minutes. Allow 4-6 cubes per person as a side.
Other uses:
- Tacos with pickled red onion, cilantro, and lime.
- Over mac and cheese.
- On a burger as the "pork topping."
- Straight off the cutting board, standing in the kitchen, because you can't wait.
Belly burnt ends vs brisket burnt ends
Asked and answered above. Brisket burnt ends have that brisket-specific flavor that nothing else replicates. But they require a brisket cook, which is 12-18 hours. Pork belly burnt ends are 90% as good in 3.5 hours. For any backyard occasion that doesn't warrant a full brisket, belly is the move.
For a full brisket cook, head to brisketcalc.com for the deep planner. Our sister site specializes in brisket specifically.
Common mistakes
Skipping the rub rest. Cubing and immediately tossing on the pit gives you less bark. 30 minutes of rest while the pit comes up lets the rub adhere.
Too much sauce in the braise. A cup of BBQ sauce drowns the cubes and you end up with braised-not-smoked texture. Half a cup is the cap.
Skipping the glaze phase. The last 15-20 minutes uncovered is where the candy-like glaze forms. Don't skip it just because the cubes look done.
Running too hot. 275F scorches the sugar in the rub and braise. Stay at 225F.
Uneven cubes. A 1-inch cube next to a 2.5-inch cube means one will be mush and one will be underdone. Uniform cutting matters.
Scaling
A 3-pound belly makes about 30-40 cubes, which feeds 6-8 people as a side. Scale linearly. A 6-pound belly makes about 60-80 cubes for 12-16 people.
Cooking time barely changes with quantity. The cubes cook individually because they're small; you just need more rack space in the smoker.
Plan the cook
Use the SmokeMeatCalc pork belly preset for a cook time estimate. 225F pit, about 1.25-1.75 hr/lb. Add an hour for the braise and glaze phases, which aren't explicitly modeled. Total from cold belly to finished cubes: ~3.5 hours for a 3-pound belly.
Related: bark fundamentals, wood pairing, FAQ.