Big Weather's Big Recipe: Pork Belly Burnt Ends

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- I love to cook and BBQ. As a KCBS certified BBQ judge I tasted some amazing BBQ and one of my favorited things to eat are Burnt Ends. To have traditional ones you need to cook a brisket and that can take time. The trend has been to sub in a pork belly. It cooks a lot faster and is crazy moist. So that's what I did this week. Let's make some Pork Belly Burnt Ends.

Ingredients

4-6 pound pork belly, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/4 cup of yellow mustard

1 1/2 Cups of your favorite rub, I went local with Bone Suckin Sauce

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 T of Honey

1/4 Cup of Cubed Butter

1/2 Jar of your Favorite BBQ Sauce, I used Cackalacky Cheerwine

Preparation

1. Slice pork belly into cubes

2. Cover with mustard and rub in

3. Cover with Rub

4. Place cubes on a pre-greased cooking rack

5. Cook in smoker on 250 for 2 hours, or until internal temp reaches 190

6. Remove from smoker and place in aluminum pan

7. Add your brown sugar, honey, and butter and mix together

8. Cover with foil and place back on smoker at 275 for 45 minutes.

9. Remove foil and add your BBQ sauce and mix together

10. One more time into the smoker for 30 minutes uncovered at 250

11. Remove from smoker and drain on rack. I then covered with some of reserved sauce and let sit for 10 minutes.

These were amazing! If you don't have a smoker, you can do them in your oven for the same temps. Just make sure to have a catch pan underneath because they will render down a lot of fat. They will still turn out great!

Also, you don't have to use mustard for the binder. Some folks choose a neutral oil, but I think there's enough oil in the pork itself. You could skip the binder if you want too. You do you. These are a great snack and will be hit at your next party. Enjoy!