... continued from Cover As I’m getting ready to smoke pork belly burnt ends, I like to wrap the belly in butcher paper and set it in the freezer for about 45 minutes. This makes it easier to trim some of the fat. I usually trim most of the fat, leaving behind about a 1/8-inch layer of fat. Once the fat is trimmed, if it’s still chilled, this is a good time to cube up the belly. If you’re going to take your pork belly straight to the grates, you’ll want to make sure you cube them up large enough that they won’t fall through as they cook. They will shrink during smoking. You’re usually pretty safe at 1 1/2–2 inches, like the brisket burnt ends. As for your smoker or grill, you want to bring it up to 225 F. I find that maple or a fruit wood really enhances the sweeter flavor of the pork belly. It’s a good complement! Then, once the smoker is ready to go, it’s all about keeping things low and slow. You don’t want to go over that 225 F. When you take your pork belly cubes to the grate (after you’ve seasoned them to your liking), be sure to place them over indirect heat. If you put them directly over the heat, or too close, you’re likely to start a fire. Pork fat is very flammable, and once one burnt end catches fire, the fire will spread to another! My advice is to keep a spritz bottle full of water on hand to douse any flames that may come.
After that, remove the meat from the grates and toss in a foil pan with a little of your favorite sauce (again, not too much, but just enough to get a nice caramelization going). Put the pan back in the smoker and let them continue to cook for another hour or so. At 200–205 F, the pork belly burnt ends are done. You can add some more sauce if you want or put some sauce on the side for dipping. Either way, you’re going to put a smile on a lot of people’s faces with these! Burnt ends are great on sandwiches. I grab myself a hoagie roll, put on some sweet and sour coleslaw (you can use your favorite kind of coleslaw, but I find that the sweet and sour coleslaw goes will with the burnt ends), and top the slaw with the burnt ends and some sauce. Or you can also make an au jus with the drippings. Or a gravy. One example is red-eye gravy. I add two cups of coffee to the drippings, mix in some corn starch, and simmer it in a pan until it thickens. Put over mashed potatoes, over your burnt-end sandwich, or right over the burnt ends! Brisket or pork belly — no matter what meat you choose, you’re going to end up with a lot of happy people. These methods were passed down from my pappy and grandpappy, and now I’m passing them on to you! Enjoy! –Danny McTurnan 6. Once it reaches 170–185 F, take the brisket out of the smoker and separate the point of the meat from the flat. Wrap the flat in foil or butcher paper and bring it up to 190 F for slicing. If you do wrap it in foil or butcher paper for slicing, when you pull it off the smoker to cool, be sure to poke holes in the foil/paper so steam can escape. This helps prevent the bark from getting soggy. 7. When the point hits an internal temp of 170–185 F, take it out of the smoker, cube it up, coat any visible fat and meat on your cubes with reserved rub, and throw it in a foil pan for another 45–60 minutes to allow the fat to render. 8. When you see the fat rendering and the cubes crisping up, add sauce to the pan and mix with brisket. Add just enough to coat the meat. 9. Return the burnt ends to the smoker and continue cooking until the sauce you added begins to caramelize to your liking, roughly 30-60 minutes, if you’re using a good instant read thermometer then you’re looking for an internal meat temperature of 200F. Remove the pan of burnt ends from the smoker, and let it sit for 10–20 minutes then serve. 5. Smoke the meat until it reaches an internal temp of 170–185 F in the flat part of the brisket (it takes about 1 hour per pound). Watch the temp carefully.
As your pork belly cubes crisp up, turn them from one side to another for more even crispness. You’ll be doing this for about 2 1/2 hours.
Dan’s Brisket Burnt Ends
Ingredients
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1 cup brown sugar
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6 tbsp black pepper
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1 cup granulated cane sugar
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2 tbsp ground cumin
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3 tbsp garlic powder
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1/4 cup salt
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Onion powder, to taste
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1/3 cup chili powder
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Cayenne pepper, to taste
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1/4 cup paprika
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1 12-pound whole packer
Directions 1. Mix the brown sugar, cane sugar, salt, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Set aside. 2. Trim the hard fat from the brisket, then trim the soft fat to roughly 1/2 inch. 3. Prep your smoker or a grill. You want to bring your smoker temperature to 220 F. I recommend wood such as pecan or cherry for the smoke flavor. 4. As your smoker comes to temp, coat all sides of the brisket with the rub (keep any leftover rub for later!).
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