Banh Mi pork belly - meh

[PappyBBQ]

Meathead's recipe sounds really good - in fact the flavor IS wonderful. I was just looking to cook the belly, not make the sammies. I followed the recipe and had "meh" results. Recipe says a PBC was used, but then talked about cooking temps of 225 so I question that. I bought the belly cut into 1.5 inch strips (only way I could find it the day I bought it) from Costco so my cubes were 1.5 in squares instead of the 1 in squares called for in the recipe. I followed the cooking instructions to the letter and ended up with overcooked lean sections. Basically the cooking instructions call for 2 hours in the PBC, followed by a 1.5 hour wrapped session with the glaze (I did this in the oven at 265), and then back on the grill to set the glaze for 30 minutes. Next time I do this I will not cut the belly into cubes (I still have some strips left so I will try those before migrating to slabs) and I will cut the initial cook time in PBC in half. Then wrap with glaze in 225 oven for 2 hours, and finally finish back on the PBC. Looking for moist lean meat with nicely rendered fat. Had the nicely rendered fat, but dry lean meat. Live and learn!

[jacmac422]

I am not sure what went wrong with yours. I did the same thing a few weeks ago (although I did the Banh Mi and it was awesome) and mine turned out great. I used a pellet smoker instead of a pit barrel but stuck with the same temps. my only suggestion would be that I always use time and temp as an estimate. Cooking for the exact amount of time and temps could definitely lead to bad results if you aren't watching the meet.

[PappyBBQ]

As Meathead suggests, I tend to follow the recipe the first time. The 225 temp and PBC in the same sentence should have set off more alarm bells that it did. I agree that time is certainly variable and highly dependent on temperature! :-)

[Willy]

Try making tocino (a super tasty Filipino dish--bacon candy) out of either belly or even bacon: http://www.foxyfolksy.com/tocino-rec...et-cured-pork/

I deviated from the recipe two times: first, I didn't leave it out at room temp overnight but instead put it straight into the fridge. Secondly, I didn't do the hand mixing they suggested; just straight into a ZipLoc and mushed around enough to distribute the sauces over the belly slices. I'm sure this stuff would be golden in a banh mi sandwich.

[fzxdoc]

Did you ratchet your PBC down to 225 for the cook, PappyBBQ ?

Kathryn

[PappyBBQ]

No fzxdoc. I don't think I've EVER had my barrel down that low, and I'd be worried about creating acrid smoke trying to do so.

[fzxdoc]

That would be my guess too, PappyBBQ . PBCs need to free range, temperaturewise. So perhaps for the higher PBC temps, you would shorten the time some, just as you have planned.
K.

[PappyBBQ]

Yeah. I agree @fzxdoc.. I'm not giving up! Gonna try again soon as the taste WAS exquisite...