Smoked Pork Belly

[Sloper]

I am new on here so you probably have already tried this but... I was in Costco and they had porkbellies for $1.99lb and sliced pork bellies for $2.99lb. I don't know about where you are from but here in Alaska that is a smokin' deal. No pun intended.

So I bought two of the 10lb pork bellies and 10lb of the sliced. I put the sliced on my Camp Chef Pellet grill and smoked the strips for about 1 hour on low smoke. I took them and let them cool and they were not fully cooked but when I finish them off in the pan, microwave or whatever I salted them just as I would salt anything at the table. They are fantastic and better than (I know I will get hit in the face with a pig for this) bacon. Just my humble opinion here but all my friends that have had this say the same thing only in a different way. They have pretty much said "this is the best bacon I have ever had"

So for what it is worth there is my latest adventure in pork bellies.

[Usernamevalid]

Welcome!

I've never tried, but have heard Pork Belly can be tough to get right. congrats!

My son is currently working on Adak island. He's been there since early April. The stories he tells me about prices are revolting! He said he paid $10 for a loaf of bread on the Island.

[Brian/S]

When pork belly is mentioned, most people think of BACON, and who doesn't like bacon! But pork belly is nothing like anything you've ever tasted... if you've never tried it. If it's uncured, and this is the way you want to smoke it, it's absolutely heaven. Pork belly has a lot of fat to it and this is what makes it so flavorful. When you cook/smoke it, you have to pay attention to the fat, and not the meat. When done, you should be able to push your finger through the fat with no resistence. It should feel like gelatin. Treat it like a briskett, and just like a briskett, let the belly rest for 1-2 hours after applying your rub. Depending on the size (I normally do a 10-12lb belly) start checking on it periodically after about 6-7 hours. The bark should be dry, and crisp... just like a briskett. Total smoking time should be about 9-10 hours depending on the size. When it's done... eat immediately, and enjoy. Trust me... you will absolutely love it!!!

[Meathead]

Two good paths to follow. (1) Make bacon (I have recipes on the site), or (2) smoke them. Once smoked, they can be sliced thin and served straight, but they are very fatty. I prefer to cube them, toss them with a rub (Memphis Dust), sear them in a hot pan and serve on a sandwich Banh Mi style, with pickled veggies, lettuce, whatever. On the site I have a recipe for using them on a salad. And yesterday Chef Ryan served me a salad with 1/4" cubed bellies like bacon bits on a salad.

[Sloper]

Meathead. Up until now that is how I have always eaten pork belly. I cube it and stir fry it with soy sauce and paprika. Mix with coleslaw and make a sandwich.
I have made my own bacon many times but I think this new thing I spoke of with just smoke instead of rub or brine is my newest favorite way. Pork belly is really getting popular these last few years. It was pretty cool to find a decent price on them. Usually the only place to find a good belly is in the local Korean markets but to find them at Costco was way cool.

[Steve Vojtek]

Here in Australia roasted pork bellies with skin on for crackling are popular. I have done cubed belly in a lee kum kee chinese braising sauce and once i roasted one on a bed of sliced onions - recipe i found on the net - quite nice. Recently i bough a belly and wanted to try something different so i removed skin and sliced it into thick slices and coated in Memphis Dust and roasted them in the oven at about 360F - they came out awesome:







Week later i did the same on my charcoal kettle but at 225 - they had a really nice smoke flavour but not as tender as the oven roasted ones. I cooked to 145F internal. Maybe i should've cooked them longer or at higher temp. Have to try again.
Here's something i'd like to try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU8nqH8Jb_8
Don't know about pumping all that flavor into it though - i will just use Memphis Dust....

[Sloper]

Looks killer Steve. I may try some Memphis Dust on some. I have found that pork bellies seem to absorb too much salt when raw so I am careful of that before I smoke or stirfry. Maybe some rub like Memphis Dust is what I am looking for.
Thanks for the thought.
Pork bellies are going to become the next brisket..if they haven't already. So I imagine the price will skyrocket on them too.

[Steve Vojtek]

That's so true - rack of lamb or lamb shanks used to be dirt cheap here until a tv advertising campaign - as soon as they became popular the prices went through the roof. The shanks more than doubled in price in just a few years. Same with pork ribs. Memphis dust work well with pork as well as chicken. Thank god chicken is still cheap.