Howdy folks, tomorrow I'll be making my first pork belly, so not surprisingly I have some questions
I have a 6.6lb/3kg belly from our local Wegmans. This was from a grocery delivery order, so I didn't pick it out myself. Here it is when I took it out of the chestie. EDIT: It is skinless.
Game plan is to simply smoke it up as is, I have no interest in doing any curing, and want to make a straight belly meal before I experiment with anything like burnt ends. Have watched several vids from Chuds, Mad Scientist, Hey Grill Hey, Malcom Reed, and a couple other places, and plan to just run it as I would any other large cut like pork butt or a chuckie - low and slow, and if/when it stalls put it into a foil boat for the rest of the way. I don't want to wrap it completely or add liquid/sauce/glaze, keeping it simple on the first go round.
I'll season it in some straightforward fashion tbd, either just salt & pepper, or with a good pork rub like Memphis Dust. Dinner tomorrow will be PBLT sammiches, again nice and simple.
OK questions: Do people dry brine pork belly overnight? I have not seen that mentioned yet, those I've watched just seasons and start cooking. Is there something about belly that doesn't benefit from a dry brine the way everything else does?
Fat cap: once I get the piece thawed and can inspect it, I'll be able to see the meat to fat ratio. Is there any upside to thinning down the fat in places to try to balance out that ratio, or just let it ride and render out?
Drippings: Presumably this cut will produce a lot of drippings as the fat renders. I'll be catching the drips in a pan until it goes into the boat. Worth saving those drippings? Would they be sort of a pork equivalent of beef tallow?
Thanks for the input!
I have a 6.6lb/3kg belly from our local Wegmans. This was from a grocery delivery order, so I didn't pick it out myself. Here it is when I took it out of the chestie. EDIT: It is skinless.
Game plan is to simply smoke it up as is, I have no interest in doing any curing, and want to make a straight belly meal before I experiment with anything like burnt ends. Have watched several vids from Chuds, Mad Scientist, Hey Grill Hey, Malcom Reed, and a couple other places, and plan to just run it as I would any other large cut like pork butt or a chuckie - low and slow, and if/when it stalls put it into a foil boat for the rest of the way. I don't want to wrap it completely or add liquid/sauce/glaze, keeping it simple on the first go round.
I'll season it in some straightforward fashion tbd, either just salt & pepper, or with a good pork rub like Memphis Dust. Dinner tomorrow will be PBLT sammiches, again nice and simple.
OK questions: Do people dry brine pork belly overnight? I have not seen that mentioned yet, those I've watched just seasons and start cooking. Is there something about belly that doesn't benefit from a dry brine the way everything else does?
Fat cap: once I get the piece thawed and can inspect it, I'll be able to see the meat to fat ratio. Is there any upside to thinning down the fat in places to try to balance out that ratio, or just let it ride and render out?
Drippings: Presumably this cut will produce a lot of drippings as the fat renders. I'll be catching the drips in a pan until it goes into the boat. Worth saving those drippings? Would they be sort of a pork equivalent of beef tallow?
Thanks for the input!
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