I cooked up some pork belly burnt ends for a gathering.
In my opinion, I thought they were off the mark by a long shot. The burnt ends were missing sweetness and richness. They were not up to standard. Nevertheless, everyone else enjoyed them and ate them up like no tomorrow. Go figure. When complimented all I could say was glad you enjoyed them.
The truth is if I had the time, I would cook a new batch.
Same, especially as it relates to pork belly burnt ends. The typical recipes have way too much sugar for my taste so maybe the guests felt the same way!!
I personally think spicy goes better with PBBE and adjust my recipes accordingly (Korean flavored ones being my favorite)
I’m not that crazy about overly sweet anything smoked. My wife was the same way until these last rounds of surgery. Her tastes have changed drastically . She wants sweet pork be it burnt ends or ribs. I make a glaze now that has apricot preserves, apple cider vinegar, and a bit of Sweet Baby Rays sweet teriyaki sauce that gives a rich sweet and sour flavor we both can live with.
The cook is his own worst critic. If you are like me when you think you have hit the mark you are still looking for a way to make it better. I had some brisket burnt ends last week at a BBQ joint that puts out good Q. But, boy were those burnt ends a disappointment. They were dry and IMO short on sauce. One of the problems with eating out, BBQ or otherwise, is it makes me want to go home and cook.
Last edited by LA Pork Butt; December 19, 2023, 06:46 AM.
Bronco Pro Barrel Smoker
PBC
Pit Boss 757GD Griddle (2)
Blaz'n Grill Works Grid Iron
Weber Genesis E-310
Original Original Grilla
Smokey Joe® Charcoal Grill 14"
Fireboard 1
Thermoworks ThermoPop
Thermoworks Thermapen Mk4
Thermoworks Smoke Thermometer with gateway
2 iGrillminis - from before they were Weber.
Everybody here who has been disappointed by something they cooked, that everyone else raved about, raise your hand!
I apologize that things didn't turn out the way I wanted, my wife says they were delicious, and reminds me there is only one thing I have ever cooked that we agreed I would never cook again, and we threw away. That was a green bean recipe that I smoked.
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Are pork belly burnt ends not pork? I will move this from the Off Topic Non-Food channel to the Pork channel, on the suspicion that they are pork and edible food...
I know how that goes bbqLuv I made Cornell Chicken halves a couple of weeks ago when we had friends over. They thought it was the best chicken they have ever had. I’ve made Cornell chicken probably 100+ times in the past 30 years and it was middle of the road for me. Not everyone can BBQ like us.
I’m sure just like me that you’ve had to say “It’s pretty good” on an occasion or two when going to someone else’s house for “BBQ” when asked how it is just so you can be nice. 😆
I've also had the same reaction with PBBE. I brought once to a Super Bowl party and would've given myself a B/B- but everyone raved over it.
Feel like most non-Amazing Ribs type folks aren't all that familiar with PBBEs (no one at the SB party had ever had or seen them before - even the host who is a so-call backyard smoker on his own), so just tasting it for the first time, even if not the A+ version is still mind blowing how good they are.
+1. Don't disparage yourself in front of others who are complimenting you. Enjoy the praise and promise yourself to knock their socks off the next time.
It’s true that I’m my own worst critic. I took two chuck roasts to a post funeral dinner not long ago. I know they were ok, but I’ve done some that were so much better. I swear it seamed like they tightened back up while they were resting. Anyway they got me several compliments. It is so easy to mess with your confidence when you are tasting something while you’re running the smoker. As we’ve discussed before it’s hard to tell how the meat tastes when you’ve been smelling smoke all day.
I can 100% relate to your comment about smelling smoke all day...this is is precisely my predicament.
Most of our crowd is just happy with whatever comes of the smoker. But my son is an avowed carnivore and smoked meat afficionado, so I generally rely on his judgement as to the quality of the finished product.
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