FoodRick DregerPig, pickles, smoking, father's dayComment

Belly Burnt Ends...

FoodRick DregerPig, pickles, smoking, father's dayComment
Belly Burnt Ends...

So my buddy E and I have taken to spending time together on Father's Day and doing a whole lot of nothing. The focus is on cooking, drinking, and catching up on movies spanning the genres from Sci-Fi to Horror to, well any cheesy Fiction really. Hmmm... I suppose that's not really a diverse range, but it's super fun!

This year we decided to try out some belly burnt ends and fresh pork crackling (future post). After doing some reading, we decided to use a variation on the Vindulge recipe for the belly. I strongly suggest you check the recipe out and give it a try!  Vindulge Burnt Ends...

A little tease of the final product... 

A little tease of the final product... 

Some brief suggestions and changes that we made from the recipe:

  • The dry rub was a mix of the Big Bald Rub recipe from SmokingMeat.com cut with some of my favorite Rendezvous dry rub from Memphis. Think brown sugar, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder... Yum!
  • We got a 4 lb belly with the skin removed by the butcher but then placed back on the belly for later use with the crackling!
  • We skipped the honey in the final saucing. Plenty of sweetness coming through with the rub. Too much sugar kills the amazing savory side of this dish.
  • We used Mesquite smoke pellets on a Mak smoker. The initial smoke took closer to 3 1/2 hours @235 F for our session. The other timings at Vindulge were great.
  • Try smoking off some Garlic - it makes ridiculous garlic bread.
  • Go big with the wine! We had a GD Vajra 2011 Barolo. Gorgeous with the Belly.
“What took this recipe over the top, was eating the belly bits with amazing handmade pickles! It was like taking the essence of a to-die-for Cubano and then turning it to 11. I’m drooling...”

Update July 21, 2017: We tried these a second time with similar results. (You can't have an n of 1 in science!) The meat continues to yummify as it sat in its own juices after the cooking was done. Much like the amazing Orin Swift Machete that was paired with it, the flavors evolved and changed over the evening. This is a great one to have at your disposal for parties.