Belly Pork

[Mani]

I have a square cut belly pork (With Spare Ribs still attached)...

I was thinking of doing it much like Spare Ribs?  I was going to remove the skin, rub and smoke.

Any advice on IT's before foiling and saucing or should I use an adaptation of the 3-2-1 method, but only start the 3 section when the rib tips start showing?

Any advice would be welcome as this cut is virgin territory for me...

[Mani]

...  A different approach, I'm jumping in at the deep end, and I will just see how the results turn out.

Going to create a marinade with the following (UK imperial measurements!)

1 pint chicken stock
12 spring onions
3 fl oz light soy sauce
3 fl oz Chinese rice wine
1fl oz rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp Palm sugar
3 star anise
4in piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced
pinch of dried chilli flakes

Cut the Belly pork into 6 inch squares, marinate overnight (I may vacuum pack for extra pentration).

3 hours of Maple smoke, then cook till the I.T gets to 170 Fahrenheit then foil to rest.

Can anyone see any glaring errors with this strategy?

[KyNola]

I'm not exactly sure what you are wanting your finished product to be so I will just mention that at an IT of 170F you are going to begin to render out a lot of the fat of the belly.  I'm not saying that is a bad thing, just info for you to have.

[squirtthecat]

Let us know how it turns out!    It does sound interesting...

[Mani]

I'm not exactly sure what you are wanting your finished product to be so I will just mention that at an IT of 170F you are going to begin to render out a lot of the fat of the belly.  I'm not saying that is a bad thing, just info for you to have.

I'm certainly after a tender cut after the cooking process, so a fair bit of rendering is required.

[Habanero Smoker]

Your marinade looks good, and I may try it some time. I like fresh smoked pork belly, but have to eat it in moderation. You do need to let some of the fat to render out, so I take mine to 155 - 160°F. If you like fat, take it only to 140 - 145°F.

Here is how I smoke it:

Smoked Pork Belly

I also like to take it out of the smoker early, and finish on the grill.

[Mani]

Here is how I smoke it:

Smoked Pork Belly

I also like to take it out of the smoker early, and finish on the grill.

Thanks H.S,

Looks spectacular!

Belly Pork seems to be a bit more common over here...  I think probably as British bacon tends to be made from either the back or loin rather than belly.  Belly is also cheap!  The cut I have is roughly $1.60 per lb for an old spot rare breed pig (Which is cheap for us - Lamb is the main meat round these parts).

I would also add a stick of Cinnamon to the marinade (Sorry, missed that one off!).

Does the final grilling do a good job of crisping up the skin?

[Habanero Smoker]

It does crisp the skin a little bit, but it also changes the final flavor, due to the Maillard Reaction.

The next time I get some bellies, I will definitely try your recipe.

[Mani]

The story so far...

It was quite a thick cut, so I decided to remove the ribs, BBQ them conventionally with a rub and then cut up the belly.





I got the marinade on a slow simmer to help infusion of the ingredients...  I also added cinnamon and garlic.


then got the belly in marinade for tomorrows smoke.

[Habanero Smoker]

I can't wait for the final results.

[KyNola]

I'm interested as well.  I have around 80 pounds of pork belly in my freezer.

[Mani]

I used three hours of Cherry (Never used it before, so thought I would give it a go.) then took it's I.T to 175 (I prefer a wee bit more rendering than 160).





I loved the final result, however, I would tweak the marinade.  Use Honey instead of palm sugar, and use a bit more, and also add some Thai Fish sauce.  I think the result would be improved.

I would be intertested to see what taste a stronger wood would impart.

Overall, I love it.  The wife doesn't do belly, so it looks like its going to be a good night for me and the cats!

[KyNola]

Beautiful color.  I would SO hammer that.

[Habanero Smoker]

Looks good. I may stick with the recipe I use and do some tweaking.

I prefer pecan on pork. I can't use cherry. I seem to have an allergic reaction to the smoke, and also when I ingest foods smoked with it. 

[SiFumar]

Great color!  Looks delicious!  Need some alcohol while eating that to cut some of the fat lol.