Brian in the Kitchen Recipes
BRIAN IN THE KITCHEN brought to you by Stittsworth Meats
September 4 2026
Labor Day Low And Slow - Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Image From houseofnasheats.com
Cut the meat into cubes. Aim for 1 ½ inch cubes of pork belly. They might seem large, but they will shrink quite a bit as they cook, just like bacon. By the time they are done, your pork belly burnt ends will be perfectly bite-size. If the pork belly is too slippery to slice easily, try sticking it in the freezer for 30 minutes so the fat can firm up a bit, then slice it.
An image of cubes of pork belly on a cutting board.
Rub the meat with dry rub. Drizzle the cubed pork belly with a little olive oil, then sprinkle generously with your favorite pork rub. Try to cover every piece of pork belly evenly with the rub, then arrange them on a wire rack. This makes it easy to get the cubes of meat on and off the grill and it also allows better smoke circulation than putting the pork belly in a pan for the initial smoke.
Smoke. Set the wire rack directly onto the grill grates and smoke between 225°F and 250°F for 2 ½ to 3 hours until dark red and a nice bark starts to form.
An image of pork belly on a Traeger smoker grill.
Sauce the meat. Transfer the pork belly cubes to a disposable pan and add BBQ sauce, butter, and honey, stirring to evenly coat the cubes of pork belly. This will create a braising liquid that will give the sticky sweetness that is characteristic of smoked pork belly burnt ends.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil, then return the sauced pork belly to the smoker and cook for another 60 to 90 minutes, until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 200°F to 205°F when a digital meat thermometer (affiliate link) is inserted into the middle of one of the burnt ends. Really though, the easiest way to really tell if the pork belly burnt ends are done is to test them with a toothpick. If it goes in and comes out easily, the burnt ends are done.
Remove the foil and cook for another 15 minutes to let the sauce thicken up a bit, then remove the pork belly burnt ends from the smoker and serve.
Leftovers warm up really well the next day. You can even freeze the finished burnt ends, then reheat in the oven and they will still taste delicious!