The Smoker Thread - recipes, techniques, ideas

[dteng]

Has anyone here smoked pork belly?

All the time.

Any tips?
I’ve never done it and want to try.

[Christine Huang]

Hi Dan,

Skin on or off Belly? Are you looking to make bacon?

[dteng]

Hi Dan,

Skin on or off Belly? Are you looking to make bacon?

Skin off.
To eat but not as bacon.

[GregP]

You're way better off smoking the belly with skin on. Can take it off afterwards, if need be and at any time. I smoke with skin on, and then use it as bacon, but mostly while roasting Brussels sprouts, or making pasta, soups, etc. Or simply sliced, as finger food, some good cheese, olives, wine and you have a nice and simple no cooking dinner. Main reason I do not buy skinless even though Costco has great quality chunks. You have plenty of great Asian markets in NorCal, buy bone-in, or not. With bone-in, need to smoke it a bit longer. And, unlike Costco, you can pick any piece you like, more meat or less. Strongly advise skin-on.

[ERPark]

Costco Business Centers will almost always have skin on pork belly available right next to the skinless version. No bone-in option, though.

[Christine Huang]

I smoked 11 pounds of pork belly yesterday. I got it at Costco and cut it in half for easy handling. I followed David Chang's instructions for the most part. I coated both sides with a 50/50 mix of kosher salt and cane sugar. I let that sit in the fridge overnight.

I cooked it at 300F for about 2 hours with a mix of oak and hickory. Then I cranked the smoker up as far as it would go, which turns out to only be about 380, until the internal temp got to 190 -- another hour or so.

I served slices of the pork on steamed pork buns coated with hoisin. It was very tasty. These things are *extremeley* rich. I could eat so many of them but I'm pretty sure I would hate myself aftward.

Overall I was pretty happy with the first time results. I think in the future I might just cook at 300 until it gets to 185 and then finish under the broiler to get a crispier skin.

belly.jpeg

Dan - I've done practically the same thing that Tim did in his post with a skin-off belly. For Skin On, I cure it and make bacon.

[dteng]

I smoked 11 pounds of pork belly yesterday. I got it at Costco and cut it in half for easy handling. I followed David Chang's instructions for the most part. I coated both sides with a 50/50 mix of kosher salt and cane sugar. I let that sit in the fridge overnight.

I cooked it at 300F for about 2 hours with a mix of oak and hickory. Then I cranked the smoker up as far as it would go, which turns out to only be about 380, until the internal temp got to 190 -- another hour or so.

I served slices of the pork on steamed pork buns coated with hoisin. It was very tasty. These things are *extremeley* rich. I could eat so many of them but I'm pretty sure I would hate myself aftward.

Overall I was pretty happy with the first time results. I think in the future I might just cook at 300 until it gets to 185 and then finish under the broiler to get a crispier skin.

belly.jpeg

Dan - I've done practically the same thing that Tim did in his post with a skin-off belly. For Skin On, I cure it and make bacon.

Ooo dang I missed that post!
Need to try that as I still have half.

[Andrew Kotowski]

Heavier focus on grilling and the science of cooking, but love Meathead Goldwyn. Also talks at length re: marinades and why he doesn't brine or use wet marinade.

http://www.scottrobertsweb.com/the-fire ... arbecuing/

[GregP]

Costco Business Centers will almost always have skin on pork belly available right next to the skinless version. No bone-in option, though.

Not arguing, but none of the Costco stores in Vegas, including one Business Center, carry pork belly with skin on. Not sure why, but that's the reality I face. Great Asian markets, though, so I am not complaining A 3-3.5 pounds piece works out nicely.

Thanks for the heads up, in Bay Area for the crush and will but some from Costco just for the size. I use pancetta dry cure recipe, 10-12 days in cure, then throw it into smoker, apple wood, comes out seriously good, and way better bacon than one can buy in a store at any price. If I find skin-on at Costco in CA I now want to make pancetta with larger piece of pork making it way easier to roll up.