Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends

Melt-in-your-mouth tasty!! See how to make smoked pork belly burnt ends in this easy Traeger recipe. You can feed a hungry crowd these BBQ smoked pork belly tacos – let’s smoke ‘em!

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What is pork belly?

Pork belly comes from the belly of the pig. This is also the underside of the pig. 

Pork belly is basically uncured bacon that is boneless, so just fat and meat. 

Pork belly typically comes in one whole piece which can be cooked as is or cut into smaller chunks for pork belly burnt ends.

How long does it take to smoke pork belly burnt ends?

If using a smoker like I did in this recipe, you can expect it to take 4 – 5 hours to cook pork belly burnt ends at a constant 225 degrees F smoker temperature.

How do you cut pork belly for pork belly burnt ends?

You should cut the pork belly into 1 ½ to 2 inch cube pieces. It’s important that each pork belly cube is the same size so that they cook evenly. When possible the fat to pork ratio should be roughly even for each pork belly cube too.

What temp should pork belly burnt ends be?

Pork belly burnt ends should reach an internal temperature between 190 – 205 degrees F to be considered done. Be careful not to overcook them. If you leave the pork belly in the smoker for too long, they will dry out.

How do you reheat pork belly burnt ends?

Either in a sauce pan, with some BBQ sauce and a little water. Or, reheat smoked pork belly burnt ends in the oven at 350 degrees F until heated through, about 10 – 15 minutes. It always tastes good tossed in more BBQ sauce as it cooks!

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make this pork belly recipe on the smoker.

Main smoked pork belly ingredients

• Pork belly cubes
• BBQ rub (or any dry rub)
• Olive oil 

For the BBQ burnt ends sauce

• BBQ sauce
• Brown sugar
• Butter
• Honey
• Beer (substitute ginger beer or cola) 

See these tasty taco night smoker recipes…

For the pork belly pellets

For smoking pork belly burnt ends, try either sweet and light Traeger Apple pellets or for a more smokey flavor, Hickory pellets.

How to make smoked pork belly burnt ends

Now I’ll walk you through it…

Detailed recipe steps

1. Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 250 degrees F. 
2. Prep pork belly burnt ends for smoking. Cut pork belly into 1 ½ – 2 inch cubes. Toss with olive oil and BBQ dry rub seasoning until fully coated. You can be generous with your dry rub.
3. Place seasoned pork belly on a wire rack for smoking.  
4. Smoke pork belly for 2 – 3 hours (close the lid) until the internal temperature reaches 160 – 170 degrees F. (Optional – spritz with beer or apple juice at the 1 hour mark to add some moisture.)
5. Remove pork belly from the smoker and place in a pan or cast iron skillet. Add the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, butter, honey and beer to the pan. Cover the pan with foil and place back in the smoker.
6. Continue smoking pork belly for another 1.5 hours until done and the internal temperature reaches 195 – 200 degrees F with an internal read thermometer. 
7. Remove foil cover and continue smoking for another 15 minutes to let the sauce tack up. (Tip – If the burnt end BBQ sauce does not thicken up to your liking by the time the meat is done, you can pour the juices into a sauce pan and reduce until thicken. Then you can pour the reduced sauce back on top of the pork belly burnt ends and toss to coat) 
8. Remove smoked pork belly burnt ends from the smoker and let rest for 20 – 30 minutes before eating. 

Make it a meal… pop a bunch of sides in the smoker to go with this BBQ main, with my recommendations of what else to smoke at 250°F…

How to make smoked pork belly tacos

One of my favorite leftover pork belly pellet smoker recipes is to use it in simple tacos the next day. 

Favorite smoker recipes with bacon

These are great dishes with smoked bacon IN them, or ON them…

• Smoked mac and cheese with bacon topping
• Onion rings wrapped in bacon on the smoker
• Smoked bacon wrapped meatloaf
• Smoked bacon wrapped pork tenderloin
• Jalapeno poppers smoked wrapped with bacon
• Smoked mashed potatoes
• Smoked baked potatoes
• Smoked burger
• “Juicy Lucy” smoked bacon wrapped burgers
• Smoked bacon
• Traeger smoked pork belly burnt ends

Once you’ve tried this burnt end recipe, come back to see new hot dog burnt ends and brisket burnt end dishes coming soon.

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Pro tip: One of my go-to tricks for perfectly cooked food every time is using the right BBQ meat thermometers.

More pork recipes to try…

• See all my sous vide pork recipes
• Sous vide pulled pork
• Sous vide pork tacos
• Sous vide pork butt
• Sous vide pork loin
• Sous vide bone in pork chop
• Sous vide boneless pork chops (grill finish)
• Sous vide pork tenderloin
• Sous Vide Overnight Bacon
• Quesadillas with leftover pork
• Pulled pork pizza
• Smoked pork belly burnt ends

Pro tip: One of my go-to tricks for perfectly cooked food every time is using the right BBQ meat thermometers.

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I’m here to help you put together delicious meals, right at home. If you have any questions, drop them in the comments. 

Chat soon!

– Jenna

Next, browse the Sip Bite Go recipe collection…