Easy Smoked Pork Belly Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to smoke a pork belly? ›

Season liberally with the Sweet Rub on all sides. Place the seasoned pork belly on the grill and smoke until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (about 6 hours).

Preheat the smoker to 250F for indirect cooking. Add the pork belly skin side up to the smoker and let cook for 3 hours. Once the meat is 175F internal and the skin is a light red color, brush some white vinegar over the top. Heat up your oven to 400F and place the pork belly on a baking sheet with a wire rack.

Allow the pork belly to cure for approximately 7 days. A general rule is to cure your bacon 7 days for every inch of thickness.

Smoke the pork belly slices at 225°F (107°C) for approximately 90 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 205°F (96°C) as measured by an instant-read hand-held digital thermometer, such as the Thermapen or ThermoPop. When finished, remove them from the smoker and let them cool for about an hour.

My preferred route is smoking the pork belly to perfection. Dry-brining involves applying a blend of salt, sugar, spices, and herbs to the pork belly, drawing out moisture and deterring bacterial growth. Post-brining, the belly is smoked for 3 to 4 hours until achieving full doneness.

Absolutely — smoking for too long dries out the pork belly cubes, leaving them tough and rubbery. So, be sure to keep your smoker around 225°F and don't add too many wood chips at one time, as excessive heat from the burning wood will definitely dry the meat.

Once the pork belly has reached 160°F, place the meat, fat side down, on an aluminum foil lined baking pan and add 1/2 cup of apple juice to the meat. Wrap the pork belly tightly in foil and smoke for another hour, or, until the internal temperature reaches 190-195°F.

You can spray it with water, but using apple cider vinegar or even white vinegar adds a bit more flavor to the pork belly and penetrates the meat better for extra tenderness.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Roast pork belly for 30 minutes on the middle rack in a heavy, oven-safe pan or skillet, skin side up / fat side up. Reduce heat to 275°F and roast for an hour or more, until tender but not mushy. (Larger pieces of pork belly will take longer.

Cooking over indirect heat, marinating, using a high ratio of smoking chunks to charcoal, wrapping in aluminum foil, and allowing your meat to sit for three to five minutes will help to keep it moist.

Do you smoke pork belly fat side up or down? ›

Place pork belly on the smoker rack, fat side up. Smoked for approximately 3-4 hours or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165* degrees F. Increase smoker temperature to 400-450 degrees F and place a piece of heavy duty foil underneath the pork belly (folding the edges up so it acts like a little boat or pan).

Curing: The true difference between pork belly and bacon is the curing process—while pork belly is uncured meat, bacon is a cured meat that undergoes preservation with salt and nitrates to preserve the meat, extend its shelf life, and prevent spoilage, bacterial growth, and botulism.

If you have the time, 225°F is an excellent sweet spot for low-and-slow cooked pork butt. At this temperature, you can also use Super Smoke if your Traeger has that capability. You can cook it at 225°F for the entire time, or raise the smoked pork butt after a few hours of speed cooking along.

I recommend using a sweet fruit wood for these but really, any good smoking wood will work. Once the smoker is ready, go get the meat and get it on the grates. Place the pork belly on the smoker grate fat side up. Let it cook for about 4 hours or until it reaches 160°F.

Our top choices are brisket, pork shoulder (for pulled pork), pork chops, and ribs. You can also give our St. Louis Ribs a try in your new smoker. Beef brisket, pork shoulder, and ribs are three cuts that offer sufficient fat to keep them juicy and tender when done.

Cherry, apple, peach, hickory, and maple wood chunks or chips are excellent choices for pork belly. What wood chunks or chips to you have within reach? Just go for it! And yes, if you don't have wood chunks, make a few wood chip pouches and add to the fire every hour.

Step 3: Rest is important.

Remove the pork belly from the smoker and allow it to cool at room temperature for about 45 minutes, resting on a cutting board loosely wrapped in butcher paper. Using foil will create too much steam, and ruin the bark.

Place the pork belly on the grates of your preheated , meat side down. Smoke until the internal temperature reaches 195°F (this normally takes about 6 hours). Open the flame broiler and flip the pork belly so that the meat side is up.

This allows for the meat to absorb smoke on all sides of the cube and makes for a tasty bite. Prepare your smoker at a temperature of 275 degrees. I recommend medium smoke wood for this cook such as hickory or pecan. Cube the pork belly into 1” x 1” cubes.

I leave the skin on. It comers off real easy after smoking.

Should you spray pork while smoking? ›

The biggest benefit of spritzing meat is the moisture it adds which prevents the meat from drying out and getting tough. Spritzing meat can also inject a bit of flavour into your smoked meat, adding a subtle layer of complexity.

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. 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.

Let's break it down! For the best results, plan for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours of smoking time per pound of pork shoulder at 225°F.

Place pork belly (in foil boat) in oven on center rack, and place a drip pan underneath to catch any fat that happened to drip. Cook approximately 1.5 hours, though a lot will depend on the size of your pork belly. You want to cook until the internal temperature is 160-165°F.