Ingredients
Scale
- 3–4 pounds of pork belly, skin removed
- 3/4 cup Maple Chipotle BBQ Sauce
- (optional) 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin Spice BBQ Rub
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoon fine kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 250°F
- Slice the pork belly into cubes about 1.5 – 2″ cubes. Season them generously with the rub on all sides, use more if needed. Place them on a wire rack and set them in the smoker. Allow them to cook undisturbed for about 90 minutes.
- Check on them and make sure the bark is forming nicely, and they aren’t drying out. Spritz with a little apple cider vinegar if you see they are a little dry, otherwise continue to cook for another 30 minutes, about 2 hours total.
- After the first 2 hours, transfer them from the wire rack carefully to a disposable foil pan. Pour about 1/2 cup of the Maple Chipotle sauce on top of them. Place a foil sheet over the top of the pan, pushing down to remove as much extra air as possible. Continue to cook for another 45-60 minutes.
- Check on the burnt ends. Most of the liquid should be gone and they will look very tender. Remove the foil from the top and add the rest of the BBQ sauce. Use more if needed. Stir very carefully and continue to cook uncovered for another 20-30 minutes.
- Check the pork belly, they should be sticky and tacky, with very little liquid left in the foil pan. Serve them while warm.
Notes
- If you’re using another BBQ sauce, I recommend adding a little apple juice to the foil pan during the braising phase. This will help prevent the sugars from potentially scorching.
- Spray the pork belly as needed with some apple cider vinegar if they are looking a little dry during the first smoking phase.
- If the pork belly cubes are too small they will dry out, so make sure you cut them large. They will shrink in size quite a bit.
- Make sure the BBQ sauce is not cold out of the fridge when using it. Room temp or slightly warm is best.
- Use your intuition during this cook. Notice that I didn’t provide many temperatures, that’s because burnt ends really go by feel and texture more than anything.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Pork
- Method: Smoking
- Cuisine: Appetizer
Keywords: smoked pork, pork belly, pork belly burnt ends, bbq, smoking, barbecue, pumpkin spice
