Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends are the ultimate meat candy, bursting with sweet and smoke flavors. Each crispy bite or cubed pork belly is caramelized with barbecue sauce, while juicy and tender on the inside.

Simple to prepare, these pork belly burnt ends are a huge hit for any party. Lucious pork is slowly smoked until it forms a crispy bark before being caramelized with barbecue sauce. Each bite is sticky, crispy, and juicy with lots of smoky flavor.

There are also many ways to adjust the recipe to your liking. You can have thicker sauce, sticky pork, or even an extra crispy bark. We’ll cover the adjustment in the guide below.

Craving more smoked pork recipes? Check out Texas-Style Smoked Pork Belly if you’re really looking for some smoky slices, Country Style Ribs, Smoked Party Ribs, or juicy Smoked Pork Steaks.

Why This Recipe Works

Rich meat is a treat. Pork belly cubes are pretty sinful, but that makes it such a special treat when served to a crowd. Everyone’s going to be coming back for thirds!
Simple process. There’s very little to do other than to check the cubed pork belly and transfer them to a pan with sauce. Crack open a few beers and enjoy the ride.
Flexible flavors. Pork belly has the ability to soak up most flavor combinations you can throw at it. There are multiple stages to add flavor, which opens up the possibilities.

Each bite of pork belly is incredibly juicy and tender.

Table of Contents

What are Pork Belly Burnt Ends?

Simply put, they are cubes of pork belly that have been smoked for a period of time before being lightly braised and caramelized with barbecue sauce.

Their rise to fame really happened in more recent years. Classic brisket burnt ends were the first to rise, a rare staple and many barbecue joints across the country. Burnt trimmings were lightly braised, and caramelized with barbecue sauce. These intense bites became a massive hit!

Over time as the demand grew the burnt ends were no longer a side effect of barbecue, they were a staple. Cubing up beef to intentionally create burnt ends led to other cuts, such as pork belly. Good thing someone thought of it because they are freaking delicious.

Serving up plates of smoked pork belly burnt ends.

Tips for Prepping the Pork Belly

This process is pretty straightforward, but there are a few important things that will help you cook pork belly just the way you want to.

Pork belly slices easier if it's cold, otherwise the fat makes it slippery.

Seasoning Choices

Smoked pork pork tastes delicious with almost anything you can throw at it, from simple salt and pepper to something sweet and spicy.

Signature Sweet & Smoky Rub – This is my preference, which has a nice balance of just about everything and helps to form that nice sticky surface for pork belly burnt ends.
Espresso Coffee Rub – Yes, coffee and smoked pork taste so good together. Combine this with the Honey Bourbon BBQ Sauce and you have an incredibly smoky sweet combo.
Smoky Southwest Dry Rub – Want less sugar? This rub focuses more on spices and less on sweetness, leaving you room to fill that in with a BBQ sauce.
Salt & Pepper – Classic Texas flavors are hard to beat, and pair with any kind of sauce. Use a 50/50 mix and add in garlic powder or chile powder if you want a little extra something.

Season the pork belly generous and place on a wire rack for smoking.

Step 1: Smoking Pork Belly Cubes

The pork belly should be sliced, generously seasoned, and ready for the smoker. Smoking pork belly is very low maintenance, unlike some other cuts. High-fat content keeps the pork belly extremely moist, which means you don’t have to go out and spritz it all the time.

Smoke the pork belly cubes for about 2 hours at 250°F, or until the bark looks good.

Use a baking sheet lined with a wire rack for an easy transfer in and out of the smoker. This also helps with cleanup, as the pork belly tends to render off quite a bit of fat. You can also place the wire rack into the smoker without the sheet.

After 2 hours the pork should be ready for the braising phase.

Step 2: Tenderizing the Pork

After about 2 hours the pork belly cubes should have formed a nice bark, and the temperature will be around 175°F. If the temperature is higher, it’s not a problem, just make sure they aren’t dry. Focus more on the bark, making sure that they have a nice exterior. They should not be crispy or burnt, but also not too squishy.

Add the pork belly burnt ends to a disposable foil pan or a large sheet of heavy-duty foil. This is where the braising comes into place. There needs to be an added liquid to help tenderize the pork belly burnt ends.

Flavor Options for Braising

There isn’t one recipe to rule them all, but I do have a personal preference. I’m going to share different combinations for you to consider based on your end goals:

OK, my favorite is the combo with bourbon. It’s so delicious, but they will all work well. Many people choose to add brown sugar, butter, apple juice, and sauce all together – I’ve found this is extremely sweet, but there’s no wrong way to go about it.

Add your braising ingredients to the pork belly and wrap tightly with heavy-duty foil. Smoke for about 45 minutes to an hour. I don’t like to increase the heat due to the sugar that’s added in.

Caramelize the pork belly with bbq sauce at the very end until you are satisfied with the color.

Step 3: Caramelize the BBQ Sauce

Open up the foil and check the pork belly burnt ends after about 45 minutes. Give them a very gentle stir if you need. They should be extremely tender, with not much liquid left in the foil pan.

Remove the foil lid, add 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce, and gently stir. Continue to smoke the pork belly burnt ends until they are caramelized. This should only take about 20-30 minutes.

You’re looking for meat candy that is tacky, not drowning in sauce. They should have a nice thin coating of sticky sauce on the outside.

A sticky, tacky surface is what you're looking for on pork belly burnt ends.

BBQ Sauce Options

Smoky Sweet Heat Sauce – This is our signature blend, the go-to for smoked meats. Bright red in color with a nice balance of savory, sweet, and spice. Just enough heat to let you know it’s there.
Sweet Honey Bourbon BBQ Sauce – One of my favorites, and pairs so well with smoked pork belly. Use bourbon during the braising phase and it’ll be over-the-top delicious.
Maple Chipotle BBQ Sauce – This mustard-based golden sauce is tangy, spicy, and sweet. I recommend adding this in during the braising phase
Buffalo BBQ Sauce – Take the classic buffalo flavors and fortify them with ketchup, sugars, and aromatics to make a full-bodies BBQ sauce that kicks.
Korean Honey Mustard – This spicy sauce works really well for caramelizing at the end. If you’re going to braise with it, add some apple cider vinegar to thin it out a little first.
Teriyaki BBQ Sauce – Sweet and thick, this sauce comes together quickly. Use this sauce at the end, it’s a little too thick for braising.