Brisket Style Smoked Pork Belly
Here's how to cook a slab of pork belly, smoked brisket style! This low & slow pork belly is incredibly tender, super juicy & is full of flavour.
Servings: 6 People
Equipment
- Barbecue/Smoker
- Digital Food Probe
- Chimney Charcoal Starter
- Mixing Bowl
- Spray Bottle
- Butcher's Paper
- Foil
Ingredients
- 2½ kg Boneless Pork Belly
Rub
- 30 g Fine Sea Salt
- 30 g Demerara Sugar
- 20 g Coarse Black Pepper
- 1½ tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Onion Granules
- 1 tsp Garlic Granules
- ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
To Cook
- French's Mustard (To Slather)
- 100 ml Apple Cider Vinegar
- 100 ml Cold Water
Instructions
Pork Belly Prep
- Using a sharp knife, carefully remove the skin from the pork belly, making sure to leave a good layer of fat attached to the meat.You can use the skin for pork scratchings!
- Next, trim any excess fat from the pork belly. There should be an even covering of fat & it should be around 1 cm thick. If there's any thin bits of meat around the edge of the belly, trim/round these off as well as they'll colour too much in the smoker.We're trimming the pork belly like you would a brisket. This means that there should be an even layer of fat & the meat should be trimmed to round the edges off. This makes it more aerodynamic & improves airflow in the smoker.
- Once you've trimmed your pork belly, lightly score the fat with a sharp knife, in a criss cross pattern.
Rub & Slather
- To make the rub, add all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl then stir to combine.
- Next, coat the pork belly all over with a thin layer of French's mustard then cover completely with the rub. Let the pork sit out at room temperature whilst you light your smoker.Alternatively, the pork belly can be left in the fridge overnight before being smoked.
Smoking
- Light your smoker/barbecue & leave to preheat to 250°f/120°c. Make sure that your barbecue is set up for indirect cooking.A good quality charcoal/wood makes all the difference here! I used a cherry wood charcoal & I added in a chunk of apple wood just before adding in the pork.
- Once at temperature, place the pork belly fat side up into the barbecue & leave to cook undisturbed for 3 hours.
- In the meantime, add the apple cider vinegar & water into a spray bottle then set aside. We'll be using this to spritz the pork.
- After 3 hours have passed, spray the pork with the vinegar/water every 30 minutes until a deep bark has formed. At this point the internal temperature will be around 165°f/73°f.This will roughly take another 2-3 hours.
- Next, give the pork a good spray with the vinegar then wrap in butcher’s paper. Place back in the smoker (the same way up) & continue cooking until the pork probes soft like butter. Once cooked, the internal temperature of the pork will be between 195°f-200°f (90°c-93°c).This will take another 2-4 hours of cooking (roughly).
- Once cooked, wrap the pork belly in foil (still in the butcher's paper) then cover with a tea towel then leave to rest for at least an hour.
- To serve, use a sharp knife to slice the pork belly against the grain. I like to slice mine into 1 cm thick slices.
Notes
1. Pork Belly - I used a 2.5kg boneless pork belly but this method of cooking will work with a bigger or smaller piece of belly. We're removing the skin from the pork before smoking but you could ask your butcher to do this for you.
2. Smoker - Any type of charcoal or wood smoker/barbecue will work for this recipe as long as you can cook on it indirectly.
3. Charcoal - Using a good quality charcoal & wood makes all the difference when cooking barbecue. I used a cherry wood charcoal & a chunk of apple wood.
4. Rub - I made my own rub for this smoked pork belly but feel free to use a ready made rub if you'd prefer.
5. Spritz – Spraying the meat helps with bark formation but you don’t have to use apple cider vinegar. Apple juice or beer would be some other good options.
6. Internal Temperature - The best way to check if your pork belly is cooked, is by feel. If a food probe slides into the meat with little to no resistance, it's ready. The internal temperature of the pork will be between 195°f-200°f (90°c-93°c) once it is cooked.
7. Resting - Make sure to rest the pork belly for at least 30 minutes before serving, although an hour long rest is best.
8. Storage - Any leftover pork belly needs to be stored in the fridge & is best eaten within a couple of days. The pork can also be stored in the freezer for several months.