bbq

Pork Belly Burnt Ends!

This recipe for pork belly burnt ends is an absolute crowd pleaser! Made from the same cut of meat bacon comes from, these are the perfect blend of sweet, savory and tangy. My customers can’t get enough of them!

What you need:

  • Slab of pork belly
  • 2 Cups of your favorite dry rub
  • 1 Cube of butter
  • 1 Cup Brown Sugar
  • ½ cup Honey
  • BBQ Sauce
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Cutting Board
  • Large Mixing Bowl
  • Finished pork belly burnt ends- Ready to be enjoyed!

Directions:

  1. If your pork belly still has the skin on, trim this first. Then cut slab of pork belly into 1-2” cubes. I prefer to cut the slab into strips first, and then cut the strips into cubes. Dump the cubes into a large bowl.
  2. Apply dry rub to cubes and mix.
    1. Optional: I use a technique where I add the rub (About 2 cups for 11lbs of pork belly), and then mix by pulling from the bottom. You can see this in my video.
  3. Spread rubbed pork belly cubes on the grates of your smoker.
    1. Optional: I prefer to use a weber grilling rack (Like this one) for convenience and safety (Excess oxygen exposure can lead to a VERY HOT smoker.)
  4. Smoke uncovered at 250-275 for 2-2.5 hours
  5. Remove from smoker and place cubes in a foil tray.
  6. Add brown sugar, butter and honey and cover with heavy duty foil.
  7. Place in smoker for another 2 hours.
  8. Mix your finishing glaze: ½ cup Apple Cider Vinegar and ½ cup BBQ sauce
    1. Note: This can be adjusted to taste. Try ¼ cup ACV and ¾ cup BBQ sauce.
  9. Remove pork belly cubes from smoker and drain the juice from the tray.
    1. Optional: Reserve some of the juice for the glaze.
  10. Pour finishing glaze over pork belly in tray and mix.
  11. Smoke uncovered another 10 minutes to let the glaze set.
  12. Enjoy! Try and leave some for your guests.
    1. Note: These make some AMAZING sandwiches. Top with a little coleslaw and a dash of your rub. Heaven.

Smoked Mac and Cheese

On most recipe sites, this is the spot where you’d get some self important story about how the dish inspired someone to climb Everest or how it led to social change within their community, or how it just wrapped their entire family in a hug, while they cuddled and sang songs around a campfire.

These recipe sites piss me off, so I’m not going to do that. Here’s the recipe for the most amazing smoked mac and cheese recipe you’ll ever make.

Smoked no boil mac and cheese:

Ingredients:

  • 1 9×13 pan
  • 1 stick of butter, melted
  • 12-16 oz of your favorite noodles. I use rotini because it’s fun to say. Use what you like.
  • 8 oz sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 24 oz of cheese or your choice. For me it varies based on what I’m in the mood for. I will generally do 8 oz cheddar blend, 8 oz sharp cheddar, and 8 oz monterey jack or mozarella.
  • 1 quart milk
  • 2 tbsp paprika

Steps:

1) Preheat your smoker to run between 225 and 250.
2) Add the melted butter to your foil pan and spread along the sides and bottom. This will help keep the noodles from sticking to the sides.
3) Add noodles and stir with the butter.
4) Add sour cream and mix well, coating all noodles evenly
5) Add mustard, chili powder, salt, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce, 16 oz of cheese, and milk and mix well.
6) Wrap in foil and set on your smoker for 90 minutes.
7) After 90 minutes, lift the foil and check the mac and cheese. You want to make sure most of the milk has been absorbed into the noodles. If most of the milk has been absorbed, move on to the next step. If not, re-cover and check back in 30 minutes.
8) Add the remaining 8 oz of cheese to the top.
9) Sprinkle the paprika over the top of the cheese
10) Close the smoker and allow to cook another 60 minutes. If needed, add a chunk of a nice, strong flavor wood, like hickory or mesquite, to your fire.
11) The end product should be a nice, darkened, gooey mess. Enjoy!

You Want Me To Do What? A Guide On How Much Meat Per Person To Cook

You made the mistake of cooking barbecue for other people, and now you’ve backed yourself into a corner, because the word is out about your legendary BBQ. It’s so good, your wife’s friends won’t stop talking about it. Their husbands won’t stop talking about it. Well, except for that one guy who thinks he can do anything you can do, but better. Doesn’t matter, no one likes him anyway, but I digress. Pretty soon everyone you know is asking you to cook for them and their event. One meal has now turned into a full summer’s worth of bookings. Just how in the world are you going to pull that off?

Fear not, local master of the barbecue pit! This guide will help you get started.

Logistics- A fancy way of working out the who, what, when, where, why and how

The key to ensuring any large operation is a success is in the planning, and cooking for a large group is no different. The devil, as they say, is in the details.

Who are you cooking for?

Who you’re cooking for is a big factor in determining how much food to buy. A group of guys will consume much more food than the local book club, so the demographics of your group matter.

What’s The Occasion?

Cooking for a group to watch the game will require more food than if you’re cooking for a birthday party. Also, if it’s a buffet, you’ll need to factor in extra food as people tend to over-serve themselves as opposed to a sit down style dinner.

Something else to consider- what side dishes are being provided? People won’t generally fill up on veggie platters and chips and dip like they would on potato salad and corn bread.

When Is The Event?

Events during the holidays lend themselves more to over-eating than events during random times of the year.

So.. We’ve got all the details worked out – How much meat per person do I need to buy?

It’s been said the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach. It’s also been said money can’t buy happiness, though I’d argue that person never strolled through the meat section of Costco.

Factoring in all of the above details, I like to use a simple formula for determining how much meat to buy:

¼ lbs uncooked meat per person for:

  • Any event involving a large amount of children or elderly guests.
  • Office cocktail party or work event where only hors d’oeuvres (Fancy way of saying “snacks”) are being served
  • Potlucks that will likely consist of other large, heavy dishes and sides.

½ lbs uncooked meat per person for:

  • Any family type of party or gathering that will have a mix of young and old guests and may only feature a few side dishes.
  • Lunch events
  • Sit down, family style dinners that are only slated to last a couple hours
  • NOTE: This is pretty much the standard when it comes to figuring out how much food to buy per person .If in doubt, default to this formula and you’ll be fine 80% of the time.80% of the time it works every time.

¾ lbs uncooked meat per person for:

  • Dinner parties planned to go more than just a couple hours.
  • Gameday!
  • Any family-style party where you might want leftovers
  • Buffets

1 lbs uncooked meat per person for:

  • Any event where the guests will be primarily guys will need more food. Teens, adult males = more food. It’s science.

Of course there are many other factors you might need to consider, but hopefully this guide gives you enough to get started.

Questions? Send an e-mail to backyardpitmasternet@gmail.com.