Recipes

Cheerwine Pork Belly Burnt Ends

By: The Local Palate

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Smoked and fried pork belly burnt ends offer the ultimate bite of barbecue. The crispy exterior, smokey interior, and sweet Cheerwine sauce make this the bite of your summer cookouts.

recipe

ingredients

3lb Center cut Pork Belly skin off
1 cup of your favorite barbecue rub
16 oz Cheerwine Barbecue Sauce
1 bunch of slice scallions

for the cheerwine barbecue sauce

1 can or 12oz of Cheerwine Soda
3⁄4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1⁄4 Cup Molasses
2 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon Hickory Liquid Smoke
1⁄2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flake
1⁄2 teaspoon Gound cayenne Pepper

steps

Cut a slab of skinless pork belly into uniform 1×1 inch cubes
Coat the cubes generously with your favorite barbecue rub (sweet and spicy profiles work best) and let sit for 30 minutes.
Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees and let smoke for 3 hours until you reach the internal temperature of 195 degrees.
Once the target internal temperature is reached you need to rest the pork belly for 30 minutes. At this point you can place them in the refrigerator to cool down to fry the next day, or fry after initial rest.
Prepare cooking oil for frying at 350 degrees and fry in small batches for 3-4 minutes until the exterior is nice and crispy.
Once fried you can place the pork belly into a bowl.
Place all Cheerwine barbecue sauce ingredients into a pot on medium heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Toss fried pork belly with your Cheerwine barbecue sauce.
Garnish with scallions and serve hot!