Backyahd BBQ

GRWM - Pork Belly Burnt Ends Edition

Get ready with me as we prepare to smoke pork belly burnt ends.

Start with a slab of pork belly. Trim off and uneven edges and wrangly bits. Slice it into chunks. I like to measure with my slicing knife - Which is about an inch and a quarter.

I slather with Sriracha sauce. And apply a rub that's a good balance of sweet and salty. And top with a bit of pepper.

They go on the smoker on wire racks meat side down. 180F for 2 hours. Then 250F until they hit 190 internal.

In a metal pan with some sauce and butter until they hit 205 internal.

Let them cool down to 180F and hold them there until ready to serve.

These are always a crowd favorite.

To spritz or not to spritz is one of the most controversial debates in BBQ.

Plenty of successful pitmasters never spritz. I’m not in that camp.

I like to spritz because I think it helps me build the dark bark I’m after. It’s been working for me for years.

My spritz recipe is simple: half water, half vinegar (white or ACV), and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

I start about two hours into the cook and spritz every 30 minutes until the bark is wicked dark.

The recipe was inspired by my visit to Terry Black’s where they told me first hand that they use Worcestershire before bark and ACV afterI just combined them to keep things simple.

That said, I’ve never done a true side-by-side comparison to see exactly how much difference spritzing makes.

If that’s something you’d like to see, let me know.

To get a good sear when griddling steaks the whole surface of the steak needs to be in contact with the griddle. You need to put some weight on it. If you’re doing one or two, a spatula works. If you’re doing a bunch, then grab a sheet tray, put it on top of the steaks and lightly press down for a 10 seconds or so to help it get that contact, and then just keep the trays on top so the steaks get constant griddle contact for the remainder of the cook. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely better than a nasty bald spot on your meat.

So I have a friend that invites me over for dinner. But when I show up, there’s usually a big bag of meat waiting to be broken down or trimmed.

I think I’ve been falling for this trick for over 15 years. But I enjoy cutting and eating meat, so it’s a win-win.

He invited me over for his birthday steak dinner on Sunday. And when I showed up the day before, he handed me the steak roll. I knew what I needed to do.

I rinsed it off and then patted it down with a paper towel.

I trimmed off the round edges in that long fat band to get more uniform steaks, and then removed anything that didn’t look edible.

We’re reverse searing these things. So I’m going about 1.5in each and use a knife to measure each one.

We’re cooking these tomorrow. So we’re going to dry brine them with only salt and let them sit in the fridge overnight.

That helps get that salt penetrated throughout the meat.

We got nine steaks out of this 13 pound roll. And at 10.49 a pound, that worked out to about 15 bucks a steak, plus some extra steak bites for the pups.

Although this roll didn’t have the best marbling, they still turned out great and everyone was happy.

Today I’m replacing my old grates with these new grates from Malory

What do you think I should cook on them first?

It’s been a while since I smoked a brisket on a kettle.

This grate is actually pretty amazing. It’s very heavy, which means it’s going to retain and conduct heat better than those flimsy ones.

It’s made in the US by a small company called Malory out of Pennsylvania.

They’ve been great to work with and sent me a grate, and gave you a code, BKYHD10, for 10% off.

Which is a good deal considering it’s already pretty affordable, especially since it’s made in the USA.

One of my followers actually tagged me and asked what I thought about it. Malory saw that, reached out, and sent me one.

They also sent me their firewall system so I can easily set up two-zone cooking.

Honestly, this is the ideal situation for me.

I like working with companies that produce high-quality products they believe in, and that address me by my first name instead of “random creator.”

So if you come across a product on any social platform, tag me. I’ll check it out and do my best to get my hands on one.
In the meantime, go to bkyhd.com/malory to check out this grate, and stay tuned for future cooks.