Korean Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Korean
Dinner
Korean Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Directions
Take the pork belly and season with Firefly Korean umami BBQ rub using a binder of yellow mustard or mayonnaise.
Allow the pork to dry brine for 24 hours.
Set your smoker to between 107c & 120c for indirect cooking and use a suitable smoking wood or pellet. I prefer apple wood.
Smoke the pork belly until probe tender, approximately 93c to 95 c.
While the belly is smoking you can make the simple salsa:
Slice and de seed the chilli and cut to a Brunoise.
Mince the garlic & ginger using a micro plane.
Roughly chop the fresh coriander.
Shred finely the spring onion.
Finely dice the onion.
Zest and juice the lime using the micro plane.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and allow to infuse in the fridge.
Whether or not to wrap? That is down to preference, When deciding how to manage the cook, leaving the meat unwrapped will generally produce a better-developed bark and a drier, firmer surface, although it will usually result in a longer cooking time, particularly in colder weather. Wrapping later in the cook can help speed up the finish and encourage softer, more rendered fat, but the trapped moisture can loosen the bark and leave the exterior softer than desired. Light sprit-zing can be useful for controlling the surface colour if the bark appears to be setting or darkening too quickly; however, it should be used sparingly, as excessive moisture can slow bark formation and extend the cooking process.
I used the interstellar BBQ method of allowing this belly to go into the fridge for 24 hours prior to cubing, this is my preferred method, as you re-smoke the burnt ends again and for me I find the fat and the newly exposed edges do take on some of the extra smoke, I take these back up to around 70c internal before I re-glaze using Firefly Korean BBQ sauce and serve with the salsa.
