Outlaw Smoked Pork Belly
(AKA - Bacon)
Ingredients:
Fresh pork
belly. Any size or number you desire.
Sea salt
Course black
pepper
Red pepper
(optional)
Garlic powder
Brown sugar
Honey
Apple Juice
Recommended wood:
Apple
Preparation:
Rinse the pork
belly and pat dry with paper towels.
On the skin side, cut shallow diagonal lines across the entire
skin. Do not cut deep into the meat, try to cut the skin only.
Turn the belly a quarter turn and repeat. The cuts will
now have the typical diamond or grill mark pattern.
Coat belly all over with honey.
Apply salt, pepper, red pepper, garlic powder and brown
sugar liberally over entire belly.
Make sure to work the spice and honey well down into the
cuts on the skin.
Wrap the pork belly with foil or plastic wrap and place in
the refrigerator for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.
Smoking:
Take the pork
belly out of the wrap and let it warm up to room temperature or
as close as possible.
Preheat the
smoker to 225 degrees.
Place the pork belly
directly on the smoker rack, skin
side down, or place the belly on a rack inside a deep
pan to save on cleanup.
Smoke the pork belly for
3 to 4 hours, spritzing with apple juice hourly, until you reach
an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Don’t over
smoke. Pork belly takes on smoke very easily.
Remove the belly from
the smoker and place it on double foil skin side down.
If desired you can apply
more of the sugar and honey on top of the belly before wrapping.
Wrap the pork belly
tightly with the foil and place it back in the smoker.
Continue to cook at 225
degrees until the belly reaches an internal done temperature of
197 to 200 degrees.
This could take up to an
additional 3 to 4 hours.
Remove the belly
from the smoker and let it rest in the foil for about 30
minutes.
Optional:
If you prefer to have a
crispier skin, the belly can be finished off on a hot grill,
skin side down, or under an oven broiler, skin side up.
