BBQ Pork Belly

A captivating outdoor kitchen scene, embodying the essence of BBQ pork belly preparation, unfolds in a beautifully arranged setting. In the foreground, a large, succulent pork belly, expertly trimmed and marinated, glistens with a rich, golden-brown crust as it rests atop a rustic wooden cutting board. Surrounding it are essential kitchen utensils—a gleaming, sharp chef's knife and a sturdy spatula—highlighting the craftsmanship involved in this culinary art. The background features a well-equipped Weber Performer Deluxe grill, with its lid propped open, releasing wisps of fragrant smoke that curl into the evening air. Glowing charcoal and aromatic hickory chunks are visible inside the grill, promising a depth of flavor. The scene is bathed in a warm, inviting glow from the soft light of a setting sun, filtering through nearby trees, illuminating a vibrant array of colorful spices and seasonings thoughtfully arranged around the pork belly, each jar and bottle hinting at the delicious flavors about to be unleashed. A ceramic plate filled with a glossy BBQ sauce and a sleek pastry brush lies close by, ready to apply tantalizing finishes. In one corner, a small bowl of freshly chopped herbs bursts with green vitality, contrasting with the wooden textures of the kitchen surroundings.

I have recently been reading several articles that spout the virtues of BBQ'd pork belly, so I decided to give it a try. However, trying to find a pork belly in stock at your local grocery store is a challenging thing. I checked a source or two online, and the prices ranged from 15-50 dollars per pound. For me, these costs were outrageously outrageous. Seriously, folks, how many of us can afford $50.00 per pound for fatty pork?

I made some inquiries with grocery stores near my home (a few miles from New Orleans) when, amazingly, I found a Winn Dixie store that had one. The meat market manager told me that he had received an order from someone who wanted three bellies, but since there were four to a case, he had the remaining one in the freezer.

It was more than 14 Lbs and much more than I had planned on buying. That's a bunch of bellies, and I was worried about the cost. I had hoped that the per-pound cost would be somewhere in the $5-$6 bracket. I was shocked when he charged me $2.08 per pound.

Enough about that; so what exactly is a pork belly? Well, it's exactly that—the belly of a pig that is most often used to create one of the tastiest pieces of meat known as bacon.

To make bacon, the pork belly is cured and cold-smoked, but for BBQ, it is not cured or brined but smoked for hours until the fat has been rendered and the meat is as tender as a fine steak. Just think of BBQed pork belly as high-end pulled pork from a pork butt.

I trimmed the belly into several manageable pieces, leaving one large piece to cook. Since this was the only piece of meat I was cooking, I used my Weber Performer Deluxe instead of my Weber 22-inch WSM.

I set up the Performer fueled with Kingston charcoal and hickory chunks and hoped to smoke the belly at 225-250 degrees, but that was not working. Suffice it to say that 300 degrees worked without a hiccup.

After about three hours in the Performer, the belly had a significant amount of smoke but was still tough, so I double-wrapped it in foil and put it in the oven set at 225 degrees.

After about an hour, I was enjoying the wonderful smell of BBQ pork in my kitchen, so I pulled it from the oven. It was oh-so-tender, so I stripped it of its foil and placed it on a cooling rack to set.

The succulent and juicy belly meat was a culinary experience with fat rendered.