Charred chunks of pork resting on a grill grate

Chef Darin Leonardson

Spit'n Fire Fiery Pork Belly Burnt Ends

Pork belly burnt ends are sometimes called meat candy, and the name is honest about what they are. Ninety minutes at 300°F is entirely about rendering fat. You are not browning yet, you are not glazing yet, you are just waiting for fat to become liquid and leave. Rush that and you serve people cubes of raw fat with sauce on them.

Sauce goes on after the render, never before. If you sauce these at the start, the brown sugar sits in rendering pork fat for an hour and a half and turns bitter and black. Roast naked, then toss in the Spit'n Fire and brown sugar mixture, then take the temperature up to 375°F for the last half hour.

This is the hottest sauce in the Mr. PoPo's line and pork belly is the richest cut in the case, and those two facts are what make this work. Fat blunts capsaicin, so heat that would be punishing on chicken reads as balanced here. Small portions, three ounces, and warn anyone who has not eaten your food before.

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Details

Entrée

12 servings

about 3 oz pork belly

Ingredients

• 3 lb pork belly, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1½ cups Mr. PoPo's Spit'n Fire BBQ Sauce
• Same hand motion as when you rub a pork shoulder
• In the last 10 minutes, take the glaze to glossy and pull the pan

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C) and line a roasting pan with foil.
2. Season the pork belly cubes with salt and pepper and arrange them in a single layer in the pan.
3. Roast 1½ hours, stirring once, until most of the fat has rendered and the edges begin to brown.
4. Whisk the brown sugar and Spit'n Fire BBQ Sauce together in a bowl.
5. Pour the sauce mixture over the pork belly and toss to coat evenly.
6. Raise the oven to 375°F (190°C) and roast 25 to 30 minutes, stirring once, until the cubes are sticky and caramelized.
7. Serve hot in small portions.

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