This Is The Key To Perfect Texture And Flavor In Pork Belly Burnt Ends

There are endless ways to enjoy pork belly, and turning them into burnt ends really highlights their delectable nature. The dish is smoky and rich, while simultaneously being crispy and tender. It takes practice to create such perfection, but we spoke to an expert who has just the trick for making incredible pork belly burnt ends.

For burnt ends with the best flavor and texture, some prep work is involved. Rich Parente, chef and owner of Clock Tower Grill in Brewster, New York, has a farm-to-table approach that exemplifies this. Along with his wife Cassie, the co-owner and general manager, the two run Clock Tower Farm. They raise livestock, grow fruits and vegetables, and produce maple syrup, one of Parente's key ingredients for great pork belly burnt ends. "It starts by curing pork belly in a salt brine with maple syrup and sugar," he divulges. "All that sugar is what helps the burnt ends caramelize and gives them their distinct smoky-sweet flavor."

A brown sugar brine is all you need for perfectly flavored pork chops, and it's incredible for pork belly burnt ends, too. The salt in the brine breaks down the proteins in the meat, ultimately making it more tender and juicy. Salt also adds flavor, but that mostly comes from the sugar and maple syrup. As the burnt ends cook, the sugars caramelize first, lending the pork a deliciously sweet crust.

To tenderize the pork belly, leave it in the maple syrup and sugar brine for at least one hour. The longer it stays in, the juicier it'll be. However, you don't want to exceed about 12 hours. If you brine the pork too long, it'll end up being too salty and overly soft.

Brining pork belly with the right ingredients helps out the taste and texture tremendously, but the results are also determined by how you cook them. In order to get the crackly texture evenly distributed across each burnt end, they'll need to be prepped just right. "Cut them into 1 ½-inch cubes so they can get crispy on all six sides in the smoker," says Parente. The smaller size will allow each piece to cook quickly and evenly, allowing the pork to be thoroughly caramelized.

If you don't have a smoker, that's not a problem — you can make pork belly burnt ends in the oven. Smokers use indirect heat, similarly to a convection oven, so it's best if you use that type of appliance. The brining process is the same, and you can use liquid smoke in addition to give the pork belly an even bolder flavor.