My local butcher happened to have a 12 pound beef belly on hand the other day and there was no other option than it coming home with me.
I spent some time pondering what to do with this massive pile of beef and decided to cut it into four sections and have a little fun!
Here is how I used two of the belly sections to make some seriously great barbecue!
Brisket Style Beef Belly
The brisket and belly on a steer share a lot in common. They have great fat content, are located next to each other and benefit from a long slow cook. I figured it kind of made sense to try treating the belly like a brisket and see how it did!
I seasoned two of the belly slabs with a brisket rub and put them on the smoker with some hickory at 250F.
After four hours the bellies reached an internal temperature of 185F.
I took one of the bellies off, sliced it into one inch cubes and tossed them in a foil pan with some Head Country Hot barbecue sauce. This was covered and returned to the smoker for another hour to make some beef belly burnt ends.
The other belly stayed on the pit until it was probe tender, about another two hours. The belly had reached an internal temp of about 203F at that point.
The second belly was rested, sliced and served along with the burnt ends to make a pretty awesome “brisket style” platter. Oh yeah!
Beef Belly Smoked Brisket Style with Burnt Ends
Ingredients
- 2 Beef Belly Slabs About three pounds each
- 1/2 cup Morton Seasoned Salt Brisket rub
- 1/2 cup black pepper Brisket rub
- 2 tbsp chili powder Brisket rub
- 1 tbsp turbinado sugar Brisket rub
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika Brisket rub
- 1 tsp Accent (MSG) Brisket rub
- 1 cup Head Country barbecue sauce Brisket rub
Instructions
- Combine the brisket rub ingredients and mix well.
- liberally season the bellies with the brisket rub.
- Allow the meat to rest for one hour at room temperature to let the rub work into the meat.
- Smoke the beef bellies at 250F with hickory for four hours or until they reach an internal temperature of 185F.
- MAKE THE BURNT ENDS: Remove one belly from the smoker. Slice it into 1 inch cubes, place in a foil pan with more dry rub and barbecue sauce. Cover in foil and return to smoker.
- Continue smoking until the internal temperature of the intact belly is 205F and the burnt ends are tender. About another two hours.
