Here is how this one came about. My brother Mike had tried some home made bacon at my house and loved it I sent him home with some porkbelly and instruction on how to make it himself. In the mean time I cooked the porkbelly burnt ends and told him about them.  So we were to meet up at the family cabin in northern Michigan so we could do a batch together.

We had some issues Mike forgot the porkbelly, and the smoker he bought from a friend didn’t work. Oh and we didn’t have charcoal . So a quick trip to the store for charcoal and lighter fluid and getting the Weber from the other cabin and we were off and running. Here is what resulted.

5 pound pork belly (get a lean one)
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup good maple syrup no imitation syrup he don’t go cheap
1 teaspoon pepper
2 Cups sweet bbq sauce
Time 5 days for marinating 5 hours for smoking
1 smoker or a 22 inch Webber kettle grill

In a Tupperware 9 x 13 dish place pork belly

Sprinkle with salt and 1/4 cup maple syrup refrigerate turn over every day add salt and on day 3 add 1/4 cup maple syrup and pepper

If you have a smoker
Set pork belly on rack and set a drip pan below (you don’t want to clean the smoker if you don’t)
Set temp to 250 following for the smoker direction for adding wood or pellets
Smoke for 3 hours remove and let set for 20 minutes
Cut into cubes
And your favorite sweet bar-b-que sauce
Smoke for two additional hours
Serve

Webber indirect method
Soak 4 cups of apple wood chips in water
Place a foil pan 9×13 and 16 charcoals on either side light
Place porkbelly in center of grill
Add wood 1/2 cup of wood chips every hour add 8 charcoals to each side and wood chips put on both sides thru the sides of Webber grill plate
Keep an eye on your fire (thing can get out of hand to hot or too cold)
Repeat every hour for two more hours
Remove porkbelly and let rest for 20 minutes
Cut into cubes sauce with favorite sweet bar-b-que sauce
Return to Webber smoke for an additional 2 hours adding charcoal and wood chips every hour
Serve