Recipe type: Indirect heat followed by direct heat grilling
Serves: 10 to 12
Ingredients
One 4 to 5 pound pork belly with skin left on
⅓ to ½ cup barbecue rub
Extra virgin olive oil
1 head celery, chopped into 3-inch pieces
2 sweet onions, chopped into chunks
2 to 3 cups apple cider
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To finish:
1½ cups sweet & spicy barbecue sauce, (I used Bull Snortin' Hot BBQ Sauce)
3 tablespoons pan dripping from pork belly
Hot dog or sausage buns
Jalapeño BBQ Slaw, (recipe follows)
Instructions
Trim the pork belly to as much as a rectangle as possible. Note the direction the "bacon" is running and, using a very sharp knife or even an Exacto blade or box cutter, score the skin the same direction every ¼- to ½-inch. This will help render the fat and crisp the skin to get that delicious cracklin.
Sprinkle rub liberally over the bottom and top being sure to get it into all the grooves. Drizzle the skin side with olive oil. It's good to go at this point, but to let those spices permeate the meat, wrap with cling film and cure in the refrigerator for 4 hours to overnight.
Set up grill for indirect heat and let it get as hot as it can - 450ºF to 550ºF (I actually remove the heat shields over the lit burners). You want it super hot to start those cracklins a-cracklin'!
Toss together the celery and onions in a roasting pan and place the belly skin-side up over the vegetables. Place the pan over the unlit burners and pour in the apple cider. Close the lid and cook for 25 minutes. (it will take a few minutes for the inside of the grill to get that hot again). After 25 minutes, reduce the temperature and stabilize the grill to 300ºF to 325ºF. Let the belly grill-roast for another 2 hours. NOTE: This can be done in the oven to this point, if desired.
Transfer the pork belly to a cutting board, tent with foil, and cool to room temperature. Note: You can continue with the recipe from this point, but I like to refrigerate the belly overnight to make portioning and grilling the slices a bit easier.
Stir together the barbecue sauce with 3 tablespoons of pan drippings; set aside until ready to use.
Set up grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat. Brush and oil the grates and Have a squirt bottle of water on hand in case of flare-ups... there will be flare-ups!
Slice the pork belly along the score marks into ½- to 1-inch thick pieces. Place slices on the grill for 2 minutes, flip and brush with barbecue sauce; repeat this a couple times.
Transfer slices to a platter and start serving slices in hot dog buns and topped with Jalapeño BBQ Slaw!
Recipe by Grilling Outdoor Recipes powered by Bull Outdoor Products at http://www.grillingoutdoorrecipes.com/pork-belly-hot-dogs-with-jalapeno-bbq-slaw-cuz-thats-how-we-roll/