[Sponsor Note: This is from reader LSA91 after the last podcast:
Lantana Hummus Reads
I love you, Brian, and I know, it's a very professional podcast, but I think the kittens joke undersells Lantana hummus and is played out.
Lantana hummus is (a) delicious and (b) available a bunch of funky and unusual variieties, in addition to the expected, Just say that, and highlight one specific wacky-but-delicious hummus and talk about how good that one is.
I'm not going to say the reads don't work - I actually was listening to "Down with IPAs" this weekend at Kroger and turned around to buy sriacha carrot hummus specifically because you guys reminded me how good it was, but cumong man.
It’s so good we’re getting unsolicited reader endorsements…for hummus! That’s not made of cats!
---------------------------------
Trust me when I tell you how easy this one is. The hardest part of this one will be lying to your cardiologist on how often you eat it. Pork belly is my new obsession and I am well aware on how that is not a good thing. But I don’t care. As long as we cut back on the barley pops by 1, I think it makes up for it, right?
Ingredients:
- Skinless Pork Belly (Costco or Asian Market)
- Sweet Rub (We used Three Little Pigs Cherry)
- Sweet BBQ Sauce (Three Little Pigs Kansas City Sweet)
[Hit THE JUMP for a very high delicious-to-I can do that ratio. Perfect for Rosh Hashanah!]
Directions:
Set your grill or smoker up for indirect heat and shoot for 250 to 275 degrees. As usual, I like to go with Fogo Lump charcoal because it burns hot and clean and they are Michigan Alums. Toss on a few chunks or fruit wood as it pairs well with pork. If you can find pecan, roll with that.
As the smoker heats up, cube your pork belly into 1 inch pieces. Once you have them cubed, dust them with your favorite sweet rub. I love sweet flavors on my pork as well as my chicken. If you like a little heat, go with a spicier rub.
I went with Three Little Pigs Touch of Cherry rub and Kansas City Sweet sauce as we just got done teaching a class with Chris Marks, the owner of Three Little Pigs. He is 9 time World Champion and makes a living traveling around the US and teaching great BBQ. Look him up and check out his classes here. http://three-little-pigs-bbq.com Once the belly is cubed and dusted, place on the pit and let go for at least 3 hours.
After about 2 hours, these will start to darken and the fat will start to render. The smell on these was insane. I like to spread them out a bit so they get smoke in every nook and cranny. I like a nice bark on every inch of my pork belly.
If you are using your trusty instant read thermometer, we are looking for an internal temp of about 190 degrees. They typically take about 4 - 5 hours to reach this stage. Sometimes, its less, sometimes it’s more. BBQ is done when it’s done. As you’re waiting, you know what to do to help curb your hunger. Grab a cold one and your favorite flavor of Lantana Hummus. I went with Black Bean as it has a nice kick. I like spicy along with my sweet from the pork belly.
Once we reach 190, remove from the heat and dust with more rub. I like using a foil pan for this.
Look at that sprinkle motion. That’s is years and years of practice in the making. ;) My new pit, AKA Brian Greasy was out back, so I used my buddies pit he calls Wendle. Not sure why he calls it Wendle, but it worked great.
Add some sauce after your sprinkling is done. Add just enough to coat the pork. We don’t want it swimming in the sauce.
You can never have too many Food Porn pics, so here is another saucing pic. So tasty!!!!
Give them a good mix and put the pan back on the smoker. Let it go for another hour. The sauce will thicken and start to caramelize a bit.
At this point, you can grab a toothpick and go to town. You can grab a tortilla, a Hawaiian roll, a huge hamburger bun or some Texas Toast white bread. Whatever you grab, load it up. You can also shred it with a fork at this point. This is also good over rice. All I can tell you is that it’s near perfection. So tender and tasty that you will feel a little dirty after enjoying this one.
Let me know what you think of this one. If your cardiologist asked, you didn’t get it from me. Have a great weekend everyone. Go Blue!!!!