This smoked pork belly recipe is an absolute must try for any BBQ lover! This pork belly brisket uses simple ingredients and cooks in less time than the traditional beef brisket. As a bonus, it also costs less. Let me show you the process.

Watch the Video!

https://youtu.be/2rQS1ykhFwI

Ingredients Needed

Here’s all you need for this easy recipe:

• Pork belly (about 3-5 lbs.)
• Kosher salt
• Pepper (medium mesh)
• Apple juice
• Apple cider vinegar
• Beef Tallow (optional)

Can You Smoke Pork Belly Like a Brisket?

You absolutely can smoke pork belly like a brisket. It has great flavor and cooks in less time. Pork belly is also more affordable than beef brisket, which less time and less cost makes this more desirable to make.

Did you know that pork belly is where bacon comes from? Knowing this makes this cut more desirable!

Do You Need to Brine Pork Belly Before Smoking?

While it is necessary to brine pork belly when making bacon, it is not required for smoking like a brisket. We don’t brine beef brisket before smoking, so same rules apply with pork.

Getting Started

The pork belly should be around three to five pounds. Some stores sell them this way while others, like Costco, sell the full slab. A full slab will be around 10 pounds.

If you have a full slab, cut out the center portion, leaving two ends. The center will have the highest ratio of meat to fat. Save the two ends for other recipes like pork belly burnt ends or bacon.

Prep the pork belly by scoring the fat on top. Lay the meat on the cutting board fat side up, take a sharp knife and make a diagonal cut across the fat about 1/4 inch deep. Repeat this every couple of inches.

Once all of those cuts are made, make additional cuts on top in the opposite direction. When done, scoring the fat will give it a checkerboard look.

How to Season

Since we are cooking pork belly brisket, it makes sense to season it like a brisket. For this pork belly recipe, I’m using an equal mix of kosher salt and medium mesh black pepper. Apply a light to moderate amount of seasoning as the larger granules will produce more flavor. Season all sides equally.

When it comes to binders, such as mustard, mayonnaise, or olive oil, I prefer to skip it. It’s not necessary and doesn’t add much flavor. Unless you’re using hot sauce or even BBQ sauce. Sweet and spicy flavors will stand out.

Cooking on the Smoker

With the grill preheated to 250 degrees over indirect heat, place the seasoned pork belly on the grill grates fat side up. This allows the fat to render into the meat, producing more flavor in each bite.

Spritz the meat once an hour with a mix of equal parts apple juice and apple cider vinegar. This will help prevent the outside of the meat from drying out.

When it comes to smoking woods, pork lends itself very well to all sorts of fruit woods and hard woods. Fruit woods such as cherry, apple, or peach give off sweet, mild flavors. Hard woods like oak, maple, and hickory are rich and savory and help the natural flavor of the meat stand out. With that said, I use a blend of cherry and hickory with smoked pork belly.

Should You Wrap Pork Belly When Smoking?

Wrapping smoked pork belly with pink butcher paper helps trap some additional heat while allowing some air flow. Also known as the “Texas crutch”, this helps the meat cook faster and push it past the “stall”.

The stall happens when meat reaches a point that it starts to “sweat” and cool itself down. This means the meat is regulating its own temp and stops progressing. This can take an hour or two to get past. Wrapping helps meat cook faster.

When wrapping, pull meat off the grill when it hits an internal temp of around 165 degrees. Wrap in pink butcher paper is preferred, but foil works too. Keep in mind when wrapping in foil that the meat will cook faster and texture will be soggy. If wrapping in foil, remove it near the end of the cook to let the outside of the meat develop that bark-like texture.

How Long Does it Take to Smoke Pork Belly?

All in all, it will take around six hours to fully smoke pork belly like a brisket. When it comes to barbecue, it is best to go off of temperature, not time. The internal temperature we are looking for the meat to be at is 202 degrees.

Resting and Slicing

Resting meat is important as it allows the the food to finish cooking internally and let those savory meat juices build up inside. Slicing too early will allow all of that flavor to run out. Rest the smoked pork belly in a cooler for about an hour before removing.

Cut the pork belly brisket into pencil thin slices. Make sure to slice against the grain. In this case, it should look like you’re slicing bacon.

Similar Recipes to Try

Smoked Beef Brisket

BBQ Maple Pork Belly Burnt Ends

Texas Style Spare Ribs

Hot n’ Fast Pulled Pork

Smoked Brisket Pastrami

Smoked St. Louis Style Ribs

Pickles have grown in even more popularity recently and the fried pickle dip recipe is now the perfect dip to try! This easy pickle dip recipe stands out as it uses smoked cream cheese, ranch seasoning, and bacon. And dill pickles, of course (amongst other things).

Ingredients for Fried Pickle Dip Recipe

Here’s what dill pickle dip is made of:

• Dill pickles
• Pickle brine (or pickle juice)
• Bacon
• Ranch seasoning
• Cream cheese
• Mayonnaise
• Crushed pretzels
• Butter (or bacon grease)
• Dill

Pickle Dip Recipe Video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HN9U_YMtas

How Do I Smoke Cream Cheese?

One of the key ingredients in this easy recipe is smoked cream cheese. You may be wondering how to make smoked cream cheese, but know that it’s super simple! Simply take an 8 ounce brick of cream cheese and place on a small baking sheet.

Score the top of the cream cheese with cuts about 1/4 inch deep. Season with your favorite BBQ rub and smoke at 225 degrees for up to two hours. That’s it!

Smoked cream cheese also makes a great appetizer that stands on it’s own. It can be sweet or savory. I have a smoked cream cheese recipe with pepper jelly that is a must try!

Bacon and Pretzel Crumbs

While the cream cheese is being smoked, prep the bacon by cooking four strips in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until desired doneness, which for me is a little crispy. Remove bacon from the skillet and dice into small pieces, but leave the bacon grease! We’ll use it to toast the half cup of pretzel crumbs, which make up the “fried” portion of this fried pickle dip recipe.

If you don’t have two tablespoons worth of bacon grease, then use two tablespoons of butter. Cook the pretzel crumbs at medium low heat for 5 to 10 minutes. A lot of recipes call for panko bread crumbs, but I like the crushed pretzels toasted in bacon grease. You can substitute panko bread crumbs instead.

Prepping the Dill Pickles

Take four dill pickles and dice them up into small pieces, between a fourth inch to half inch. To do that, cut each dill pickle spear longways in half. Then cut the mushy, seedy part off from the middle. This will help you cut each half pickle spear into another half. Dice and set aside.

Bringing the Easy Dill Pickle Dip Recipe All Together

In a small mixing bowl, place smoked cream cheese, diced dill pickles, bacon, and most of the pretzel crumbs inside. Now add in the rest of the wet ingredients: a cup of mayonnaise and three tablespoons of pickle brine.

For dry ingredients, add two tablespoons of ranch seasoning and two teaspoons of fresh dill. Note: you can use freeze dried dill instead of fresh dill.

Mix the ingredients altogether and serve! Keep in mind that the consistency of the dip will by a little runny at first because the cream cheese is still warm. As the fried dill pickle dip sits, it will develop a more smooth, slightly firmer texture. Make sure to top with remaining bread crumbs and some pieces of dill pickle you may have left over.

What to Serve with this Fried Pickle Dip Recipe

This fried pickle dip recipe with ranch and bacon can be served with thicker potato chips, such as Ruffles. I also love it with crackers, pretzels, bagel chips, crostini, and even veggies such as carrots and broccoli.

How Long is This Pickle Dip Good For?

Since this dip uses cooked bacon, it will stay good for up to four days in stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Keep in mind this dip will thicken as it is chilled.

Other Dips to Try

Philly Cheesesteak Dip

Smoked Queso Dip

Elote Dip (Mexican Street Corn)

Smoked Buffalo Chicken Dip

Queso Fundido

Chimichurri Sauce

Crack burgers are very addictive due to the tasty combo of flavors such as bacon, ranch seasoning, and cheddar. This burger gets its name, as well as most of its ingredients, from crack chicken.

The recipe is simple and the end result is addicting…hence the name!

Burger Ingredients

• Ground Beef – 80/20 preferred
• Bacon
• Cheddar cheese – shredded
• Sour cream
• Ranch seasoning
• Salt
• Pepper
• Toppings as preferred

https://youtu.be/TLZaGBScGtE?si=_0wgJ6Bfxt6aimRv

Cooking the Bacon

First things first: cook the bacon. Take six strips of bacon and cook either on a griddle or in a skillet at medium heat. Flip the strips as they start to shrivel and cook to desired doneness. For this recipe, I cook them to be a crispy so they crumble easily. If cooked to be a bit more soft, then dice up cooked bacon into 1/4 inch pieces. This should make about 1/2 cup of diced up bacon or crumbles. Set aside.

Mixing the Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, add in one and a half pounds of ground beef. I recommend 80/20 blend (80% beef, 20% fat) due to the extra flavor the fat brings. Going leaner (anything more than 85/15) removes more of the natural flavor and burgers can be at risk of drying out easier during the cook.

With your ground beef in the bowl, add in those bacon pieces from earlier, along with one cup of shredded cheddar cheese, two tablespoons of ranch seasoning, and a fourth cup of sour cream. Mix by hand (I like to wear nitrile gloves) until the ingredients are well blended.

Making Crack Burger Patties

To form the burger patties, grab one-fourth of a pound of the ground beef mixture and roll into a ball. Once the ball is formed, press the burger into a patty by pressing your hands together and pushing together any cracks that may form on the edges. Doing this will make six burger patties.

Pro tip: press a divot into the center of each burger patty. Doing this will help keep the burger from shrinking up and forming a big clump in the middle. You will have a nice, even burger patty this way.

How Long to Cook Burgers

Cook the burgers on medium high heat (350-375 degrees) on a greased griddle. This can also be done over direct heat on a grill, too. I prefer the griddle (or skillet) in order to get a nice, even crust on the outsides of the burgers.

These burger patties should cook for five minutes on the first side. Flip and cook for four minutes on the other side before adding a slice of cheese on top. Once that cheese slice is on the crack burger, let cook for another minute or until the cheese is perfectly melted.

Pro Tip: to speed up the cheese melting process, close the lid to your grill or griddle. If no lid is available, covering with a metal mixing bowl works too.

Toasty Buns

Toasting hamburger buns is easy. After your burgers are done cooking, place hamburger buns face down on the same griddle or grill space. The grease left over will give the buns a little extra flavor and keep them from burning too quickly. Check every 30 seconds until it is toasted perfectly with a nice browned surface.

Crack Burger Toppings

Ideal toppings for a crack burger are burger sauce and pickles. I have a burger sauce recipe that uses a mix of ketchup, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, relish, and Worcestershire sauce. It’s tangy and sweet flavor is perfect for burgers! It also makes for an excellent dipping sauce for your fries.

Another topping I love on cheeseburgers is caramelized onions. You only need three ingredients for these: onions, butter, and salt. These are pretty easy to make, but take about an hour so I recommend making ahead of time. Follow my simple tutorial on how to make caramelized onions here.

Similar Recipes to Try

Five Guys Copycat Fries

Garlic Bacon Burgers

Jalapeno Popper Burgers

Hawaiian Roll Cheeseburger Sliders

Cheesesteak Sliders