"Pork’s answer to brisket burnt ends, this recipe calls for cubed skinless pork belly instead of a cubed brisket point. Once you taste them, you’ll know why they’re nicknamed pork candy."
For the dry rub:
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground black pepper (ideally 16 mesh)
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons brown sugar
For the pork belly:
10 pounds pork belly, skinned and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 stick butter, cut into pats
For the bourbon BBQ sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic
¾ cup bourbon
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon cayenne
⅓ cup brown sugar
2 cups ketchup
kosher salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
Load the Big Green Egg with natural lump charcoal and mix in three chunks of hickory or apple wood. Now light the charcoal and preheat the Big Green Egg to 250°F, using the convEGGtor for indirect grilling.
In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients for the dry rub. Cover the pork cubes with the mustard. Season them with the dry rub mixture, coating the pieces well. Let the pork cubes sit at room temperature while your Big Green Egg comes up to temp.
Once the Big Green Egg is ready, place the pork belly on a wire baking rack, place the baking rack inside the Big Green Egg, and let the meat cook undisturbed for 1½ hours.
While the pork is smoking, make your bourbon BBQ sauce. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and sauté the mixture for 1–2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce and bring the mixture to a low boil. Reduce the heat to low, then use an immersion blender to blend the mixture into a smooth sauce. Alternatively, carefully transfer the mixture to a countertop blender and blend it until smooth, then pour the sauce back into the saucepan. Simmer for 30 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Set the sauce aside and keep it warm.
At the 1½-hour mark, check the internal temperature of the pork belly cubes. When it measures 190°F, pull the cubes from the Big Green Egg. Place them in a half-sized aluminum pan and top with the brown sugar and honey. Nestle the pieces of butter among the pork cubes. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and put the pan back in the smoker. Cook the pork for 60–90 minutes, until tender.
When the smoky pork cubes are tender, remove the foil from the pan, pour out the liquid from the pan, and add the Bourbon BBQ Sauce. Carefully mix the sauce with the cubed pork, making sure each piece gets covered.
Place the pan of sauced porky goodness back in the Big Green Egg so the sauce can set, no more than 10 minutes. Take the pan off the Big Green Egg and transfer the sauced pork belly to a serving bowl.