Best Internal Temp to pull Pork Belly to be used in Chili?

[Dominick A]

I'm a first time pork belly smoker here getting ready to throw it on my cooker. I'm having some doubts about how long to let it go seeing as I want to cube it or chop it up small to throw into some chili for tomorrow.

I rubbed it last night and was planning on smoking it at 250. I've seen people take it to 195-200 to pull, but I'm not sure how that would play going into chili. I was going to prep my chili tonight and warm it in a crock pot tomorrow.

Should I pull it at 165-170 so it is firmer to cube? If I threw it into the chili right from the smoker, would it continue tenderizing from there?

Thanks!

 

[ChuckO]

I think (but I don't know) that cooking it to 165 is a good way to go. You would get the smoke flavoring and you would get a good bark. You could then cut it up and put it in your chili to tenderize. You might even cut it into large cubes before smoking it, thereby reducing the time in the smoker and increasing the "bark area."

The video below looks fantastic and I'm inspired to try this cook doing the above, cutting it into large cubes before smoking (unless others chime in with a better process)

 

[Dominick A]

Thanks Chuck....I spotted that video earlier in the week too!

I think I'll pull it at about 165. It's been on a little while now, not too worried about how long its on there. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[ChuckO]

I only wish I knew about this before, it would be what I'm doing for tomorrow. It will be a to do in the very near future. Good luck with your cook, hope to see some pictures of it

 

[Rich Dahl]

Really agree with Chuck, but then again I've never done PB with chili. Video looks like it would be good, different for sure. Good luck and please post your results.

 

[Dominick A]

Ok, so I guess it's picture story time on this.....

The pork belly began smoking at about 10:30am Saturday morning:

Around 3:30pm, I started working up the chili base. I used this recipe to start and then added in an extra can of sauce and a can of diced tomatoes and chiles. I'm not an avid chili maker, but have been reading about day old coffee or stout beer adding some nice complex flavors. I saw this bottle of Lagunitas when I was picking up some other items and figured this could be the best of both worlds.

I let this simmer really low for about 2-3 hours. Until the belly hit 165F, which it did at 6:00pm here:

I brought it in, let it rest for about 30 minutes under foil. I then started checking this thing out and slicing it up:

How did the pork belly taste on it's own? My first bite was super rich. The layer of fat didn't chew, it was a nice buttery consistency that felt like it melted in my mouth as I worked the meat. Overall, the bites with meat reminded me of a slightly tough brisket in texture, while the outside slice I cut was more pulled pork since it was cooked hotter on the outside.

I cut a couple of strips about an inch or so think and then diced it up from there. I did this for a full pound worth of pork belly and dumped it in the pot. As I continued cutting, I kept tasting, naturally! On its own, and with a little bbq sauce. I noticed that the fat was now tough & chewy. I started to freak out a little. Remember, I've never cooked a pork belly before. If it wasn't for you guys saying "165F is good, it will finish off in the chili", I may have scrapped the whole thing. So, I decided to put just another half pound in the pot, which was going to be plenty. However, I removed the thick layers of fat from the chunks I was dicing up. I felt good about this decision since I didn't want people spitting out tough grisly bites.

I let that all simmer real low for about an hour, then I turned the heat off and let the pot cool down. I then put the lid back on and wrapped it up in the fridge to let everything come together overnight. The next morning, I pulled out the crock pot and started to warm the chili between 11am-12pm.

We left home about 3pm with the crock pot plugged into the sweet mini van outlet for our 30 minute ride to the party. My concerns over the fat layer and the meat's tenderness were totally overblown. Every bite I had was uber tender with not a hint of chewiness. The smokiness from the pork was evident but not overstated. The heat was just right. You would think 1/4 cup of chili powder is a lot, but it cooked out really well. Nothing but good reviews.

The ball wasn't even kicked off yet and the pot was half gone. Multiple second helpings amidst a nice overall spread.

I think this is the only thing that could have slowed down the front line of the Bronco's D. I still have a few pounds of belly left that I'm thinking I can make another 2 crock pots worth and freeze. I'm heading home to have another bowl, thanks for your thoughts on Saturday morning and helping me keep my head in the game

 

[Dominick A]

I actually had 3 lbs of belly leftover. I split it evenly. With one half, I made another full pot like the one you see above. Only this time, I left all of the fat on. Instead of large cubes, I sliced it like thick bacon strips, and then sliced vertically giving about 1" x 1/4" x 1/4" pieces. The other 1.5 pounds I bagged and froze. I also bagged and froze the majority of the second pot of chili. It got to be too much and I didn't want to waste it. I found the belly was best in the chili when really hot so that the fat wasn't chewy.

I can't say that I will ever by pork belly again, unless I get a nice slicer to make bacon. Using it as I did here, I personally didn't like the consistency of the pork belly with all of the fat on. The first pot with the majority of the fat trimmed was outstanding, so I think I would shoot for a different cut of pork if I wanted to work it into a pot of chili like I did here. Cheers!