Pork Belly Burnt Ends Oven Recipe

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Recipe for Pork Belly Burnt Ends

There is nothing quite like the taste of barbequed or smoked pork belly. Although it is perhaps not the healthiest of meals, the taste of crispy rendered pork fat is truly delicious. This easy recipe will show you how to create some pork belly burnt ends at home in your oven or air fryer.

There is an optional part to this recipe to make a sticky gooey sauce to coat, or dip, the pork burnt ends if you prefer.

seasoned pork belly

Speklapjes or Pork Belly

When we lived in the Netherlands, 'speklapjes' was something my kids loved to eat, either cooked in the pan or on the BBQ. This is where my reputation for burning food at BBQ's comes from, as the speklap fat would melt onto the coals and invariably ignite the BBQ!

pork belly on oven tray

Seasoned Pork belly on oven tray

This was until I discovered you have to cook them in foil containers to prevent this from happening.

Speklapjes are thinly cut pieces of pork belly, sometimes marinated and sometimes not. This recipe takes some basic speklapjes and turns them into some delicious pork belly burnt ends.

Oven, BBQ or Air fryer

Of course, you can always cook this in your BBQ if you prefer, but everyone's BBQ is different – temperatures and hence times vary, thus it is more difficult to specify them in a recipe.

pork belly air fryer

Pork belly in air fryer basket

Therefore this recipe is really aimed at cooking pork belly pieces in the oven or air fryer.

Burnt ends are normally from the brisket cut of beef. This recipe takes pork belly, from a pig, non-marinated, and creates some poor man burnt ends, as the pork belly is generally a cheaper cut.

Pork belly has a high-fat content making these a great keto snack as well (but beware, you should not be eating these every day, because of the high fat content!).

pork belly burnt ends

Pork Belly Burnt Ends

These are great as a snack on game day and can be served on their own, with a sweet sticky dipping sauce (in the recipe), or even coated in the same sticky sauce (a bit messy, but hey, this is why we have plates and cocktail sticks!). You could also serve as a pork belly appetizer if you wish.

pork belly burnt ends in sauce

Burnt ends coated in sticky sweet sauce

I actually served these up as part of a main meal, some in the sauce and some not, for my family. They went down very well indeed with some roast potatoes and roasted asparagus!

pork belly main course

Since I have made these in the oven and air fryer, I believe the air fryer did a better job – it was quicker and the result was crispier than the ones from the oven.

I hope you enjoy trying to make these delicious pork belly treats. If you do, please let me know how you get on in the comments section below!

How to make burnt ends

Ingredients

500g pork belly
Pork or chicken dry rub (I used a sweet and sticky chicken shaker)

Optional : for the sauce

2 tbsp dark soft brown sugar
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 green or red chilli pepper, sliced
Sesame seeds to garnish

Instructions

Cut the pork belly into bite-sized chunks. Then cover with your chosen dry rub (I used a chicken shaker which is a great seasoning for pork or chicken).

In the oven

Place pork belly spaced out on a baking tray and cook in the oven at 180C for 35 minutes. I season it on the tray.

In the air fryer

Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil spray. Then add the seasoned pork belly pieces. Make sure they are well spaced out. Then cook for 20 minutes at 200C.
After 20 minutes, give the basket a shake and cook for a further 10 minutes at 180C.

Optional. The Sticky Sauce

Add the ingredients (except sesame seeds) into a saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil until the sugar is melted.
Then either serve the sauce in a dipping pot, or
Add the cooked pork belly to the pan and stir well until covered. Remove from the heat and garnish with some sesame seeds.

Notes

Serve as a snack, or as part of a main meal.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 3 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 746 Total Fat: 48g Saturated Fat: 16g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 30g Cholesterol: 192mg Sodium: 785mg Carbohydrates: 21g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 16g Protein: 55g

This nutrition information was automatically calculated by Nutritionix, but may not be 100% accurate.