- August 30, 2026
- Grilling
Smoked Pork Belly Recipe
This brisket-style smoked pork belly recipe features a whole slab of pork belly coated in BBQ seasoning and SPG, then smoked low and slow at 275°F until the fat renders and the meat is incredibly tender. Rest it well and slice it thick for rich, smoky BBQ pork belly that’s perfect as a main course or piled onto sandwiches.
This smoked pork belly is cooked brisket-style for a completely different take on the usual sticky pork belly burnt ends. A whole slab of pork belly is seasoned with layers of BBQ rub and SPG, then smoked low and slow at 275°F until the fat renders and the meat becomes incredibly tender. After a long rest, slice it into thick slices just like beef brisket for a smoky, rich main course that’s perfect for BBQ platters, sandwiches, and more.
Why This Smoked Pork Belly Recipe Works
- Brisket-style cooking creates the right texture: Smoking a whole pork belly instead of cutting it into pork belly cubes gives you tender meat surrounded by beautifully rendered layers of fat.
- Layering the seasonings builds bark: A BBQ rub adds the primary flavor, while an SPG rub adds kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder, creating additional texture across the surface area.
- It’s surprisingly hands-off: Once the slab of pork belly goes onto the smoker, the cooking process is mostly about maintaining temperature, occasionally spritzing, and waiting for the pork to become probe tender.
Why Smoke Pork Belly Brisket Style?
Instead of cutting the pork belly into cubes before smoking, this method keeps the whole pork belly intact and treats it much like a beef brisket.
The seasoned slab goes directly onto the grill grates at 275°F, where it develops a smoky bark while the interior layers of fat slowly render. Once the pork reaches about 200–205°F and feels probe tender, it gets a long rest before being cut into thick slices.
Keeping the pork belly whole also makes this cooking process much simpler than traditional pork belly burnt ends. There isn’t a second cooking stage with a foil pan, butter, brown sugar, and BBQ sauce. It’s simply seasoned, smoked, spritzed, rested, and sliced.
Burnt ends, on the other hand, are cut into inch cubes, which creates more surface area for seasoning, smoke, and sauce. They’re typically finished until sticky and caramelized and the reason they’re often called meat candy.
If you’re looking for that style instead, try my Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends. Or, when you don’t want to use the smoker, my Oven Baked Pork Belly Burnt Ends gives you that same sweet and sticky pork belly bite from the oven.
Ingredients
You only need a handful of ingredients for this smoked pork belly recipe.
Whole Pork Belly: Look for a skinless slab of pork belly with relatively even layers of fat and meat throughout. You can use a full pork belly or a smaller section depending on the size of your smoker.
Binder: I used mayonnaise because it adheres well and helps the seasonings stick. Mustard, hot sauce, or a light coating of oil are also good choices. The binder itself doesn’t contribute much flavor after several hours of smoking.
BBQ Rub: Use your favorite BBQ rub as the main seasoning layer. A sweet rub containing ingredients such as brown sugar, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, or cayenne pepper is a great choice here.
SPG Rub: A simple dry rub made with kosher salt, coarse black pepper, and garlic gives the exterior additional seasoning and texture. You can use your favorite SPG blend or your own original rub.
Apple Cider Vinegar: I dilute apple cider vinegar with water for the spritz. Apple juice can also be added if you prefer a slightly sweeter spritz.
How To Prepare Pork Belly for the Smoker
Place the pork belly onto a large cutting board and pat it completely dry.
Look over the fat cap and trim away any extremely thick or hard pieces of fat if necessary. You don’t need to aggressively trim pork belly because a good portion of those layers of fat will render during the hours of smoking.
Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise or your preferred binder over all sides of the pork belly. Apply the BBQ rub first, followed by an even layer of SPG.
The combination of a finer BBQ rub followed by the coarser salt and black pepper mixture helps develop texture on the outside of the pork.
You can smoke it immediately after seasoning. If you prefer to season ahead, cover it with plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This gives the salt time to act almost like a dry brine. Remove it from the refrigerator while the smoker preheats; there’s no need to bring a large cut of meat completely to room temperature before cooking.
How To Smoke Pork Belly Brisket Style
1. Preheat the Smoker
Preheat your smoker to 275 degrees F. and set it up for indirect heat. This method works well on a charcoal smoker, pellet smoker, pellet grill, electric smoker, or Traeger grill. If you’re using a smoker that requires wood chips or chunks, add them according to your smoker’s instructions.
Apple wood is a great choice for pork because it produces a mild, slightly sweet smoky flavor. Hickory, pecan, cherry, and oak are also good choices.
2. Season the Pork Belly
Pat the slab of pork belly dry and trim it as needed. Coat the exterior lightly with mayonnaise or another binder. Apply an even layer of BBQ seasoning followed by the SPG rub.
3. Smoke the Pork Belly
Place the pork belly directly onto the grill grates. If your smoker has heat coming primarily from underneath, I prefer placing the pork belly fat-side toward the heat source. On many pellet grills, that means smoking it fat-side down. Smoker designs vary, so use the fat cap as protection from the strongest heat rather than following a universal fat-side-up or smoker fat-side-down rule.
Smoke at 275°F for approximately 3 1/2-4 hours.
4. Spritz as Needed
Once the seasoning has set and a bark has started forming, lightly spritz the pork belly with diluted apple cider vinegar.
Repeat a few times during the remainder of the cooking process if the exterior looks dry. Avoid excessive spritzing because repeatedly opening the smoker lowers the temperature and can extend the cook.
5. Check for Tenderness
Use a meat thermometer to monitor the internal temperature.
The pork belly is generally ready somewhere around 200-205°F internal temperature, but temperature is a guideline rather than the final test.
Insert your thermometer probe into several of the thickest areas. The finished pork should feel very tender with little resistance.
6. Rest
Remove the smoked pork belly from the smoker and let it rest for at least 2 hours before slicing.
For a longer hold, loosely wrap the pork belly in aluminum foil or butcher paper and keep it warm. Resting allows the rendered fat and juices to settle and makes the pork substantially easier to slice.
7. Slice and Serve
Transfer the pork belly to a large cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut across the slab into thick slices, similar to how you would slice a beef brisket. Serve warm as a main course or use the pork belly slices for sandwiches and other recipes.
Tips for the Best Smoked Pork Belly
Don’t cook by temperature alone. Internal temperature tells you when you’re getting close, but tenderness tells you when you’re actually done. Start probing around 195°F and continue until the thickest areas feel tender.
Season every surface. Pork belly is extremely rich. A flavorful exterior rub balances those layers of fat, particularly after the finished slab is sliced.
Don’t overspritz. Apple cider vinegar helps keep the exterior from drying out, but too much moisture can soften the bark you’re trying to build.
Follow your smoker’s heat source. Instead of getting caught up in whether the fat side should always face up or down, position the fat toward the stronger heat source.
Give it a long rest. Cutting immediately after smoking can result in a messier, greasier slice. A two-hour rest improves both texture and slicing.
Use a very sharp knife. A sharp slicing knife makes it much easier to cut cleanly through the alternating layers of meat and rendered fat.
Ways To Serve Smoked Pork Belly
Serve thick slices exactly as you would sliced brisket with classic BBQ sides like my dill pickle coleslaw, smoked baked beans, cornbread biscuits, smoked mac and cheese, or traditional deli style potato salad.
It’s also fantastic for pork belly sandwiches. Layer warm slices onto a toasted bun with pickles, slaw, and your favorite BBQ sauce.
Leftovers can be chopped and added to breakfast style country potatoes, eggs, tacos, pork belly fried rice, ramen, or smoked mac and cheese.
And if you want the pork belly to become an appetizer instead of a main course, cut the smoked meat into cubes and turn the leftovers into saucy pork belly bites.
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer smoking pork belly at 275°F because it’s still relatively low, but hot enough to efficiently render the substantial fat layers throughout the meat.
You can smoke pork belly at a lower temperature, such as 225-250°F, but it will extend the total cooking time. At 275°F, you can still build plenty of smoky flavor and bark while allowing the fat to render in about 3 1/2-4 hours.
I don’t wrap this pork belly during the smoking process. Keeping the meat exposed directly on the grill grates helps develop a better bark and deeper smoky flavor. If the exterior darkens before the pork is tender, you can loosely wrap it in aluminum foil or transfer it to a foil pan or disposable pan to finish cooking.
Position the fat side toward the primary heat source. The fat cap can act as a protective barrier and help shield the meat from more intense heat. On many pellet smoker or pellet grill setups where the heat comes primarily from below, this means placing the pork belly fat-side down. Smoker designs vary, so I prefer this approach over a blanket rule that pork belly should always cook fat-side up or down.
Pork works well with both mild fruit woods and stronger smoking woods. Apple wood is a great choice because it adds a mild, slightly sweet smoky flavor without overpowering the pork. Cherry, pecan, oak, and hickory are also good choices. If you’re using an electric smoker, add wood chips according to the manufacturer’s directions.
More Recipes To Try
Smoked Pork Belly Recipe
Ingredients
- 4-5 lb Skinless Pork Belly (full slab)
- 2-3 tbsp Mayo or other preferred binder
- 1/4 cup BBQ Dry Rub
- 3 tbsp SPG Rub for added texture and layering
Spritz
- 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Water
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker. Preheat your smoker to 275°F and set it up for indirect heat. Add your preferred smoking wood as needed.
- Prep the pork belly. Place the pork belly onto a large cutting board and pat it dry with paper towels. Trim away any excessively thick or hard pieces of exterior fat if needed.
- Add the binder. Coat all sides of the pork belly with a thin, even layer of mayonnaise or your preferred binder.
- Season the pork belly. Generously coat the pork belly with your BBQ dry rub. Follow with an even layer of SPG seasoning to add additional salt, pepper, garlic flavor, and texture to the bark.
- Smoke. Place the pork belly directly onto the grill grates, positioning the fat side toward the primary heat source. Smoke at 275°F for approximately 3.5–4 hours.
- Spritz. Combine the apple cider vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Once the bark has set, lightly spritz the pork belly a few times throughout the remainder of the cook as needed. Avoid overspritzing.
- Check for tenderness. Begin checking the pork belly once the internal temperature approaches 195°F. Continue smoking until it reaches approximately 200–205°F and a meat thermometer or probe slides into the thickest portions with very little resistance.
- Rest. Remove the pork belly from the smoker and allow it to rest for at least 2 hours before slicing. Loosely tent or wrap it during the rest if desired.
- Slice and serve. Use a sharp slicing knife to cut the pork belly into thick slices, similar to slicing a beef brisket. Serve warm with your favorite BBQ sides or use the slices for sandwiches.
Notes
- Cooking time: Thickness matters more than weight, so larger or thicker slabs may require additional time.
- Resting: Don’t skip the long rest. It helps the rendered fat settle and gives you cleaner, more tender slices.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3–4 days.