Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends with Bourbon-Honey Glaze

Ingredients

• 1½ kg skinless pork belly, in one piece
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 120 g light brown sugar, divided
• 4 tbsp smoked paprika, divided
• 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 2 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1 tsp garlic granules
• 1 tsp onion granules
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 75 g unsalted butter, cubed
• 100 g runny honey
• 4 tbsp bourbon
• 5 tbsp apple cider vinegar, divided
• 4 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 150 ml soured cream
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 250 g white cabbage, finely shredded
• 2 carrots, coarsely grated
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• Fine salt
• 8 soft white rolls
• 100 g dill pickles
• 50 g pickled jalapeños

Method

1. Get the smoker up to 110°C with apple or cherry wood chunks; pork belly loves a sweet, fruity smoke rather than anything heavy like hickory. While it climbs, pat the belly completely dry with kitchen paper. Wet meat steams instead of taking on smoke and bark, so don't skip this.
2. Cut the belly into even 4cm cubes. Uneven cubes finish at different times and you'll end up with some dry and some underdone, so take a minute over the knife work. Tumble the cubes in the mustard until lightly coated; this is glue for the rub, not a flavour layer, so go thin.
3. In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, smoked paprika, black pepper, flaky salt, garlic granules, onion granules and cayenne. Season the cubes generously; the salt in the rub seasons the meat all the way through over the long smoke, so be confident here, not timid. Tip the cubes in and toss until every face is coated. Arrange them on a wire rack with a finger's gap between each cube; air needs to move around them or you won't get bark on all sides. The dry spices will toast in the smoker's heat.
4. Smoke at 110°C for 3 hours. You're looking for a deep mahogany colour and a firm, dry-feeling crust. Don't be tempted to lift the lid every 20 minutes; every peek drops the temperature and adds time. Trust it.
5. Set a foil tray on the bench and tip the cubes in, in a single layer; don't crowd them or stack them, or the ones underneath steam in the glaze instead of soaking it up. Scatter the cubed butter and brown sugar over the top, drizzle the honey across, then pour in the bourbon, the apple cider vinegar (that splash of vinegar is what stops the glaze tasting cloying), the ketchup and the Worcestershire. Toss gently with tongs so each cube picks up some of the glaze base.
6. Cover the tray tightly with foil and return to the smoker for 1 hour 30 minutes. The cubes are braising in their own rendered fat plus the glaze now; this is what takes them from smoked pork to properly tender. A skewer should slide into a cube with no resistance, like soft butter. If there's any push-back, give it another 15 minutes and check again.
7. Pull the foil off, stir everything to coat, and put the tray back uncovered for a final 15–20 minutes. The glaze needs to reduce and tighten around each cube until it's sticky and lacquered rather than soupy. When you lift a cube with tongs the glaze should cling and string slightly, not run off the spoon.
8. While the burnt ends finish, make the slaw. Whisk the soured cream, cider vinegar and Dijon together with a pinch of salt, then toss through the cabbage, carrot and spring onions. Taste; the sharpness is the aim of serving slaw with something this rich, so adjust with another splash of vinegar or a pinch more salt if it feels meek.
9. Rest the burnt ends in their glaze for 5 minutes off the heat; they're molten straight from the smoker and the glaze sets up beautifully as it cools just slightly. Pile the glossy mahogany cubes onto the soft white rolls, spoon the sharp slaw alongside, and tuck in dill pickle spears and pickled jalapeños to cut the richness.