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Smoker


8-10 lbs pork belly (skin on)
Cherry wood chunks
Lump charcoal
4-6 cloves of garlic
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 liters of apple juice
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
(All ingredients are based on size of pork belly)

Start off by scoring the skin of the pork. A sharp knife is recommended. Do not cut down to the meat, just the skin and very little into the fat. Make your cuts about ¼ to ½ inch wide.
Begin preheating grill. Make sure you have enough fuel for a 3 hour+ cook. . We are shooting for a high temp of around 450-500 degrees for the initial roast (note depending on your smoker type you may want to start the brine first)

FOR BRINE:
In a hotel pan (or any pan big enough to submerge the pork belly), place in 2 cloves of garlic and half the rosemary. Then to pork belly, along with one liter of the apple juice (or enough to cover the pork).
Place pan in refrigerator and brine for an 30 min. to an hour.

Remove pork belly from brine and pat dry. Liberally spread the some kosher salt on the skin, followed by enough oil to coat the skin as well. Message that salt and oil into the skin well, so that it reaches into our score marks. Then sprinkle a lite layer of black pepper on the meat side.
Use the rest of the garlic and rosemary to place in the roasting pan. Place the pork belly on a pan with a roasting rack, skin side up, and place on the grill, not over the coals. Pour the rest of the apple juice in the pan below the pork to keep moist.
Cook on the high heat for an hour to help crisp up the skin. Then choke your heat down to 225 degrees for the rest of the cook. Which is about 2 hours. Rotate the pork at this time to ensure evenness of the cook.
Go ahead and probe your belly with an internal thermometer. Looking for a temp of around 180-200 degrees.
Once to that temp range, pull from grill and let rest for about 15 min.
Slice thin to medium size and enjoy!

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