Smoked Pork Belly Pig Shots are one of the bites bites of BBQ you’ll ever eat!
As if bacon wrapped bacon wasn’t enough, these are filled with a spicy cheese filling and glaze with sweet maple syrup. Again, these are one of the bites bites of BBQ you’ll ever eat.
Be sure to give this recipe a try at your next BBQ!
Ingredients you will need
Meat: Skinless pork belly and thick cut bacon
Filling: Cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, garlic, pickled jalapeños
Seasoning: Your favorite BBQ Rub
Glaze: Pure maple syrup or Honey
How to make Smoked Pork Belly Pig Shots
Preparing and seasoning the pork belly
Take the pork belly and cut it with a sharp knife into 1 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inch cubes.
Coat the pork belly with yellow mustard. This will save as a binder and help the seasoning stick to the meat.
Coat each cube of pork belly then generously season them with your favorite BBQ rub. The BBQ rub will help build some delicious bark and flavor on the outside of the pork belly.
Place the pork belly fat side down on a wire rack/cooling rack to help prevent the pork belly from sticking to the wire rack. Placing them on a wire rack makes it easier when transporting them to and from the smoker during this cook.
Smoking the pork belly for the pig shots
Get your smoker fire up and set to 225°F. I used a pellet grill for this cook because of the consistent temperatures it provides, but you can use what ever kind of smoker you want. If you don’t have a smoker, you can easily use your oven – just follow the same time and temps.
Put the wire rack full of pork belly on the smoker and smoke them at 225°F for 3 hours. I used cherry wood pellets for this cook to help give it a sweet smoke flavor profile.
Spritz the pork belly every hour with some apple juice. This will help build more bark and flavor on the pork.
15 minutes prior to removing the pork from the smoker, combine the filling ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. I placed the filling in a piping bag, but you can also place it in a large ziplock bag then cut a small piece off of a corner.
Making the “Pig Shots”
After 3 hours, remove the wire rack of pork belly from the smoker. Wrap each piece of pork belly with a slice of thick cut bacon. Place a tooth pick through the bottom to help secure the bacon to the pork belly. At this point, it will look like a shot glass which is where the name “Pig Shot” comes from.
Next, stuff each “pig shot” with the filling from the piping bag. Fill it right to the top of the bacon, just be sure not to overfill it otherwise it may expand too much and spill out.
Place the filled pig shots back on the wire rack then get them back on the smoker at 275°F for another hour until the bacon crisps up.
The last 15 minutes of the cook, drizzle on some maple syrup. I used some homemade maple syrup which is super pure and gives off some great flavor.
Remove the Pig Shots from the smoker then serve them warm and enjoy every last bite!
If you’re looking for other great appetizers to share, be sure to check out my Cheese Stuffed BBQ Meatballs, Smoked Bacon Wrapped Pickles and Hot Dog Burnt Ends.
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Pork Belly Pig Shots
Pork belly pig shots are one of the best bites of BBQ you can make. bacon wrapped bacon filled with cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of skinless pork belly
- 12 slices of thick cut bacon
- 1 block of cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp pickled jalapeños
- 3 tbsp BBQ rub
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Cube pork belly into 1.5 x 1.5 inch cubes
- Use yellow mustard as a binder and season the pork belly with a BBQ Rub.
- Smoke the pork belly at 225°F for 3 hours.
- Combine and mix the ingredients for the filling in a bowl then place in a piping bag.
- Pull them off the smoker and wrap them with thick cut bacon and place a tooth pick through the bottom to secure the bacon.
- Stuff the pig shots with filling then place them back on the wire rack.
- Place the wire rack back on the smoker at 275°F for another hour until the bacon crisps up
- Drizzle some maple syrup on top the last 15 minutes of the cook.
- Serve and enjoy warm!
