Ginger Maple Pork Belly with Sweet Potato Waffles and Maple Cream

Method

1. For the Ginger Brine: Combine all ingredients.
2. Score the skin of the pork belly and place in a large non-reactive pan. Pour the brine over the belly and cover the pan with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
3. The next day, transfer the pork belly to a clean work surface and pat completely dry with paper towels. Discard the brine.
4. For the Belly Rub: Combine all ingredients.
5. Rub the Belly Rub on both sides of the pork belly. Return the pork belly to the roasting pan and refrigerate overnight uncovered. Remove the pork belly from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking and let it sit at room temperature.
6. When ready to cook, prepare a drip tray under the cool side of the grill to prevent flare-ups.
7. Heat the grill to 250°F, using the 2-zone setup.
8. Place the pork belly fat/skin side up on the cool zone of the grill. Close the lid and cook for 1 hour.
9. Add a few chunks of fruit wood for smoke, placing the lid vents over the meat side to drive the smoke over the bellies.
10. Spritz the pork with ginger beer every 30 minutes or so for the next 1 ½ hours (total of 2 ½ hours of cooking).
11. Tear off two sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
12. Remove the pork belly from the smoker or grill and place it fat-side up on the length of foil. Spritz one more time and wrap tightly in foil.
13. Place the foil package back in the cool zone, close the lid, and cook for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender and a meat thermometer placed in the thickest part of the pork reads an internal temperature of 195°F-205°F.
14. For the Ginger Maple Glaze: Mix all ingredients in a heavy small saucepan and bring to a boil; boiling hard for 7 minutes then turning off the heat. Keep warm.
15. Unwrap the foil packet discarding the juices and foil and moving the pork belly carefully to the cool side of the grill. Brush with the glaze and cook with the lid on for about 30 minutes or until the glaze is nicely set and the belly is a deep mahogany color.
16. When you are ready to serve, transfer to cutting board At this point, you may choose to pull, slice, or cube the meat. Optionally, you can remove the pork belly from the grill and chill overnight, cut into thick slabs, retherming again in the cool zone of grill, stir frying or in a non-stick pan when ready to eat.
17. Serve on top of Sweet Potato Waffles with Maple Cream a drizzle of remaining ginger glaze and Maple Cream.