How to Make Your Own Bacon
Bacon is one of those things I never seem to be able to make enough of. There’s only so much pork belly on a pig! Our pasture-raised pork belly makes for an awesome bacon that you can make at home. That’s right, you can totally make your own bacon. There aren’t any fancy tools involved!
Waiting is the hardest part of this process. You’ll be essentially brining the belly over the course of 10-14 days. The most important part of this homemade bacon recipe is the salt. You can choose to add prague powder, also called curing salt or pink salt. This type of salt prevents the growth of bacteria because it contains sodium nitrite. Some people want to avoid added nitrites in their food, and it is completely optional in the making of bacon. There are lots of ways to alter this recipe to make your bacon recipe truly your own creation.
The recipe below is for a dry brine homemade bacon. This means that the salt is packed around the pork belly, it is the easier of the DIY bacon recipes. A wet brine recipe would be the salt and sugar mixture dissolved in water and the belly suspended in the water brine. Both are great ways of making your own bacon but wet brine adds a little more complexity.
If you don’t have a grill, you can simply bake the belly once it’s cured. But, if you have access to a little kiawe (our tropical mesquite) smoking your cured pork belly gives it an added smokey flavor. You’ll just want to make sure the internal temperature reaches 150°F whichever way you decide to finish the bacon-making process.
Let’s get to makin’ bacon!
INGREDIENTS
2-3 pound pork belly
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs coarse kosher or sea salt
1 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper (or more depending on your taste)
2 crushed bay leaves
1/2 tsp Prague #1 pink salt
METHOD
If your pork belly has the skin on, either remove it or score it carefully in a cross-hatch pattern. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. In a small bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. Rub the seasoning all around the pork belly and massage it with either gloved or clean and well-dried hands. Use all the mixture
Next, put the pork belly into a large ziplock bag and seal it shut, removing as much air as possible in the process. Place on a lipped dish (just in case it leaks!) into the refrigerator. You’ll want to place the belly lengthwise and flip it over every few days for about 10-14 days. Once it’s done you’ll notice the meat has a firmer texture and there will be liquid in the ziplock bag.
Now, rinse the slab and pat it dry. You can either bake your homemade bacon or smoke it at this point.
Baking Method- set your oven to 200°F, place the cured pork belly on a pan, and bake for about 2 hours or until the center registers 150°F with a thermometer. Allow it to cool before cutting into slices. I would suggest vacuum sealing in portions and freezing.
**Tip: want that smoke flavor with your baked bacon? Brush a little liquid smoke on either side before baking!
Smoking Method- After rinsing off the cure and patting dry place on a cooling rack in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 2 hours. This allows the outside to get tacky so the smoke is able to stick to the belly better and make an all-around better-tasting bacon. Smoke at around 200°F for about 2 hours or until the center registers 150°F with a thermometer. Allow it to cool before cutting into slices. I would suggest vacuum sealing in portions and freezing.
Pro hand-cut bacon tip- put the slab of bacon in the freezer for a good hard chill but not frozen. Then, sandwich the slab between two cutting boards unsing the top cutting board to get a straight cut line at your chosen bacon thickness.
Enjoy!