Homemade Cured Bacon

Using a food scale, weigh the pork belly.

Use this weight to calculate the remaining ingredient amounts. For example, if you have 1000 g of pork belly, 2% salt = 20 g.

Once you’ve weighed out the salt, celery powder, brown sugar, peppercorns, and garlic cloves, add them to a bowl and mix them all together.

Cover the pig belly with the cure mixture until completely covered. Vacuum seal the belly in a bag and let cure for around 7 days in the fridge (36-40°F/2-5°C) until the meat has firmed up and deepened in color.

• If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, you can cure the belly in freezer bags or a covered container. Just make sure the pork belly is well covered by the cure and rotate as needed to keep it covered by the cure.
• It’s normal for the cure to draw out moisture and turn it into a syrupy consistency. For very large pork belly sections (more than 5 kg/10 lbs), the curing time should be longer and might take up to two weeks.

After curing, it is time to smoke. Use an electric smoker, or a charcoal grill set up on indirect heat. Warm smoke the bacon somewhere between 73-104°F/22-40°C for at least 12 but up to 24 hours.

• This “warm” smoking temperature imparts a smoky flavor and dehydrates the meat but does not cook the bacon.

After smoking, remove the skin and let it cool before slicing.

Slice the bacon as desired and cook when needed. Freeze & store extra slices.