Handmade, Smoked Bacon

The real deal.... 100% handmade bacon from raw pork belly. It TRULY doesn't get better than this.

Course Base

Cuisine American

Keyword Culinary 3, Pork

⅓ cup kosher salt
3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper or cracked black peppercorns
2 teaspoons pink curing salt such as Prague Powder #1
⅓ cup dry sweetener granulated sugar, maple sugar, freeze-dried sugar cane juice (Sucanat), or a mixture of these sweeteners

Place the salt, pepper, and pink salt in a mixing bowl and mix well. Mix in the your choice of sweetener, breaking up any lumps in brown sugar with your fingers.

Place the pork belly on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle half of the cure on top and rub it into the belly. Invert and sprinkle the remaining cure on the bottom and rub it in. Place the belly (plus any excess cure) in a large, sturdy, resealable plastic bag. Rest bag on sheet pan. Refrigerate.
Cure the belly for 5 days, turning it over each day to redistribute the liquid that accumulates as the salt draws out moisture.
Remove the pork belly from the cure and rinse well with cold water. Blot it dry with paper towels. Place the belly on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet in a refrigerator with good airflow and let it dry until the surface feels papery and tacky, at least 4 hours, or as long as overnight.

Set up your smoker and preheat it to 175 degrees F. Add hickory, apple, or cherry chips or chunks. Lay the pork belly directly on the grate. Smoke the pork belly until bronzed with wood smoke and firm, 2 to 3 hours. The internal temperature should reach 150 degrees F. (Insert an instant-read thermometer probe through the side of the bacon at one end.)

Transfer the bacon to a wire rack over a baking sheet and let it cool to room temperature. Tightly wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Slice and cook (grill, panfry, or bake in the oven) and serve.