Costing less than $4 per pound, homemade bacon is both tasty and cost effective. The bigger question is how thick will you slice it?
1–10 pound pork belly (without the skin)
1/2 cup kosher salt
4 tsp. pink curing salt (aka Cure No. 1 or Prague Powder)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. sweet smoked paprika
2 tsp. garlic powder
Fruit wood chips (i.e. apple, peach, or cherry)
Rinse, pat dry and cut the pork belly into 4 equal sized pieces. Place each pork belly piece into a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Pour even amounts of the honey over each of the four pork belly pieces.
In a bowl, combine and evenly mix the kosher salt, pink curing salt, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, paprika, and garlic powder. Sprinkle even amounts of salt mixture (about 1/3 heaping cup) over each pork belly piece. Squeeze the air out of and seal each bag. Massage the honey and salt mixture into each pork belly piece. Place the sealed bags on a baking sheet in the refrigerator.
For 7 to 10 days, flip and rotate the four bags daily on the baking sheet in the refrigerator. When the pork belly pieces become firm, the pork is ready to dry age in the refrigerator.
Remove the pork from each bag and rinse thoroughly with water. Pat dry, and place each piece in a single layer on a cooling rack placed on the baking sheet. Return the pork pieces the refrigerator, uncovered, for 2 more days.
**At the end of the 2 days, set up your smoker according to the manufacturer’s directions using fruit wood chips (i.e. apple, peach, cherry). The temperature for the smoker should reach and maintain a temperature of 200 degrees F. Place the pork pieces in the smoker and smoke until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F (about 3 hours).
Remove the bacon from the smoker and allow to cool to room temperature on cooling racks. Store the bacon in a tightly sealed container (i.e. gallon zip-top bag, plastic wrap layers, etc.). Bacon can be stored int eh refrigerator for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 3 months. Slice and use accordingly.
**Don’t have a meat smoker, or want the investment, opt to make bacon in your oven. Set the oven to 200 degrees F. After rinsing and patting dry the pork belly pieces, set them on a cooking rack placed on a baking sheet. Cook the pork belly until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F. Cool, store, and use accordingly.
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