Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 5 to 6 lbs. skinless pork belly (make sure the pork belly is trimmed to an even thickness and doesn’t taper at the ends)
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup kosher salt
¼ cup espresso powder
2 tsp. Insta-Cure Salt #1, also known as Prague Powder #1 (6.25% Sodium Nitrate)
1 ½ tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
¼ to ½ cup water
hickory or applewood sawdust, chips, chunks, or bisquettes
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Directions: |
Directions:Rinse and pat the pork belly dry. Trim any loose edges so the pork belly forms a neat rectangle.
In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, espresso powder, curing salt, pepper, and enough water to make a sludgy mess. Using your hands, slather the mixture all over the pork belly, turning to coat all sides. Slip the floppy belly into a large resealable plastic bag and seal it. Fit the belly, in its bag, into a baking dish and then slide the whole thing into the fridge. Refrigerate for 7 days, making sure to flip the bag and massage the liquid that accumulates into the pork belly once a day.
After 7 days, remove the pork belly from the bag,thorouhgly rinse it under cool running water, and pat it lightly dry. Set up your smoker or charcoal/gas grill for hot smoking using sawdust, chips, chunks, pellets, or bisquettes.
Smoke the meat in your smoker (or, if using a charcoal or gas grill, over indirect heat) making sure to keep the temperature at 200°F (93°C), until the internal temperature of the bacon is 150°F, approximately 3 to 4 ½ hours.
Remove the bacon from the smoker and let it rest until it’s cool enough to be able to touch..
Grab a sharp knife, slice the cooled bacon as thickly or as thinly as you want. It is then ready to be cooked however you like. Wrap the bacon tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze it for up to 2 months. |
This recipe for Aaron's Favourite Homemade Bacon is from