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+ servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Cure Time: 10 days
Total Time: 10 days 6 hours 20 minutes
Bacon
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs. pork belly with the skin removed
  • 3 Tbsp. Kosher salt
  • cup white sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. black pepper
  • 2 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. Prague Powder #1( curing salt with nitrates)

Instructions 

Cure

  • Combine the salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and curing salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
  • Place the pork belly on a foil-lined baking sheet.
  • Rub half of the curing blend onto the top and sides of the pork belly.
  • Gather up any of the curing blend that landed on the baking sheet and rub it in to the top of the pork belly.
  • Flip the pork belly and rub in the remaining curing blend. Use it all.
  • Seal the coated pork belly in a large locking bag or vacuum seal bag and remove all the air from the bag.
  • Place the bag containing the pork belly into the refrigerator for ten days. Once a day, flip the bagged pork belly and massage the outside.

Dry

  • After ten days, remove the cured pork belly from the bag and rinse off any excess curing blend from the outside.
  • Pat the outside of the cured pork belly dry with paper towels.
  • Place the pork belly on a rack above a baking sheet and place it in the refrigerator, uncovered, to dry for 24 hours.

Smoke

  • Preheat the smoker to 165-175°F.
  • Place the pork belly, leaner side down on the smoker rack. After two hours, flip the pork belly so the fattier side is down.
  • Smoke the pork belly for about 4 hours until the internal temperature reaches 150-155°F.

Slice

  • Transfer the smoked bacon onto a baking rack over a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator to cool.
  • When the bacon is cool and firm (just leaving it overnight works just fine), remove it from the refrigerator and slice.

Notes

  • Switch from white sugar to brown sugar to reduce pure sweetness.
  • Use some more spices (not salt or sugar).
  • Don't slice pork belly in half to check before smoking. Ten days is enough for a 1-2 inch thick pork belly.
  • Pay attention and manually keep the temperature low enough when smoking.