Bacon

 Super easy to make, but takes about a week or more.   You can make it maple flavored or just about any flavor you want.   One of my favorites is pepper bacon.  

We could not find pork belly in the grocery store, but did find it at our local meat market.   I also had to order the pink curing salt #1 from amazon, but some grocery stores do carry it.

BACON

(5 pounds)

Ingredients:

*5 pounds pork belly, skin removed. 

*1/3 cup kosher salt

*1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

*1 teaspoon pink curing salt (prague #1)  **not pink Himalayan salt** 

Directions:

~In a small bowl, mix kosher salt, brown sugar, and pink curing salt together (make sure it's mixed well).

~Rub mixture all over pork belly coating every area. 

~Place into a 2 gallon zip-loc bag and seal, squeezing out as much air as possible.

~Place bag into a 8x10 pan and refrigerate.

~Refrigerate for 7-10 days, flipping once a day (once bacon is firm to the touch it's ready).

~Throughly rinse salt from bacon.

OVEN METHOD:

~Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

~Place pork belly on a baking sheet, fat side up.

~Bake for 2-3 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. 

~Remove from oven and refrigerate until cool.

~Slice bacon against the grain to desired thickness, with a sharp knife.

~Divide bacon up, and freeze (I do mine in 1/2 pound packages).

~Fry bacon in oven or frying pan to desired doneness.  

Smoker Method:

~Preheat smoker to 180 degrees.

~Place pork belly fat side up on rack.

~Cook for 3-4 hours, our until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees.

~Add more of your favorite wood chips a 2-3 times while cooking.

~Remove from smoker and refrigerate until cool.

~Slice bacon against the grain to desired thickness, with a sharp knife.

~Divide bacon up, and freeze (I do mine in 1/2 pound packages).

~Fry bacon in oven or frying pan to desired doneness.  

Flavor Options:

~maple flavoring - add 1/4-1/2 cup pure maple syrup to curing mixture before rubbing on pork belly.

~Pepper Bacon - add 2 tablespoons coarse pepper to curing mixture before rubbing on pork belly.

~Teriyaki Bacon - 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, to curing mixture before rubbing on pork belly.

~Honey Chipotle Bacon - add 1/4 cup honey and 2 teaspoons chipotle powder to curing mixture before rubbing on pork belly.