How to Prepare Cured Bacon in a Gas Smoker & Grill

Before buying packaged bacon from your local grocery store, consider cooking prepared cured bacon in a gas smoker or grill. Store-bought bacon contains extra preservatives and fillers that alter the natural taste of the bacon. Use the backside of a pork belly to create bacon. Once the bacon cures in a combination of salt and sugar for a week, it has to dry out before you can prepare the bacon in a gas smoker or grill.

Things You'll Need

• 2 1/2 pounds pork belly with skin
• Paper towels
• 3 tbsp. curing (pink) salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. peppercorns
• Gallon-sized zip-lock bag
• 4 cups soaked wood chips
• Cooking thermometer

Instructions

1. Buy pork belly located to closest to the pork loin. Wash the pork belly and dry it off with paper towels. Trim off excess loose fat from the pork belly with a sharp knife. Do not remove the skin from the pork, and do not trim off all the fat.

2. Prepare the pork belly for curing. Combine sugar, curing salt, sugar and peppercorns. Rub the dry seasonings on all of the pork belly.

3. Place the pork belly in a plastic 1-gallon zip-lock bag. Place the seasoned pork belly in the refrigerator. Continue to turn the bag while the meat cures for seven days.

4. Remove the pork belly from the plastic bag. Wash the meat under cold water, and dry it off with paper towels.

5. Place the pork belly in the refrigerator on a wire rack. Allow the pork belly to dry for 24 hours.

6. Prepare the grill or gas smoker for the bacon. Preheat the temperature between 80 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the gas smoker. Preheat a gas grill to 200 degrees.

7. Add the soaked wood chips or sawdust to a smoker box.

8. Place the pork belly on the gas smoker or grill. Open the vents to maintain a temperature of 200 degrees. Use bacon hangers to hang the bacon in a gas smoker. Cook the cured bacon for eight hours in the smoker, or three hours on the grill.

9. Remove the bacon once it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow the cured bacon to cool for 30 minutes.

10. Cut thin or thick slices of bacon from the pork belly using a sharp knife. Freeze the bacon or immediately fry it in a cooking pan.

Tips & Warnings

• Always wash your hands with antibacterial soap when handling raw meat.

References

• Real Homemade American Bacon
• Making Bacon - The Last Appetite
• Bacon Making