Homemade Bacon

Bacon is made from pork belly.

Bacon is cured pork meat. The cure used is typically a brine, a type of marinade that immerses the pork in water and contains a lot of sugar and/or salt, or a dry packing, which is like a dry rub that contains a lot of salt. Individuals usually make bacon from pork belly, but you can also make bacon from the side and back cuts of a pig. People enjoy eating smoked bacon or bacon that is fried, baked or grilled. Some even use bacon fat as an ingredient in dishes.

Things You'll Need

• Paper towels
• Parchment paper
• 2 1/2 pounds pork belly
• 2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon caraway seed
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 finely chopped garlic clove
• 1-gallon plastic zipper bag

Instructions

1. Trim the pork to square its edges before rinsing it with water, patting it dry with paper towels and placing it on a sheet of parchment paper.

2. Grind all the spices, including the bay leaves, together in a spice grinder. Mix the spices with the chopped clove of garlic.

3. Rub the seasoning mixture all over the pork and place it in a plastic zipper bag with the excess spices. Refrigerate the pork for seven days; flip the bag every two days.

4. After seven days, remove the cured pork from the plastic bag and rinse it under cold water. Then, pat the pork dry with paper towels.

5. Place the pork in a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Cook it in a 200-degree oven until the internal temperature of the meat is 150 degrees Fahrenheit (about two hours). The pork should appear lightly browned, according to Saveur.

6. Slice the skin off the bacon and let it cool to room temperature.

7. Use paper towels to pat the bacon dry before wrapping it in wax paper and chilling it in the refrigerator. After you chill the bacon, place it in plastic wrap and cut off slices to eat as needed.

Tips & Warnings

• According to Saveur, when the pork is curing in the plastic bag, the salt will draw moisture out of the pork. This is okay; just make sure you sealed the plastic bag well.

• If you do not rinse the pork well after it has cured for seven days, it will taste excessively salty.

• Instead of placing the pork in the oven to cook, you can also place it on a grill with low heat or in a smoker until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Saveur states the bacon will keep in the refrigerator for 10 days and for 90 days in the freezer.

References

• Saveur: Home-Cured Bacon

Resources

• The Paupered Chef: Adventures in Homemade Bacon