Home Cured Bacon
BACON, just the mention of it brings to mind salty, smokey, porky goodness. A real compelling argument can be made that bacon is the perfect food. It is actual work to come up with a food that bacon doesn’t go well with. Bacon is one of those foods that even the cheap Supermarket version is excellent, even the biggest food snob will grab a piece of cheapo bacon off of the paper towel when it is hot out of the frying pan. Now imagine being able to make something even better than the store bought stuff right at home with only 4 ingredients! Salt, sugar, Pink Salt
Good Home Cured Bacon Starts With Good Pig Belly
Good home cured bacon starts with a good piece of pig belly. Now sourcing this can be a bit of a pain as until recently pork belly was the province of specialty butcher shops, but with the explosion of the Slow Food Movement and popularity of cooking shows, pork belly can be found right in the supermarket. If your local market doesn’t carry it Spanish or Asian markets are a great place to look for it as well. A regular old butcher may carry it but expect to have to buy a whole belly, which might be a little daunting for a first try. Local farms might be another resource to try as many farmers might be willing to part with a belly or two. Local farmers will also be a great place to start looking for heritage breed pork if that is a route you would like to pursue.
About The Cure
The salt and sugar are common ingredients but Pink Salt is the 800 lb gorilla in the room. Many things have been said about nitrites and it is beyond the scope of this blog to rehash old debates. Botulism will kill you and your family, the nitrite found in Pink Salt inhibits the growth of botulism, it is for that reason that I chose a recipe that includes Pink Salt. Nitrite has been used in curing meat for as long ago as the 1500’s in the form of saltpeter, so it isn’t something that can be easily dismissed. Plus nitrite helps to keep cured meat a rosy color which is just nicer than a gray slab of bacon.
Home cured bacon begins with the making of the cure. At it’s most basic a cure will be made up of sugar, salt, and Pink Salt. A good ratio to work with is 16oz Kosher Salt to 8oz Sugar to 8 teaspoons of Pink Salt. Weighing the ingredients out insures a good cure as different “grinds” of salt and sugar will have different volumes. This ratio seems to hold true across many publications.
Dry Cure
- 16 oz Kosher Salt
- 8 oz Sugar
- 8 tsp Pink Salt (Insta Cure #1)
Making Home Cured Bacon
- Spread some cure out on a baking sheet.
- Firmly press the Pork Belly into the cure on all sides. You are shooting for a nice uniform coating.
- Place the coated belly into a large Zip-Loc bag and place it flat in the refrigerator.
- Turn the soon-to-be bacon every other day. This redistributes the liquid which aids in the curing process.
- On the 7th day feel the bacon, it should have a new found firmness to it.
- Rinse the bacon well and pat dry with paper towels.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Place the bacon on a rack in a roasting pan and roast until it has reached an internal temp of 150 degrees. This can take awhile but be patient it is worth it!
- While it is still hot use a large knife to remove the skin.
- Wait for it to cool, wrap, and place it in the refrigerator.
The bacon will be delicious! It might be a bit hard to slice though, but this is one of those instances where you can call your botched up attempts “rustic” or “artisanal”! Anyway you slice it, it is BACON!!!
Artisanal Bacon frying up!
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This is great but I was wondering if instead of using a Ziploc bag could you put it in a vacuum seal bag.
I’m not sure how it would work out. The liquid that is drawn out of the pork belly is an integral part of the curing process. I don’t know how well the vacuum seal would allow for the liquid to bathe the meat. I am intrigued and will have to give it a try.
I can’t wait to try this. I was wondering what the cost difference is bewteen store bought and homemade.
Jackie, I was able to get the Pork Belly for $2.69/lb. ,and the cost of the salts and sugar was pretty miniscule. I’d say my finished product ran under $3/lb.
I concur with the cost. I started making our bacon 2 years ago. We love it and give a couple of pound for Christmas gifts.
A couple of differences: 1) I soak 2 hours my bacon to reduce some of the saltiness, changing the water every 30 minutes and 2) smoke it at 200-225 in the coolest part of the smoker for 4 hours. I use the open portions of the grill for smoking baked potato skins, Spam, salted nuts, etc.
Cindy, Thanks for the input. I had to poach my bacon for a minute of two before use to remove the saltiness. I’ll have to try the soak method.
So, not to be stupid here. So you cure the bacon for the 7 days, THEN soak the bacon, & finish by baking/smoking or Cure, smoke and then soak?
Ahhh, bacon! A food group unto itself!!! Sharing!
Have you tried a brine cure method then a smoke? just curious
Not yet but my I’m just starting my bacon journey!
Great recipe,and seems to be the normal ratio used the world over.
I add some “flavors” during the process, my favorite being maple syrup,and brown sugar,adding the sugar at the midway point of curing, using 1/2 cup per lb.
I have tried adding the maple syrup to it at different times during the cure,even brushing the slabs as I smoke them,all giving great results,using apple and hickory wood.
Also love peppering the cure mix at about day 3 then coating it during smoking.
Very cool! My next bacon project is going to be a honey cure and a hickory smoke.
Is pink salt the same as Himalayan salt?
Mary,
Pink salt isn’t Himalayan salt. Pink Salt is regular salt that has Nitrates added to it. The Pink color is added so you won’t confuse it for regular salt.
Hope this helps,
Mike
Thanks for the clarification! I’m glad I asked. 🙂
Home Made Bacon. I have been making home made bacon for a while (cure with pink salt plus smoking). I usually make 20lbs at a time. I cut a slab into 2 to 3 lb. chunks, leave the skin on and remove after smoking, vacuum pack food saver and freeze. Question, I want to use this bacon on camping and backpacking trips. Can I use and not refrigerate for a few days, or do you think I will have a problem? What can I do, what did the pioneers do to keep un-refrigerated, wrap in cloth, etc.? If you have a recipe and can give guidance, I would truly appreciate.
Hi Gary,
Check out this dry cure method of makin’ bacon, I think it is what you are looking for https://survivalsherpa.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/makin-bacon-how-to-dry-cure-pork-belly/ . My method of making bacon needs to be refrigerated or frozen to keep. It is my understanding that the dry cure is closer to what Civil War Era troops used as dry rations so I think it would keep.
-Mike
Doing some research- why do you have to put sugar in the cure?
I think it is purely a taste factor. The salt is the real move and shaker when it comes to curing.
I do not have a smoker and wondered if I use smoked salt, would it be enough to give it a reasonable amount of smoked flavour.