Homemade Bacon Recipe

THE RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

3lbs Raw Pork Belly (skin Removed)
4 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
4 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
½ cup of Canadian Maple Syrup
¾ cup distilled water and lastly
½ teaspoon of Prague Powder #1

THE RECIPE METHOD:

In a mixing bowl (or directly into ziplock bag) add in kosher salt, ground black pepper, dark brown sugar, Maple Syrup, distilled water and lastly ½ teaspoon of Prague Powder #1. Once everything has been mixed together pour it into a 1 gallon ziplock bag then add the pork belly. Once everything is in the bag squeeze out the air as much as possible while coating the pork belly all over. Lastly, place the bag into a tray just in case there are any leaks in the bag and place it in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Because the belly will release liquid as it sits in its brine, it will be important to flip the bag ever day that it’s in the fridge to help redistribute the juices and spices.

After 4 days in the fridge and a few flips this pork belly is fully cured and ready to prep for the smoke. The next step is to rinse off the surface to remove any large deposits of salt. With that our pork belly is ready to be smoked so it’s time to get the Slow ‘N Sear set up for cooking at 225F.

To do this place about 12 briquettes into the corner of the Slow ‘N Sear and get them fully lit. Next fill up the remainder of the Slow ‘N Sear with unlit briquettes along with adding 1 quart of boiling water into the water reservoir to help generate a bit of steam. NOTE: Make sure to wear gloves for added safety. Lastly add 1 to 2 small chunks of Maple wood for smoking, other great choices would be apple or hickory. Close the lid until the grill has reached 225F with clean smoke coming out of the grill.

With the grill ready to go, place the pork belly onto the grill and attach a leave in digital thermometer into the thickest part of the pork belly so that we can monitor the temp as it cooks. Once everything is done, close the lid and begin cooking at 225F.

After about 2 hours of smoking, our pork belly should have reached an internal temperature of 150F. It’s time to pull what is now BACON off the grill and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes or longer to cool. This will help with slicing as it is always easier to slice when cold.

Once cool, you can now slice it into strips and fry it up for your feast.