Smoked Maple Bacon – Smoking Series

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 to 3 pounds of thick, center cut pork belly (skinless)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon Honey Jack Daniels
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon curing salt (pink salt. get it from your butcher or amazon)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS

Rinse the belly and thoroughly pat it dry until the surface is tacky. Trim off any thin edges so that the piece is one long rectangle.
In a large, rectangular baking dish or pan, mix the sugar with the maple and Honey Jack Daniels until thoroughly incorporated.

Then mix in the 2 tablespoons of salt, curing salt, and both peppers and rub it evenly into the meat, spreading it evenly around the sides as well as the top and bottom. Tuck the meat, encased in all of the rub, carefully inside a sealable plastic bag (gallon sized will work, but oversized are better if you can find them) and lay it flat in the refrigerator for 7 days, massaging the liquids that will amass inside the bag into the meat and flipping it daily.
After 7 days, inspect your bacon. It should be firm to the touch all over, like touching a cooked steak — a sign that it has been cured. If the flesh still feels spongy and soft in spots, leave the meat in the bag and sprinkle it evenly with an additional 2 tablespoons salt and check it again after 1 or 2 days.
Once the bacon is fully cured, discard the solids, rinse the meat well, and pat it completely dry.

Smoke in your grill or smoker using your favorite wood until the meat reaches 150°F (you must check with a meat thermometer).
Then you must cook the bacon afterwards the rest of the way. In the oven or in a frying pan. This bacon is not fully cooked coming off the smoker.