homemade bacon

2 Pinches
Caseyville, IL
Updated on Feb 23, 2024

I've been making this recipe for years. My son and daughter tell me not to change a thing - it's perfect. You won't buy bacon like this in the stores.

prep time
cook time
method Smoke
yield

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds pork belly or pork butt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cure #1
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup cold water

How To Make homemade bacon

  • Step 1
    Place pork in 1 gallon zip-top bag.
  • Step 2
    Combine remaining ingredients and pour onto meat in bag. Get as much air out of the bag and zip it shut. Work the cure into the meat. Put bags in a 9 x 13 glass dish and put dish in the refrigerator.
  • Step 3
    Each day for the next 10 days, take it out of the refrigerator and work cure around the meat.
  • Step 4
    On the 11th day, take the meat out of the bag and wash the cure off in cold water. Put the meat on a wire rack to dry for a couple hours.
  • Step 5
    While the meat is drying, fire up your smoker (I use 10 briquettes only). After they're hot add the briquettes in a pan. Put your cured bacon on the other side (the cool side). Add whatever smoking wood you want to use. (I use hickory, wild cherry, apple, and sometimes a little pecan.)
  • Step 6
    MOST IMPORTANT: smoker temp should not be over 150 degrees F for the first couple hours. Smoker temp can raise to 180 degrees F for the next hour, or however long it takes the meat to get to 160 degrees F. Pull it off smoker and wash the outer smoke off. Let it dry and cool. Bag it and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
  • Step 7
    Slice some the next day, fry it, and see how you like it.

Discover More

Keyword: #SMOKED
Keyword: #Smoker
Keyword: #bacon
Keyword: #pork
Ingredient: Pork
Culture: American
Method: Smoke

Comment & Reviews

ADVERTISEMENT
Just A Pinch Sweepstakes