How to Make Your Own Bacon
What's not to love about bacon? The super crisp texture and rich smoky flavor of bacon is tough to beat. Whether it's on the side of your morning breakfast, on a BLT sandwich, or even in desserts like maple bacon cookies, everything is better with bacon. But, if you're like me and love to be adventurous in the kitchen, how about making your own bacon, from scratch? With "The Original Bacon Kit," a piece of pork belly and a little bit of time, you can make fantastic bacon right at home!
"The Original Bacon Kit" ($16.99) comes with almost everything you need to make bacon: curing salt, maple sugar, a large plastic bag for curing, and a thermometer. Bacon is made from pork belly, which is not included in the kit. Luckily, you can find pork belly at most butcher shops or specialty supermarkets like Whole Foods.
Related: Quick Bacon Recipes
According to the instructions, you begin the process by placing a five pound piece of pork belly into the bag with the curing salt and maple sugar. Place the pork belly into the fridge for seven days, flipping it in the cure every other day. Don't rush this step; your patience will be rewarded!
After a week, rinse the now cured pork belly and pat dry. Next, insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the pork belly. The bacon is now ready for smoking. If you have an outdoor smoker, by all means use it. However, if you don't have one, it's all good! All you need is wood chips, a roasting pan with a rack, and some aluminum foil. Start by soaking the wood chips in water for at least an hour. Take the soaked woodchips and place them into the bottom of the roasting pan. Then, put the rack over the chips. Place the pork belly on the rack and wrap tightly with aluminum foil. Finally, poke at few holes in the foil and place in a 200-degree oven until the thermometer pops (About two and a half hours).
Related: 5 Ideas for Bacon
After thirty minutes of chilling in the fridge, your bacon is finally ready! Grab a knife and start slicing. The good news is that you can slice the bacon thick or thin, depending on how you like it. Now all you need to do is fry it up!
- By Matthew Dominguez
More from Good Housekeeping:
