Garlic-Soy Bacon

Name: Garlic-Soy Bacon
Yield: Makes about 3½ pounds (1.6 kg)
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons pink curing salt (aka Instacure #1); 1 head garlic, cloves separated, peeled and smashed; 1 (5-pound/2.3-kg) pork belly, skin removed and saved for another use (see, step 2); 2 cups (475 ml) low-sodium soy sauce; Soaked and drained apple, hickory, or cherry wood chips; ¾ cup (180 ml) clover honey; ¼ cup (45 g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Preparation info

Makes about
3½ pounds

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Bacon Bible

By Peter Sherman and Stephanie Banyas

Published 2019

About

This is my pork teriyaki bacon; it has a rich, salty, sweet flavor. I use it for all my Asian-inspired recipes, including bacon fried rice, Bacon Ramen, and Tempura Bacon.

Ingredients

2 cups (475 ml) low-sodium soy sauce
¾ cup (180

Main course

Method

Combine the soy sauce, honey, garlic, pink salt, and kosher salt in a blender and blend until combined. Transfer the brine to a large food-safe container with a tight-fitting lid. Add the pork belly and make sure it stays submerged. I use a plastic container filled with cans to weigh it down.

Cure the belly in the refrigerator for 8 days.

Drain the pork belly in a colander or la