Salt-Cured Bacon

Name: Salt-Cured Bacon
Yield: Makes about 2¼ pounds (1.1 kg)
Ingredients: Brown sugar, 3 tablespoons; Garlic, 1 tablespoon finely chopped; Kosher salt, 4¾ teaspoons; Black pepper, 2 tablespoons coarsely ground; Ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon; Pink curing salt #1, 1 teaspoon; Ground cloves, ½ teaspoon; Pork belly, 2½ pounds (1.25 kg), in a single piece; Warm water, 4 cups (32 fl oz/1 l); Apple or maple wood smoking chips, 3 cups (18 oz/555 g); Apple or maple wood smoking chips, 3 cups (18 oz/555 g)

Preparation info

Makes about
2¼ pounds

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Better From Scratch

By Ivy Manning

Published 2014

About

A gas grill, a handful of wood chips, and a foil roasting pan are all you need to reach bacon nirvana. This recipe calls for pink curing salt #1, which helps preserve the bacon and its iconic pink color. Look for the curing salt in specialty food shops or online.

Ingredients

Brown sugar, 3 tablespoons
Garlic, 1 tablespoon finely chopped

Preserve
Gluten-free

Method

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, garlic, kosher salt, pepper, cinnamon, curing salt, and cloves and stir to combine. Rub the sugar mixture evenly over the pork belly, then put the meat in a large resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate the pork for 7 days, turning the bag over each day to coat the meat evenly with the cure.

Scrape the spice mixture off of the pork, rinse the pork,