The Ten Commandments of Homemade Pork Bacon: 1. Choose the Right Pork Belly

Organic hogs (or hogs raised humanely without hormones or antibiotics) are the way to go. A full pork belly weighs 10 to 12 pounds (4.5 to 5.4 kg) and usually can be found at butcher shops or specially ordered at your grocery store. The base recipe below is for 5-pound (2.3-kg) half bellies, but if you want to make a smaller quantity, Whole Foods and other grocery stores sell pork belly by the pound. This may be easier to handle for some home smokers.