What’s your method for makin bacon?

Gravytrain84

Im thinking about buying a pork belly from Costco and making my own bacon. I’ve looked around the web and see several variations of curing, Cook time, and internal temp.. What’s your method? 

NorthPilot06

I follow the amazing ribs method nearly to a t. Comes out perfect every time. This includes the wet brine/cure and hot smoke 

NorthPilot06

With that being said, if you have the right equipment, I’m sure a cold smoke would be excellent. 

NorthPilot06

Here’s a link: https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/pork-recipes/how-make-smoked-bacon-home

We always make the maple recipe and can’t seem to keep it around in the freezer. Many coworkers all for a sample

Mickey

Costco 

Cook to 142

S&P only

INDIRECT

bigguy136

I'm not sure if nitrates are bad for you or not. I've been using the below recipe for a few years and it doesn't have nitrates. 

1.5 cups of Tender Quick salt mix

4 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

3 tbsp granulated garlic

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp chili powder

3 tbsp brown sugar

6 cups of water

10-15 LBS Pork Belly

Brine for 7 days. Flip daily

Smoke at 200° 3-4 hours till 150° internal temp

Chill before slicing

Chris8938

bigguy136 said:

I'm not sure if nitrates are bad for you or not. I've been using the below recipe for a few years and it doesn't have nitrates. 

1.5 cups of Tender Quick salt mix

**Just FYI, Tender Quick has both sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate.

Chris8938

I generally use the Ruhlman's method using maple syrup.  Pretty simple and easy to expand the recipe.

blind99

i recommend starting with ruhlman's instructions.  it's not rocket science - salt, cure #1, and sugar.  if you google ruhlman's basic cure you should find it.  from there, it's rub, keep in fridge, rinse, and hot smoke.  then dive down the rabbit hole... @jacksdad supplies half the east coast at this point, i think...

KiterTodd

I just read the amzing ribs recipe... just curious, how come home made bacon does not get crisp when you cook it?  (I like it crisp)

NorthPilot06

It does get crisp, after all it effectively pan fries in rendered bacon grease. 

The big difference that I notice with homemade bacon is that it won’t splatter like commercial bacon while cooking. This is because the curing solution (water-based) is injected into pork bellies for commercial bacon, but for homemade bacon, the cure (wet or dry) is on the outside of slab and is not injected. 

lkapigian

KiterTodd said:

I just read the amzing ribs recipe... just curious, how come home made bacon does not get crisp when you cook it?  (I like it crisp)

like @NorthPilot06 says,   it does, you just have to cook it slow otherwise the sugars will burn, store bought bacon is loaded with water so when frying the first thing that the pan is loaded with is water, then fat then crisp....home mode you almost have to add a little fat 

JacksDad

I love homemade bacon. It's just so good, and tastes so much better. Nobody in my family can tolerate store bought now. Tastes like sugary sweet chemicals. 

I have set up a little tradition, a couple of times a year I get about 30-40 lbs of Costco pork belly and make homemade bacon. I bought a semi-restaurant quality deli slicer, and a vacuum sealer, and my sons and I make individual packages and deliver them to friends, family, and coworkers. 

I am not an expert by any means, and everything I know I learned from the folks on this forum. If you have specific questions, ask away, and you'll probably get 20 helpful responses...

Fred19Flintstone

Look, I’m a city boy.  I don’t know a whole lot about animal husbandry.  But I think it goes like this:

Daddyshack

https://jesspryles.com/recipe/how-to-make-bacon/