How To Make Homemade Bacon (3 Easy To Follow Steps)

Are you looking for an easy-to-follow recipe for making bacon at home?

You’re in the right place!

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• What you need to know before making homemade bacon
• Supplies you’ll need
• How to make homemade bacon (3 Step Guide)
• And much more!

Americans love bacon. We love it so much that the US produces over 2 billion pounds of bacon a year.

Easy to buy, easy to cook, easy to eat. It’s almost the perfect food.

Making homemade bacon seems to be the only way to make things better.

We like to control how salty our meat is, how thick the slices are, and what extra flavors are included.

Anyone going on a DIY food journey can try our homemade smoked bacon recipe to get started!

But fair warning…you’ll never eat store bought bacon again!

What You Need To Know About Curing and Smoking Homemade Bacon

Curing bacon takes about a week to complete. The process can be sensitive, especially with certain ingredients.

We use Prague #1 Powder for our pink curing salt or sodium nitrite, which can be dangerous to pets and children.

Woodchips are also an essential part of any meat smoking process. We prefer using a mixture of soaked and dry hickory wood chips for our Masterbuilt smoker.

Read More >> Best Smokers For Beginners 

Supplies You’ll Need for Making Homemade Bacon?

Making homemade bacon requires minimal ingredients. You can find pork belly and the curing ingredients in most grocery stores.

A smoker is the only tool that may not be readily available. An oven or a grill is a good substitute.

Basic ingredients to make a dry cure are:

• Salt,
• Sugar,
• Curing salt,
• And patience.

Yes, this process takes at least a week, so patience is necessary.

Read More >> How To Clean A Flat Top Grill (4 Easy Steps)

How To Make Homemade Bacon (3 Steps)

1. Curing Homemade Bacon
2. Smoking Your Bacon
3. Storing and Slicing It

Step 1: Curing Homemade Bacon

We like to make a big batch of dry cure. This way, we have some extra dry cure ready whenever we decide to make more homemade bacon.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the following ingredients:

• 2 cups (400g) kosher salt
• 1 cup (200g) sugar
• 6½ teaspoons (60g) pink curing salt

We cure our pork belly using a 2.5% cure. To get the exact right amount of dry cure, we multiply our pork belly’s weight in grams by 2.5% or 0.025. For instance, a thousand grams of pork belly needs 25g of dry cure.

Of course, you can still just eyeball the dry cure. You’re good as long as you cover every side and corner with the mixture.

Sometimes, we like to add extra flavors and aromatics like rosemary and garlic. These extras aren’t necessary, though. The meat is good to go with just the dry cure.

1. Place the pork belly in a Ziploc bag labelled with the starting day. Labelling the bag helps you keep track of how many days the pork belly has been curing.
2. Place the bag in the fridge.
3. Flip the meat after four days. Flipping the bag makes sure it evenly absorbs whatever liquid comes out during the process.
4. After seven days, rinse off the cure with water and pat it dry with paper towels.

Now, we can get to smoking your homemade bacon.

Step 2: Smoking Your Bacon

The smoking step requires either a smoker, an oven, or a grill. Smoking adds a distinct flavor to the bacon, but the most flavor really comes from the cure.

1. Regardless of the burner, smoke the cured pork belly at 200°F until the meat’s internal temperature is 150°F.
2. This process takes about two hours. Add wood chips to your smoker every 40 minutes or as necessary.
3. Once done, take the pork belly out of the smoker or oven.
4. Let the fat cool enough to be manageable.
5. Use a sharp knife to peel off the skin.

Now, we have homemade bacon!

Read More >> Best Lump Charcoal for Smoking 

Step 3: Storing and Slicing

1. Allow the bacon to reach room temperature.
2. Refrigerate the bacon overnight for the fat to solidify.
3. Slice the bacon into strips of your preferred thickness.

We like slicing bacon into cubes to include in baked potatoes and pasta dishes that call for bacon.

Our recipe makes bacon that lasts up to three weeks in the fridge. If stored in the freezer, it may last longer.

Homemade Bacon

We like to make a big batch of dry cure. This way, we have some extra dry cure ready whenever we decide to make more homemade bacon!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Calories 5950 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups kosher salt (400g)
• 1 cup sugar (200g)
• 6½ tsp pink curing salt (60)
• 1000 grams pork belly (about 2lbs 3 oz)

Instructions

 

Make the Curing Mixture

• In a large bowl, whisk together the kosher salt, sugar, and pink curing salt.

Cure The Meat

• Place the curing mixture and pork belly in a Ziploc bag labeled with the starting day.
• Place the bag in the fridge.
• Flip the meat after four days. Flipping the bag makes sure it evenly absorbs whatever liquid comes out during the process.
• After seven days, rinse off the cure with water and pat it dry with paper towels.

Smoke The Meat

• Smoke the cured pork belly at 200°F until the meat’s internal temperature is 150°F.
• This process takes about two hours. Add wood chips to your smoker every 40 minutes or as necessary.
• Once done, take the pork belly out of the smoker or oven.

Storing and Slicing

• Let the fat cool enough to be manageable. Then, use a sharp knife to peel off the skin.
• Allow the bacon to reach room temperature.
• Refrigerate the bacon overnight for the fat to solidify.
• Slice the bacon into strips of your preferred thickness
• Lasts up to three weeks in the fridge. If stored in the freezer, it may last longer.

Types of Smokers for Smoking Bacon

Depending on how much smoke you want, how much you want to mess with coals and temperature, these are the best types of smokers for bacon:

• Pellet Smokers
• Electric Smokers
• Charcoal Smokers
• Propane Smokers

And here’s why I think everyone should have a bacon grilling rack…