Making your own bacon has never been easier, using Steak Lockers dry age fridge you can cure bacon in the comfort of your own home. The best part is, you get to control everything from the quality of your bacon to the ingredients it is cured with. We have put together this delicious recipe so you can learn how to cure bacon yourself.
Ingredients:
- 4 LBS Pork Belly, skin removed
- ½ C Kosher Salt
- 3 Tbsp Fresh Ground Pepper
- 2 Pink Curing Salt
- ½ C Brown Sugar
Equipment:
- Steak Locker
- Sealable plastic bag
- Sheet pan
- Paper towels
- Slicer knife
- Oven OR smoker
- Cast iron skillet
How to cure bacon step by step
Step 1
Mix the kosher salt, ground pepper, pink curing salt and brown sugar then rub liberally onto all sides of the pork belly.
Step 2
Place the pork belly with the seasonings into a sealable plastic bag then onto a sheet pan. Place the pan with the pork belly into the Steak Locker for 5 days, rotating it once a day to redistribute the juices that are created within that time.
Step 3
Remove the pork belly from the bag and rinse with cool water then pat dry with paper towels. Place the pork belly back into the Steak Locker onto the wire rack and allow to fully dry for approximately 24 – 48 hours.
Step 4
At this point, there are two options: smoking or baking the pork belly. To smoke it, follow the instructions provided with the smoker to reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees or approximately 2-3 hours.
To bake it in the oven, place it on a sheet pan then into a 200-degree pre-heated oven for approximately 2 hours for an internal temperature of 150 degrees. The pork belly can be stored into a clean sealable plastic bag or container with a fitted lid and refrigerated for up to a month or in the freezer for up to a year.
Step 5
To cut the pork belly into slices, a slicer knife that is used for carving or slicing cooked meats works best. It’s also best practice to begin at the end of the knife near the handle to the top of the pork belly and pull the knife towards you creating a long slice, then repeating this action until you get through the pork belly into desired thickness of slices.
Tip: It’s best practice not to create a back-and-forth sawing motion as it will result in uneven bacon slices.
Step 6
To crisp each slice, place them into a cold cast iron skillet over medium heat and rotate as needed until browned and crispy. If all slices don’t fit into the pan, drain the excess fat, and allow the pan to cool a bit prior to adding more slices of bacon.
Now you know how to cure bacon, enjoy!
