Bacon

Bacon

Kosher or Pickling Salt                      4 oz
Tinted Curing Mix**                         0.5 oz
White sugar                                       1.5 oz
Molasses                                           0.5 oz
Cracked peppercorns                        2 tsp
Fresh bay leaves (very thinly sliced)    2 ea.
Pork belly                                          2 #

1 Place all ingredients except pork belly in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well combined to form the cure.

2 Rub 2 Tbsp of the cure onto the pork belly and let rest for 4-7 days in a 1 gallon ziplock bag in the refrigerator.

3 Once belly is firm and pink, rinse off excess cure with cold water, and pat dry with a paper towl.

4 If smoking the bacon, hot smoke to an internal temp of 150 degrees (smoker temp between 200 and 250). Or, simply roast the cured pork in a 200 degree oven for 2 hours or until the pork reached approx 150 degrees.

5 While bacon is still hot, remove the skin using the same method that one would use to skin a fish.

6 Slice bacon into desired shapes and sauté as desired.

** TCM, or Prague Powder 1, or Pink Salt all refer to a mixture of salt, sodium nitrite, and pink dye. This product is dangerous if consumed directly, handled excessively with bare hands, or measured carelessly when using, so please be careful. This mixture is sold retail through a variety of online vendors, including The Sausage Source. If you do not intend to smoke the bacon and do not particularly mind gray bacon, then you do not need to use TCM.