Monday

bacon


everything really is better with bacon. remember that extra pork belly we mentioned last week? well, it magically became bacon after seven days of resting in the refrigerator, covered in a combination of salt, sugar and aromatic spices. besides sending friends home with slabs of cured pork belly, we had lots of bacon for breakfast with eggs, cooked up beautiful lardons to go in all our salads and made plenty of simple sandwiches like the blt pictured. we really needed one of these! making bacon was an easy and fun process i highly recommend trying at least once in your lifetime. enjoy!

Home-Cured Bacon

2 1/2 lbs skin-on pork belly
3 tbs kosher salt
2 tbs peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tbs sugar
1 1/2 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tbs garlic salt
1 tsp ground espresso
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground allspice
trim pork belly to square off edges so you have a nicely shaped slab. rinse the pork, pat it dry and transfer to a large sheet of parchment paper. in a spice grinder, combine salt, peppercorns and bay leaves and grind. in a small bowl, combine with remaining ingredients. rub seasoning all over pork. transfer to a gallon plastic bag and seal. refrigerate on a sheet tray for 7 days, flipping the bag every other day. some brine will accumulate in the bag. after 7 days, the bacon should feel firm to the touch. remove bacon from the bag and wash thoroughly under cold water. pat dry with paper towels. preheat oven to 200 degrees F. roast bacon on a sheet pan until meat is lightly browned and internal temperature reaches 150 degrees F, about 2 hours. transfer to a cutting board and cool. slice off the skin. once completely cool, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 10 days or freeze for up to 3 months. thinly slice with a long sharp knife or cut into lardons to fry.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello! This is my first visit to your blog but I already see it's one after my own heart. (A heart which I gather is probably made of bacon by now, given as much as I eat it.)

Looking forward to reading more from you guys.

Alina said...

My theory is bacon is the world's most perfect food...crunchy, salty, sweet, smoky, etc. Homemade bacon sounds even more perfect. Thanks for the great recipe.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this recipe! It's the first I've found that doesn't require a smoker, which is great, as my apartment fits inside a teacup.

tara said...

Oh my. If my husband saw this, he'd surely swoon - then request that I make some as soon as possible. Love the idea of having a whole belly so that you could slice the bacon to your needs. Wonderful!

Anonymous said...

I've always thought making baking at home would be so difficult! I'll have to try this out some time; that sandwich is calling me :). I love your pictures!