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.