Making your own homemade smoked bacon takes some effort, but it’s completely worth it. I’ll guide you step-by-step through the process of making smoked bacon from scratch, which will be much better than any store-bought bacon.
Smoked Bacon
I was extremely excited to make homemade smoked bacon. It’s just bacon, which is great on its own, but I turned a giant slab of pork belly into seasoned, smoked bacon, which was thrilling. I’m eager to share the process with you.
I’m not the first to try making bacon. I learned about proper cure times and the right amount of curing salt for the bacon’s thickness. Using this knowledge, I created two awesome cure recipes. I hope you try them!
Homemade Smoked Bacon
Making homemade bacon takes several days, but it’s worth it. I’ll share my steps for making smoked bacon at home.
First, buy a piece of pork belly. The thickness varies, but Costco often has good quality, skinned pork belly. If you’re buying from a butcher, ask them to remove the skin for you. Removing the skin yourself is tough and increases the curing time, as it’s usually not removed until after curing.
If your pork belly is large, I suggest cutting it into smaller pieces for easier handling during curing. I usually cut mine to fit easily into a gallon-sized zip-top bag.
How to Cure Bacon
First, prepare the cure using one of the two recipes on the card below. The peppered cure adds some spice and works great on BLTs and cheeseburgers. For a sweeter option, use the maple cure, which combines sweet and salty flavors, ideal for breakfast.
To make your bacon, put the pork belly in a plastic bag with your chosen cure and seal it well. For better results, vacuum seal the bag to remove all air. Then, place the sealed bag in the refrigerator to cure.
Let the pork belly cure for about 7 days. A good rule is to cure the bacon for 7 days per inch of thickness. Flip and massage the pork belly daily in the cure. After 7 days, check the bacon by slicing the middle. The pork belly should be pink throughout with no gray areas. If it’s not fully pink, return it to the cure for another day and check again. The texture should resemble a well-done steak when fully cured.
How to Smoke Bacon
After curing, rinse the pork belly and return it to the fridge to develop a sticky skin known as a pellicle. I place my pork belly on a wire rack over a cookie sheet before putting it back in the fridge. Leave the bacon in the fridge for 12-24 hours; I usually leave mine overnight. This air-drying time helps the smoke adhere to the meat, creating a tacky exterior.
Now, it’s time to smoke the bacon! I prefer using apple wood, but maple and hickory are also great choices. Start your favorite pellet grill and keep the temperature very low (around 165 degrees F).
Place the cured pork belly on the smoker’s grill grates, close the lid, and smoke for about 6 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F. Use a high-quality thermometer for accurate temperature readings. I recommend ThermoWorks thermometers for their accuracy and durability.
Once smoked, the pork is ready to slice and fry. After the long wait, it’s time to enjoy this salty, sweet bacon. It’s tempting to slice and eat it right away, but if you can, chill the bacon completely before slicing; it’s easier to cut when cold. You can use a meat slicer or a sharp knife. If you’re hesitant, try a piece of my homemade bacon; it might inspire you to try new things. You got this!
How to Smoke Bacon on a Grill
If you don’t own a smoker and don’t want to buy one, you can actually make a smoker out of your propane grill. Follow through steps below or watch my video for a full tutorial for smoking on a gas grill.
- Make a Smoke Pouch: Buy hardwood chips from a grocery store, usually found in the outdoor cooking aisle. Create a pouch with a large square of aluminum foil and enclose the hardwood chips in it. Use a knife to make several holes in the top of the pouch.
- Fire up the Grill: Turn on one burner of your grill to high and place the pouch over it. Once the wood starts to smoke, lower the temperature to medium.
- Cook the Pork: Place the cured pork belly on the side of the grill that isn’t lit. Close the grill’s lid. Let the wood chips smoke and smolder until the pork’s internal temperature reaches 155 degrees Fahrenheit. Replace the wood chips pouch if it burns out before the bacon reaches the desired temperature.
Homemade Smoked Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 - 5 pound Slab pork belly skin removed
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 ¼ Tablespoon Prague Powder #1
- 5 Tablespoon Coarse Kosher salt
- 5 Tablespoon Brown sugar
- 4 Tablespoon Maple syrup
- 4 Tablespoon Cracked black pepper
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for the bacon cure in a bowl until they form a paste-like consistency. This is exactly what you want.
- Place your slab of pork belly in a large plastic bag. You can use either a vacuum seal bag or a gallon zip top bag.Using your hands, add some of the cure to the bag with the pork belly. Spread it on all sides.Make sure to coat all sides of the bacon thoroughly with all of the cure.Seal the bag tightly, removing as much air as possible.Put the sealed pork belly in the refrigerator. Cure it for the next 7 days.Flip and massage the pork belly once per day.
- After seven days in the cure, take the bacon out of the bag. Rinse the pork belly gently to remove any thick, slimy build-up on the surface. Set it on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Dry the pork belly with paper towels. Season the top with a tablespoon of fresh cracked black pepper. Put the peppered bacon in the fridge on the rack and leave it uncovered for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours. This step helps form a tacky coating called a pellicle on the bacon's exterior.
- Preheat your smoker to 160-170 degrees F using your favorite hardwood, such as apple, maple, or hickory. Place the pork belly on the grill grates, close the lid, and smoke for about 6 hours. Smoke until the internal temperature of the pork belly reaches 155 degrees F.
- Chill the bacon completely in the refrigerator before slicing. A cold slab of bacon is easier to slice into even pieces. Slice your bacon as thick or as thin as you like. Fry it in a cast iron skillet. Enjoy!
Notes
5 pounds pork belly, skin removed
1 1/4 teaspoon Prague Powder #1
5 Tablespoons coarse Kosher salt
5 Tablespoons maple syrup
5 Tablespoons brown sugar
5 teaspoons cracked black pepper