Making home cured pork belly takes a week’s time, but is worth every minute once you take that first bite!
Prep Time:1 Week
Cook Time:8 mins
Total Time:168 hours 8 minutes
Yield:Makes 5 lbs. 1x
Ingredients
Scale
For every 5lbs pork belly, you will need the following:
¼ cup coarse kosher salt
2 tsp. Insta-Cure or Prague Powder*
4 tbsp. coarsely ground black pepper
4 bay leaves, crumbled
1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp. juniper berries, lightly crushed
10 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
Combine the curing ingredients in a bowl, stirring well for even distribution. Place the pork belly in a large non-reactive tub (stainless steel, glass, enamel or plastic – we use a plastic dishpan) Massage the curing ingredients well over both sides of the pork belly. Place the pork belly in a large zipper plastic bag, leaving it well crusted with the curing ingredients. Seal, and place in the refrigerator. Turn the bag over every 48 hours, and leave in the refrigerator for 1 week.
After 1 week, remove the pork belly from the bag, and rinse away the spices on both sides. Your bacon is ready for slicing.
A ¼” thick slice should take about 7-8 minutes of cooking time, either under a hot broiler or in a skillet on the stove.