All meat lovers love bacon, right? So why not learn how to make your own bacon from home! To have your favorite flavors and the thickness you enjoy the most, all while saving money in the long run. Yes, this may take up some extra space in your fridge and freezer but I would have to say it’s worth it.

Where we got our meat

We got our 9lb pork belly from Costco.  At the time it was under 30$ but this does vary.  You do want to buy the skin off pork belly unless you want to make your own pork rinds, then that’s a perfect thing to use later on if you are wanting to be more creative with your cooking.

Prepping the meat

I did trim some of the fat off if you desire to, I didn’t take too much off of ours but we did take a little off. And if you did decide to get some with skin on, this is where you would take off the skin. Some local butchers do leave the skin on or you can request it left on.

I cut it into thirds to try different flavors to see which one me and my family enjoyed the most. 

I weighed out each one using my large Cabela’s food scale. You can buy a similar scale on Amazon here.

I got three 3lbs of pork belly after cutting and separating.

TUFFIOM Scale 220lbs.

Nicewell Food Scale 22lbs.

LEVIN Food Scale 33lbs.

Sausage Meat maker 

We ordered the variety pack but you can order singles and or bigger tubs and decide which flavors are your favorites.

I did the dry rub but you can cure it using the same cure in a liquid brine if you so desired.

The Sausage Maker

Meat Cure Flavors

1. Maple Bacon Cure – For 3 pounds of pork belly I did 4.5oz of the dry rub cure
2. Brown Sugar Bacon Cure – For 3 pounds of pork belly I did 4.5oz of the dry rub cure
3. Honey Bacon Cure – For 3 pounds of pork belly, I did 2.1oz of the dry rub cure

Fusion Digital Scale – 3000g

I weighed each flavor out on my small food scale. I rubbed the cure on the slabs evenly and made sure I used all the seasoning. I pre-measured the amounts for each meat.

Curing The Meat

Put them in a 1-gallon zip lock bag or any other airtight container to help prevent leaks. I left them in the fridge and flipped the bag’s bottom side up once daily rubbing the meat through the bag for 4-5 days. Seeing liquid in the bottom of the bag is normal. Remember you are drawing the moisture out of the meat with the cure. And the meat should start becoming more firm as the days go on.

I did leave mine in 7 days because my family and I had gotten so busy. But directions do say 4-5 days. This could be the reasoning behind some of the extra saltiness to some of the flavors but not sure yet.

On the last day, I took it out of the bags and rinsed it thoroughly, scrubbing off any salty residue. Put the meat in non-chlorinated water for 6-12 hours. I personally did 12. 

After the 12 hours were up, I pulled it out of the water, dried it, and let it sit on the counter for around an hour. At this point, you should add any extra seasoning you may want, honey, maple, black pepper, or any other seasonings. 

The Cooking Of The Meat

I pre-heated my Bradly Smoker up to 120 degrees and used alternating smoke wood pucks between hickory and apple and then I smoked it for 2 hours. And then bumped it up to 130 for 2 hours and bumped it up again to 140 and then moderated until the internal temp reached 125, which for me was about 6 and a half hours total. So another 2 and half hours or so.

Then pulled it off and cooled it off by letting it sit on the counter and had to slice some up to pan fry and finish cooking for me and my family to sample! A quarter-inch thick is how we like it but you can cut it to the thickness of choice. 

Ending Thoughts For Cooking Bacon From Home

Please note* While it has been smoked, it is not fully cooked. So you still need to cook it like any other store-bought bacon. But this one tastes better!

At this point, if you did not slice it up to eat it you can vacuum seal it and freeze it to make it last longer. In the refrigerator, it should last up to 2-3 weeks.

The Honey flavor is our family’s favorite, it did turn out to be the least salty.

FoodSaver V4400 2-in-1 Vacuum Sealer

So give or take this bacon is around 3$ a pound.

So overall I would rate making bacon at home well worth the time and everyone who tasted it said the flavor is well above store-bought bacon. More fresh, more flavorful. And I personally like knowing what’s in my bacon and all my food for that matter.

So please consider taking the time and making your own fresh smoked bacon from home!

You can do this!
-Ky