Homemade Bacon

I decided since the sausage turned out so good. I would try to make homemade Bacon. Doing it this way is not only cheaper, but I can read the ingredients without a dictionary. I started out with a small amount of pork belly. Just in case it didn't work out.  ( about 4 pounds )

First thing you need to do is cut off the skin with a sharp knife making sure to leave as much fat as possible.

Mix 1/2 cup of kosher salt with 1 pound brown sugar. I also add a little pepper to my rub. It's very important that you us Kosher salt. Table salt does not work. Rub this on all four sides of the meat. This rub will do  8 to 10 pounds of meat.

Transfer to a big plastic seal bag or deep pan with tight lid . You can also us  plastic wrap over the top of the pan. Place in frig  fat side down . Turn every other day for ten days. The rub will turn to a liquid.

On the 11 th day take out  your bacon and rinse it really well. Dry and place on a rack over a pan, skin side down. ( took picture before I turned it over) Put back in frig overnight to dry. It will develop a dry skin .

The following day smoke till the temp of the bacon reaches 150. The wood you use is up to you. We used hickey. You can also use apple wood or mesquite.

They said to put bacon back in frig over night before cooking it. We couldn't wait. We fried it right up. It smelled so good.

This is the finished produce. As you can tell they eat it right up.  These were cut a little thick. If you want thin bacon make sure it is good and cold. This will make it easier to cut thinner slices..
My daughter thought the bacon was fabulous. The favor is more pronounced then store bought bacon.  We really loved the smoky taste.

The cost different:
Good store bought Bacon $ 4.99 a pound.
Homemade Bacon $ 2.65 a pound.