How to Cure Your Own Bacon at Home

Here I’ll be showing you how I cure bacon (bacon belly) right at home with a very simple process that’s so much easier than you think! All Natural- no nitrates or nitrites needed.

Sometimes working with animals just doesn’t go as expected case in point – ever since two of our pigs wouldn’t get on the trailer, we learned how to process our own bacon. Plus we had to learn how to process the entire pig itself, two of them. That’s a whole other story, your here for the bacon aren’t ya?

With the simple process of sugar & salt and placing in the fridge for 5 days you’ll be well on your way to home cured delicious bacon.  We actually prefer it over any of the butcher’s we have used over the last 6 years of processing our organic pasture raised pigs.  We choose not to use nitrates/nitrites in our bacon, nor msg in any of our sausages as well.

So when the pigs won’t go but they need to “go” then it’s time to learn!! Thanks to Farmstead Meatsmith for wonderful videos and how to on curing your own bacon at home we couldn’t’ve done it without you.  He has a download that he sells if you’d to dive deeper into the subject.

You’ll need a cut called “Bacon belly” it’s the meat section from the belly itself, that’s where all bacon comes from.  We cut them into 5 lb sections or have the processor Plus some sugar & salt and a setup that’s similar to ours and some room in your fridge.

Watch the video HERE

Join the Accidental Pig Farmers by watching all my silly pig videos HERE

What You’ll Need:

• 5 lb slab of bacon belly
• 1 cup salt (I love redmond’s real salt)
• 1 cup sugar (I love organic cane sugar from azure standard)
• rack that fits inside your tub or pan
• large tub or pan

Notes: I’m using an old rack stainless steel that went in a large pot to keep meat off the bottom while cooking. So anything like that would work and that fits into a pan. I’m using an aluminum pan since I do not care if the salt ends up ruining it as the meat will never end up touching it. So keep that in mind.  We choose to do a mixture of salt & sugar in order to help you from not over salting the bacon which can happen very easily.

Directions:

1. Rinse your bacon belly and pat dry
2. Mix together in a container your salt & sugar. It’s always a a 50/50 mix.
3. In your pan place the salt & sugar mixture, start with one cup and add more if needed.
4. Place your bacon belly in the pan and rub the mixture all over, both sides and in any crevice or flap. Every area needs to be liberally coated.
5. Place your rack inside the pan and place your bacon belly on top.
6. I like to put it fat side up. You’ll leave this uncovered the entire time.
7. Place this in your fridge for 5 days. Mark a timer on your phone or calendar. The longer you leave it the saltier it will be. The texture of the meat will change, don’t’ worry this is what we want.
8. After this remove the bacon belly and rinse under cool water to remove all the sugar & salt.
9. Pat dry.
10. It’s time for bacon!

What’s next:

• Slice up and cook your favorite way now
• Slice up and store in fridge for up to one week
• Keep into larger sections and freeze
• Slice and freeze and pull-out pieces as needed