Empty My Fridge
How to make the Best Homemade Bacon (with Szechuan Peppercorns)
Ingredients
- Pork belly1 slab
- Salt2%
- Celery · powder
- Brown sugar1%
- Peppercorn
- Garlic
Instructions
- Weigh the pork belly on a food scale.
- Calculate the other ingredient amounts from that weight: for example, 1000 g of belly needs 20 g of salt (2%).
- Weigh the salt, celery powder, brown sugar, Szechuan peppercorns and garlic cloves, then mix them together in a bowl.
- Coat the pork belly completely with the cure mixture.
- Vacuum seal the belly in a bag and cure it in the fridge at 36-40°F/2-5°C for around 7 days, until firm and deeper in colour.
- If you have no vacuum sealer, cure it in freezer bags or a covered container, keeping it fully covered by the cure and turning as needed.
- Cure for longer, up to two weeks, if the belly is over 5 kg/10 lbs.
- Warm-smoke the belly at 73-104°F/22-40°C for at least 12 and up to 24 hours, using an electric smoker or a charcoal grill set up for indirect heat.
- Remove the skin and let the bacon cool, then slice as desired and freeze any extra slices.
Summarized from Ethan Chlebowski's video. Watch it for the details.
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GarlicBrown sugarCeleryPork belly
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