Homemade Smoked Maple Cured Bacon

Recipe by East Oak

Making homemade bacon lets you customize it with your favorite curing ingredients and wood flavors. While the process takes time, most of it involves waiting with very little hands-on work. When purchasing pork belly, be sure to ask the butcher to prepare it properly for bacon making.

Flavor & Texture

Smoked flavor	Maturity	Humidity	Taste	Smell
Mild Flavor	Well Done	Moderate	Sweet and savory, with a hint of black pepper and celery.	Aromatic and smoky, with a faint maple scent.

Ingredients

4 to 5 lb pork belly, skinned and trimmed (as described above)
1/3 cup maple sugar (can substitute brown sugar)
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 TBS coarsely ground black pepper
1 TBS celery salt
1 tsp pink curing salt (optional)

Cooking Time

Prep time	Cooking time	Total time
6 days	2-3 hours	7 days

Cooking Instructions

1. Prepare and Cure the Pork Belly:

Rinse the pork belly under cold water, pat dry, and place it on a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack.
In a medium bowl, mix sugar, salt, pepper, celery salt, and optional pink curing salt.
Rub half of the mixture onto the top of the pork belly, then flip it over and repeat on the other side.
Place the pork belly and any excess cure mixture in a sealed bag or wrap it in plastic. Refrigerate on the lower shelf for 5 days, turning daily to redistribute the liquid.

2. Air Dry the Pork Belly:

After curing, rinse and pat dry the pork belly. Let it air dry on a rack for 4-8 hours.

3. Smoke the Pork Belly:

Remove the pork from the fridge 45 minutes before smoking.
Preheat the smoker to 175°F, add wood chips, and place a water pan filled with apple cider inside.
Smoke the pork belly, fat side up, for 2-3 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 150°F.
Check the water and wood chips halfway through, and clean the rack and water pan as needed.

4. Cool and Refrigerate: