Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup salt
- 8 ounces molasses
- 1/2 gallon (2 quarts) water
- 1/2 gallon (2 quarts) apple cider
- 2 tablespoons course ground black pepper
- 1 (5 pound) piece raw pork belly from the loin-end
Directions
In a large non-reactive pot, bring half the water, 1 cup of sugar, salt, and 8 ounces molasses to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour into a large container with the remaining water, and the apple cider. Place in the refrigerator and cool to 40 degrees F.
Press the black pepper into the pork belly. Once the brine has cooled place the peppered pork belly into the mixture until completely submerged. Refrigerate for three days.
After three days have passed, remove the pork from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Lay on a rack over a sheet pan and place in front of a fan for 1 hour to form a pellicle. Lay the pork in the protein box of a cold smoker and smoke for 4 to 6 hours. Chill the meat in the freezer for 1 hour to stiffen for easy slicing into strips of bacon. Slice what you need and keep the remainder in a freezer safe bag in the refrigerator or freezer.
Place the strips of bacon onto a sheet pan fitted with a rack and place into a cold oven. Turn the oven to 400 degrees F and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon. Remove from rack and drain on paper towels. Enjoy.
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By billtohe
on August 31, 2011
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If you want a 5 star version, substitute maple syrup for molasses, brown for white sugar. Remember you can use ice for the rapid cool down instead of tap water. I like the salt increased by a quarter cup.
By pucky900_4070637
Cary, IL
on April 15, 2011
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Absolutely love this recipe and it's easy to make. Alton is right... there is nothing like the taste of making your own bacon. I know that the recipe calls for no nitrates (Pink Salt but I usually add a little. I've made it with and with out. With out.... it will taste like bacon but won't have the "red" color that we are use to with bacon. With pink salt.... it will maintain the red color. Also, I used liquid smoke in my latest batch instead of actually cold smoking with great results. In my smoker, it's hard to control the temperature when it begins to warm up outside which gave me the idea of liquid. I got a huge "thumbs up" from the family.
By newdigitalboy
Brooklyn, NY
on November 12, 2010
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My friends and I constructed our own version of the cold smoker based on Alton's design. We used a small cardboard box for the hot side and a U-Haul wardrobe box for the cold side. (Much easier than using metal boxes. We put together a really fun video that you can watch here:
http://vimeo.com/16502428
For the cure I followed AB's recipe. For the wood shavings we used maple. It all came together pretty easily and the bacon was spectacular. We're already planning our next bacon smoking session.
Read all 22 reviews