Curing your own bacon at home is easy, though it does require one specialty ingredient: pink salt, otherwise known as Prague Powder or InstaCure #1. It is a mixture of regular sodium chloride with sodium nitrite, which facilitates the curing process and inhibits the development of botulinum spores. It can be purchased from specialty markets, from butchers or online. (Do not confuse it with regular salt that is naturally pink in color, like Himalayan pink salt*)

*Please note: While pink curing salt is safe to use in curing, it is toxic in its pure form and should never be used like regular salt.

Create a basic cure mix of 1 pound kosher or sea salt, 8 ounces sugar and 8 teaspoons pink salt, and whisk to mix well. This will create more than you need for one cure; the excess can be stored in an airtight container indefinitely.

Start with a pound slab of pork belly, skin on, weighing between 3 and 5 pounds. Trim away any uneven edges to form a neat rectangle.

Lay out about 1/4 cup of the cure mix in a baking sheet pan. If desired, you can add flavorings like 1/4 cup brown sugar for a sweeter bacon, or several crushed garlic cloves and peppercorns for a more-savory bacon. Dredge the pork belly in the cure mix, creating a thick, consistent coating on all sides.

Put the dredged pork belly in a 2-gallon zip-top bag and seal. Place the bagged pork belly in another container to catch any juices that might leak; the belly will give off a lot of juices during the curing process.

Place the container in the refrigerator. Turn the bag over daily, allowing the juices to redistribute around the meat.