Maple-Cured Smoked Bacon

I have been wanting to cure my own bacon for a while now. My first go at it, I went with a recipe out of Charcuterie.

I was able to get a really nice 10LB Skinless Pork Belly from work. The brand is White Marble Farms.

My cure was:
4oz Kosher Salt
24grams Pink Salt
100grams Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Blis Bourbon Maple Syrup
First, let me recommend you buy a bottle of Blis Bourbon Maple Syrup. Williams-Sonoma carries it now. It is hands down the best syrup I have ever tasted. I use it for everything.

Anyway, I mixed all the rub ingredients together and then rubbed the mixture over the entire belly.

I covered it with plastic wrap and refrigerated it. The pork released water into the rub, creating a brine. Every other day, I would flip the belly over, and redistribute the brine/cure.

I cured it for seven full days, and then washed off the cure & put it in a slotted pan.

I let it dry out in the refrigerator for about 20 hours.

I then got to test out my new Bradley Digital Smoker. Which I am so happy with.
I cut the belly into two pieces and put them into the smoker.

I smoked them at 200 degrees with maple wood for almost 3 hours, until they had an internal temperature of 130.

I let the bacon cool & then refrigerated them. To test, I sliced a couple of pieces and fried them off.

I overcooked them slightly, but I do prefer my bacon on the crispier side.

The difference is definitely there. You can really taste the flavor of in-house bacon over the stuff you would get at the grocery store.