Got this recipe from j biesinger.

Bacon

I followed this recipe and i was pleased with the results. My wife said she thought it was a bit too salty for her tastes but to me it seemed fine. Bacon is supposed to be a little bit salty.

Fine looking bacon Jamie!
Looks like the fat to lean is perfect!

Great looking bacon!! I just found a place that has pork bellies. Waiting for it to get a little cooler outside before I try and cure some bacon though.

I'm waiting for cooler too, but that might take a while. So, if I cure a belly and then vac it, will it "over-cure"?

It doesn't need to be cooler. I've been doing bacon in Florida in full sun, no cover, for years. Just use less fuel.

Michael, it depends on the cure concentration and how you hold it (fridge or freezer) and for how long. If you want to wait, simply freeze the belly, vac'd, till you want to cure it. Again, though, no need to wait.

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Got this recipe from j biesinger.

Bacon

I followed this recipe and i was pleased with the results.

I've been using that recipe pretty much exclusively. I use salt, white sugar, and cure #1 and love the quick cure time and the finished taste.

how long did you brine it?

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how long did you brine it?

I brined for 3 days and then dried it in the fridge for 1 day and then smoked that evening. I'm thinking of soaking in water when i take it out of the brine before drying because it was a bit salty. Would you recommend this? What other ingredients have you used in the brine? Thanks for the recipe.

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I brined for 3 days and then dried it in the fridge for 1 day and then smoked that evening. I'm thinking of soaking in water when i take it out of the brine before drying because it was a bit salty. Would you recommend this? What other ingredients have you used in the brine? Thanks for the recipe.

I usually brine for 48 hours. Sometimes I dry over night, but sometimes not. If you brine for 48 hours and it happens to not be cured through, the extra 12 hours in the fridge will correct that as salt will continue to migrate from areas of high concentration to low. This makes more sense than forcing too much salt in and later pulling some back out.

For belly bacon, I do not add flavors. I have added pickling spice to peameal bacon (unsmoked, cured pork loin) and over did it and it had a strong clove/allspice note. For peameal, I use a combo of juniper, bay and black pepper.

this guy says he must advocate nitrites with cold smoking because he's food safety certified by the state of "redneck-hillbilly", but try to ignore the big-brother/food police rant, and stick to kosher salt/brown sugar/ black pepper
dry curing for a week then smoking. once you've perfected your bacon, start bartering it locally for stuff you need, and cut out the gov't. middlemen and tax molesters and we'll all be better off......

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but try to ignore the big-brother/food police rant, and stick to kosher salt/brown sugar/ black pepper

Why skip the nitrites?

I had nitrite free bacon, and as far as I'm concerned, it wasn't bacon.

And, no need to cold-smoke bacon.

I'm gonna do this recipe for 5lbs. of belly instead of 10lbs which is called for in the recipe. Can i use the same recipe for the brine even though i'm brining less meat or do i need to cut the brine recipe in half?

You can use the same recipe.