almost ready to try my first batch

[Clint]

I picked up 6.18# frozen belly from the Asian market yesterday.... It's almost thawed. It's a little thinner than I hoped but o'well!

3 sections.

Not sure what I'll do- maybe maple / cracked pepper?

I lent my Charcuterie book to my neighbor - if I don't find a good cure here I'll have to go get it back (they're great people, he just got a Trager smoker a month or so back....now instead of just his wife's cooking <very good!> he's bringing me ribs, salmon, etc to sample

I've read over the years a lot of the threads...I've been skimming Bob Correll's 'bacon made easy' thread.

I got a pound of Cure Salt #1 from Eldon's Sausage & Jerky Supply

Any suggestions so I don't overdo it?

 

[Steve_A (Tatoosh)]

I use MartinF's cure recipe for mine - but I use maple sugar in it. Turns out a very nice bacon. I almost always add pepper, sometimes red pepper flakes or even a bit of cayenne if I want a bit of heat to go with the sweet. But the maple sugar is an all time thing for me now.