With this step-by-step guide, you can learn how to cure and smoke your own bacon at home. Following this simple recipe will give you the absolute best bacon you’ve ever had in your life. I lovingly refer to this homemade bacon as “bacon gold”!.
Our husband looked at me and said, “We should make our own bacon.” It was 2019 Being the bacon-lover that I am, I immediately was into this idea. After studying and practicing our methods for a few years, I’m excited to share our tried-and-true recipe for homemade bacon!
While it does take some advance planning to make your own bacon at home, it’s well worth it. This is literally the best bacon I’ve ever had in my life. It literally melts in your mouth like liquid gold!.
We usually purchase a 9 pound pork belly when making this bacon recipe at home. We split it in half and make two different flavors, a maple bacon and a toasted fennel bacon. The maple is a classic, but the toasted fennel will surprise and delight you! It makes the best BLT sandwich you’ve ever had!
The bacon can be stored whole or sliced in the freezer for up to a year. We make this recipe three to four times a year and always have some in the freezer for when we want “bacon gold.” I really think you should do the same!
For the full ingredient amounts, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Making your own bacon at home is extremely rewarding. Not only is homemade bacon tastier and better quality than store-bought but you can customize it exactly to your liking. While smoking pork belly to make bacon may seem intimidating it’s actually quite simple once you understand the basic steps.
One of the most common questions for beginners is how long to smoke pork belly to achieve crispy, fully-cooked bacon. The answer depends on a few factors, which I’ll explain in detail below. Follow these tips for perfect pork belly bacon every time.
Before jumping into the smoking process, let’s do a quick rundown of what bacon actually is and how it’s made.
Bacon is made from pork belly, which is the fatty untrimmed cut of meat from the belly of the pig. Pork belly has layers of fat running through it which when cured and smoked, become the signature white stripes of crispy bacon fat.
The basic process for making bacon is:
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Curing – Pork belly is cured in a salt brine, sometimes with spices and sugar. This chemically changes the meat, adds flavor, and preserves it.
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Smoking – The cured meat is smoked at low temperatures to cook it, add smokey flavor, and further preserve it.
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Slicing – Once smoked, the pork belly is cooled, then sliced into the familiar thin strips of bacon.
While you can buy cured, pre-smoked pork belly to make bacon, starting from scratch yields the best results. Homemade bacon is fun and allows for endless customization.
The length of time needed to smoke pork belly depends on the curing, thickness of the meat, type of smoker, and desired texture. Let’s look at each factor:
Curing Time
Before smoking, pork belly must be cured first. This is done by submerging the meat in a salt brine, sometimes with sugar and spices added too.
The brine chemically changes the meat, adding flavor and preserving it. A standard dry cure contains salt, sugar, and nitrates. A wet brine also includes water.
The thickness of the pork belly determines the required curing time. For a 1-inch thick slab, plan on:
- Dry cure: 5 to 7 days
- Wet brine: 7 to 10 days
For thicker cuts, extend the brining time. Curing draws moisture out of the meat, so the thicker it is, the longer the brine needs to penetrate fully.
Under-curing can result in bacon that’s overly chewy. When in doubt, allow extra time. The meat can soak for several weeks safely.
Pork Belly Thickness
After curing comes smoking, which partially cooks and flavors the meat. How long you’ll need to smoke depends on the thickness of the pork belly.
Standard supermarket pork belly is about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Here are some general smoking guidelines based on thickness:
- 1 inch thick – Smoke for approximately 5 to 6 hours
- 1 1/2 inches thick – Smoke for approximately 6 to 8 hours
- 2 inches thick – Smoke for approximately 8 to 10 hours
The thicker the pork belly, the more time it needs in the smoker at low heat to cook through fully. If you’re unsure of thickness, you can always use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.
Type of Smoker
Another factor determining smoke time is what type of smoker you use. The main options are:
- Electric smoker – Uses electricity to precisely control temperature. Produces less smoke flavor.
- Charcoal smoker – Uses hot charcoal for heat and wood chunks for smoke flavor. Temperature can fluctuate.
- Propane smoker – Uses propane for heat and wood chunks for smoke. Easy to manage temperature.
- Pellet smoker – Burns compressed hardwood pellets to generate heat and smoke. Highly controllable.
Electric and propane smokers will smoke more efficiently due to their temperature precision. With charcoal or pellet units, temperature variability can lengthen the process.
In any type of smoker, use indirect low heat between 180 to 275°F. The lower the temp, the longer to finish, but the tastier the bacon.
Desired Texture
The final doneness of your bacon is a matter of personal preference. Are you looking for chewy, tender meat or extra crispy and brittle?
For chewier, more flexible bacon, smoke until the internal temp reaches 125 to 135°F. For crispy bacon that crunches, smoke up to 145 to 155°F internal temperature.
A meat thermometer is highly recommended, as pork needs to reach at least 145°F internally to be safe to eat. Undercooked bacon can harbor dangerous bacteria.
The following temps produce these textures:
- Soft and pliable = 125 to 135°F
- Slightly crispy = 135 to 145°F
- Crispy and crunchy = 145 to 155°F
For food safety, always cook to at least 145°F. But you can experiment to find your perfect level of crispiness.
Step-by-Step Smoking Process
Now that we’ve covered the factors that affect smoking time, let’s walk through the full process from start to finish:
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Prepare the cure – Mix together the salt, sugar, spices, and water or keep dry. Submerge pork belly and cure in the fridge.
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Cure the meat – Let pork belly cure in the brine based on its thickness, at least 5 days for a 1-inch slab.
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Rinse and rest – Remove pork from cure and rinse well. Pat dry. Let rest overnight in the fridge.
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Prep the smoker – Set up your smoker with indirect low heat between 180 to 275°F. Add your choice of wood for flavor.
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Smoke the belly – Place pork belly in the smoker fat side up. Smoke for estimated time based on thickness and type of smoker, checking often.
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Check temp – Monitor the internal temp, not relying on time alone. Cook to between 125 to 155°F for desired texture.
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Rest and chill – Remove bacon from the smoker and allow to come to room temp. Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight.
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Slice and cook – Using a sharp knife, slice the bacon into strips about 1/8 inch thick. Fry to enjoy!
The initial smoking provides most of the smoky flavor and partially cooks the bacon. Frying gives it that crispy, sizzling texture we all love.
Tips for Perfect Results
Follow these tips for the highest quality homemade bacon:
- Use fresh, high-quality pork belly, ideally locally sourced from a butcher. Avoid pre-cut supermarket slabs.
- Cut the pork belly into smaller, uniform slabs to smoke evenly.
- Weigh down the meat in the brine so it cures evenly.
- Rinse and pat dry thoroughly after curing.
- Let the meat rest overnight after curing and before smoking.
- Maintain consistent low temperature in the smoker. Use a thermometer.
- Use fruit wood or hickory to generate smoke. Avoid soft woods like pine.
- Flip the pork occasionally during smoking to prevent hot spots.
- Don’t rush it! Low and slow is key for properly smoked bacon.
- Let bacon cool to room temp before chilling overnight to lock in flavor.
The ideal internal temperature for safety and texture is 145 to 155°F. Use a good probe thermometer to monitor doneness.
Bottom line – for 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick pork belly, expect the smoking time to take approximately 6 to 8 hours. But always rely on temperature over time. Perfectly smoked DIY bacon is worth the wait!
Enjoy Your Fresh Homemade Bacon
One of life’s greatest pleasures is taking the first bite of freshly sliced bacon you smoked yourself at home. The smell as it sizzles in the pan, the rich smokey flavor, the meaty texture – homemade bacon is truly hard to beat.
Now that you know the keys to how long to smoke pork belly based on its size, cure and desired crispiness, you can master the art of bacon smoking. Experiment with different woods, seasonings and textures to create your own signature bacon. Just be sure to make plenty – homemade bacon never lasts long!
Store or cook the bacon
- I like to slice the bacon into 1- to 2-pound blocks to store it. That way, I can only defrost up to 2 pounds at a time. Either vacuum seal the bacon slabs or put them in zipper bags that can go in the freezer. Always write the date and the type of bacon on them. Freeze for up to 1 year.
- Cut the bacon into any thickness you want to cook it. I like to cook thick-cut bacon at a lower temperature than regular store-bought bacon for this “bacon gold.” This makes sure that the bacon fat renders perfectly and the crust doesn’t get too brown. To make your own bacon, put the slices in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and cook them at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes. Bear an eye on the bacon while it’s cooking so it doesn’t get too done. The worst thing that can happen is for homemade bacon gold to catch fire! You can also fry the bacon in a large pan over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, or until it’s the crispiness you like.
- If you vacuum-seal the pork belly to cure it, use ice cubes instead of water. I should thank my husband for this idea. It is much easier to vacuum seal the bag when there is no liquid in it. Twenty ice cubes are equal to one cup of water.
- For 10 days, don’t forget to turn the pork belly over in the bag. This will make sure that the pork belly is well cured on both sides before it goes on the smoker.
- Don’t forget to smoke to temperature, not time! If you don’t have a meat probe or a wireless meat thermometer like the MEATER to check the pork belly’s temperature without opening the smoker’s lid, I suggest using an instant-read meat thermometer to start after one hour. The thickest part of the pork belly could take anywhere from one to three hours to reach 150°F, depending on how big it is. Check the temperature inside every 15 to 20 minutes until it reaches 150°F.
- I think you should smoke the bacon with apple pellets or wood. Applewood smoked bacon is popular for a reason. That’s tasty! The mild taste of the apple wood goes well with the pork flavor. You could also use pellets or wood from maple, peach, or cherry trees.
- Homemade bacon that hasn’t been cooked can be kept in the fridge for up to two weeks, either whole or cut up. After that, I recommend transferring it to the freezer.
- Cooked, homemade bacon should also be stored in the refrigerator. It tastes best hot and straight from the oven, but you can keep it in the fridge for 5 days in an airtight container after cooking.
- Homemade bacon that hasn’t been cooked can be frozen for up to a year in a bag that is safe for freezing. I don’t think homemade bacon should be frozen after it’s been cooked.
Ways to serve the bacon
When this bacon comes out of the oven, I almost always eat it right off the baking sheet while standing over the kitchen island. That’s what I meant: after I put the cooked bacon on a plate and act like an adult by sitting down at the table, Wink, wink.
Really though, this bacon is so tasty that it goes perfectly with scrambled eggs or omelettes, toast or pancakes, and a Bloody Mary for breakfast. You could also put the bacon on a bagel bar or use it in any of these tasty bacon recipes.
- Vacuum sealer: I put both cooked and raw meats in the freezer almost every week with this FoodSaver vacuum sealer at home.
- To fit the big pieces of pork belly, you’ll need extra-large vacuum sealer bags. You can also buy vacuum sealer rolls and cut the bags to any size you want. These are what I recommend for this recipe.
- That’s my Traeger Pro Series Grill at home that I used for this recipe.
- Pellets or wood—I like Traeger Apple Pellets for this recipe.
- Thermometer: I use the probes that come with the smoker on the Traeger. This wireless meat thermometer is a good choice if you don’t have a smoker with a meat probe.
- Heavy-duty foil – for wrapping the bacon after it’s smoked.
Homemade Bacon Recipe – How to Cure and Smoke Bacon – AmazingRibs.com Maple Bacon
FAQ
How long should you smoke pork belly for bacon?
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Does bacon need to be smoked to 150?