Bacon is one of the most beloved foods out there. The smoky, salty, crispy meat has an irresistible flavor that enhances everything from breakfast to burgers. But bacon can also be expensive and full of preservatives. That’s why many home cooks are turning to pork belly as a way to get that bacon taste they crave for less.
The good news is that making pork belly taste like bacon is easy to do at home with just a little effort. In this post, I’ll walk you through all the simple steps for turning plain old pork belly into delicious homemade “bacon” slices. Let’s get cooking!
Selecting and Preparing the Pork Belly
Obviously, the first step is to buy a nice big slab of skin-on pork belly. Look for one that has distinct layers of fat and meat, which will give you the classic bacon look after cooking. Plan on about one pound of pork belly per 1-2 people for breakfast servings
Once you’ve got the pork belly, there are a couple things you need to do before cooking. First, trim off any excess hard fat or skin with a sharp knife. You want some fat left on for both flavor and to keep the pork moist. But too much extra fat can cause the pork belly to curl as it cooks.
Next, make shallow slashes on the skin side of the pork belly about 1 inch apart. This helps render extra fat and make the pork belly crispy. Finally, pat the pork belly dry with paper towels. Getting rid of excess moisture now means it will caramelize and crisp up better later.
The Dry Brine Makes All the Difference
Here’s where the magic happens to make pork belly taste like bacon! Mix up a simple dry brine and rub it all over the meat. A dry brine is just a mixture of salt, sugar, and spices that both flavors and cures the pork belly. Here’s a great basic dry brine recipe to use for each 1 pound of pork belly:
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Massage the dry brine mix into the pork, covering all sides evenly. Make sure to get rub into the slashes you made as well. Then place the dry rubbed pork belly on a wire rack set over a sheet pan or in a shallow dish. Chill it uncovered in the fridge for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. This extended time in the dry brine intensifies the flavors.
Low and Slow Oven Cooking
The next step for making pork belly taste like bacon is cooking it low and slow to crisp it up. Remove the pork belly from the fridge and let it come closer to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 250°F
Place the pork on a rack tucked into a sheet pan. Make sure the skin side faces up. Cook for about 2-3 hours, until the pork reaches an internal temperature of at least 150°F. If you want it extra crispy, prop up the pork belly slightly so more of the underside cooks and crisps as well.
The low heat gently renders the fat while the dry brine forms that gorgeous crust. Rotate the pan and flip the pork belly halfway through baking to promote even cooking. When the pork belly is fully cooked, let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Getting Perfect Slices
After the pork belly has cooled slightly, it’s time to slice it up. Use a sharp slicing or carving knife to cut across the slab into bacon sized slices. Aim for about 1/4 inch thick. Remember to slice perpendicular to the skin so each piece includes some meat and fat.
The pork belly will still be soft coming right out of the oven. To crisp it up, you can either briefly fry the slices in a skillet or return them to a 400°F oven for 5-10 minutes. The leftover pork belly slices also freeze wonderfully for up to 3 months. Reheat frozen slices in the skillet or oven until sizzling before serving.
Serving Your Homemade Bacon
Now you’re ready to enjoy your tender, flavorful homemade bacon! Here are some of my favorite ways to serve it up:
-
Chop it up and cook until crisp to use on sandwiches, burgers, pizza and more.
-
Bake slices in the oven until candied for a sweet touch.
-
Use it to wrap scallops, shrimp, chicken breasts and other foods before cooking.
-
Crumble it over the top of soups, salads and baked potatoes.
-
Stir crispy crumbled pieces into rice or pasta dishes.
-
Serve slices alongside eggs, pancakes and other breakfast foods.
The possibilities are endless for enjoying this homemade bacon. Make a big batch on the weekend and use all week long for quick meals. Customize the dry brine over time to create different flavor profiles. And slice and freeze leftovers foralways having homemade bacon at the ready.
Here is a summary of the key steps:
-
Select a nice thick slab of skin-on pork belly and trim excess fat and skin. Score the skin side.
-
Make a dry brine with salt, sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Rub it all over the pork belly.
-
Refrigerate the rubbed pork belly for 8-72 hours.
-
Cook low and slow at 250°F until it reaches 150°F internal temperature.
-
Let rest 10 minutes then slice into 1/4 inch pieces. Fry briefly to crisp up.
-
Enjoy your homemade bacon slices in all sorts of delicious ways!
With this simple pork belly bacon recipe, you’ll never have to settle for store bought again. Crispy, smoky, homemade bacon can be yours with just a little prep and hands-off oven time. Try it for yourself and taste the incredible difference!
There are few single ingredients that are so universally adored as bacon. And the only thing better than bacon is homemade bacon.
Curing your own bacon, at least once, is a great experience for any meat enthusiast. It takes a while (compared to running to the store and buying some), but the end result is well worth it because you feel like you’ve accomplished something and got something tasty in return. Furthermore, it lets you decide what goes into the bacon, how good the pork is, and of course, the flavoring and smoke level. Not only that, but you can make the slices as thick or thin as you want.
There are a few things you’ll need to make your own bacon. Firstly, curing salt (aka Prague powder) which can be bought at better grocery and specialty food stores or ordered online. Second, you’ll need a smoker of some kind (because obviously that’s how you get the smoke flavor!). A pellet grill is perfect for this task because it’s fabulously easy to use, and will only take a couple of hours. I prefer fruit woods like Apple or Cherry to pair with pork, but of course you can go for something stronger like Hickory. Finally, you may want to consider investing in a great quality thermometer. I use and recommend the Thermapen, and also used a Dot to monitor the temp of the smoker.
This recipe serves as the core foundation for a bunch of different types and flavors you can try. All you need to do is adjust some of the ingredients and experiment with additions. You can make your own signature bacon with brown sugar, molasses, garlic, bourbon, different types of wood, and a lot of other things. Let’s be honest: it’s going to be a really tasty process of trial and error.
It goes without saying that once you have all that bacon, you can use it to make magical meals like these:
