This is how easy it is to make your own bacon

Everything is better with homemade bacon. Why settle for a transparent pack of frozen cured meat with no provenance and more fat than meat, when you can select your own cut from your butcher and get to call your bacon artisanal.

Ingredients

• 10 lbs pork belly with skin
• 1/2 cup Kosher salt
• 4 tsp curing salt
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 4 tbsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 4 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp cumin seeds

Instructions

• The proper belly should be bone-out and about 1 1/2 inches in thickness. 
• Rinse the belly properly and pat dry. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients in the recipe. Place the pork in a large sealable bag that will fit all of it (or it in half, if needed). Cover the whole pork with the curing mix.
• Seal the bag and refrigerate for about eight days.
• After eight days, take the belly out, rinse, pat dry, and place on a rack in the fridge for 36 hours Uncovered.
• Gently cold smoke at around 95° Centigrade. You don’t necessary need a smoker. Take a round barbecue put, place a smoking tray with some charcoal in it, and place it to the side. Set the grill. Place the belly on top, not directly over the tray, and cover for 3 hours or until the internal temp of the pork is 65° Centigrade.
• Slice and fry!

This article originally appeared in the July 2014 issue of Esquire Philippines. Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.