How To Make The Best Homemade Bacon

1,977,956
0
Published 2018-10-20
Making bacon at home is insanely easy, requires minimal ingredients, and little time commitment. Long story short you should be making it, and I'm going to show you the easy way. All it takes is some pork belly, salt, sugar, and a little bit of patience for curing and maybe some smoking. Now this is real DIY goodness.

The Curing Salt I use (prague #1): shop-links.co/1736286412581544210
A Smoker Like Mine (They don't make the same one I have anymore): shop-links.co/1736286569527507487
Michael Ruhlman's Book:amzn.to/2CYMYyX

FOLLOW ME:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/joshuaweissman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thejoshuaweissman
Twitter: twitter.com/therealweissman
Website: joshuaweissman.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------
Music - Saib: soundcloud.com/saib_eats
---------------------------------------------------------------
Ingredients you'll need:
Large Batch of Dry Cure-
2 cups (400g) kosher salt
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
6.5 teaspoons (60g) pink curing salt (NOT himalayan pink salt. The link to the curing salt that I use is closer to the top of the description here.)

Curing the Belly:
at least a 3 pound (1360g) or more, skin on pork belly

The most accurate way of curing (my preferred method):
Cure the pork belly at a 2.5 percent cure. Multiply the weight of your pork belly in grams by .025 and the number you get from that will be the amount of dry cure that you need to use on the bacon. So in other words a 1600g pork belly would require 40g of dry cure.

The non gram scale version of curing:
Basically sprinkle a generous layer of cure on a baking sheet (about 1/3 of a cup) and dredge your pork belly in it to thoroughly coat all sides. Less accurate, could result in slightly salty bacon, but it works in a pinch if you don't have a scale and don't plan on getting one.

All Comments (21)
  • @colina1330
    I feel like an important, often-overlooked step in bacon preparation is having at least one bourbon during the process. Not enough bacon manufacturers drink bourbon while they make it, and it shows.
  • This is pretty much the way we do bacon - so many great ways to flavour it , and different smoke flavours you can add.
  • @sitnslide
    Poach or steam the skin until it's really soft. Dry on a rack. Deep fry (350 maybe). It puffs up into bacon chicharrones. Oh my.
  • @Jamison996
    This is so awesome when I first started watching this channel I used to cook hamburger helper every night now I have way more confidence in the kitchen I cook our own bread, bacon, and many more dishes I thought I could only buy pre made or in restaurants thank you so much Josh for giving confidence to beginners in cooking!!
  • @fakecubed
    It's not homemade bacon unless you knew the pig from birth.
  • @trishsmith2811
    i’m so glad to see this! We’ve been smoking our own bacon for a couple years now and it is so easy and better than any bacon you have ever had! We use brown sugar and sometimes put maple syrup and lots of cracked pepper. We also flip the pork belly every day for 5 days. Costco almost always has pork belly that’s nice and meaty. No skin on it so both sides get lots of smoke.
  • @hjlin8289
    When did Michael Reeves start cooking?
  • @Vamqirr
    “You know how to cook bacon, is not rocket science” I legit burnt more bacon than you can imagine
  • I always look forward to two things when I open a Weissman Video.... his iconic conversation with the camera in the cabinet and the awesome recipe.... always witty, always well-made. A TV show, perhaps?
  • @k0nnaxd769
    I can't express how much I've learned from Joshua... My family has been super grateful for me cooking the food, but the thanks should all go towards Joshua
  • @markschaffer167
    I learned how to make bacon from an old time butcher. You don’t need those exact measurements. He taught me Kosher salt, light brown sugar. I now add dark brown sugar. Way more flavor than regular white sugar. He also taught me flip those bags every day for 10 days. Wash the salt off then soak in cold water. Empty the water n do that 2 more times. Dry the belly and let sit in frig on a rack uncovered over night. Then start your smoke. 6-12 hours of smoking till internal meat temp is 159 to 163 degrees. Then put in the frig overnight before slicing. He was butchering over 55 years and I’ve been making bacon for over 12 years. Definitely add the brown sugar it will make the flavor of the bacon 10 levels better than just white sugar!! Delicious!!
  • @badamc
    But how so I substitute in my sourdough starter?
  • @frogonmytoe2946
    Literally every video Josh makes is incredible. My fave YouTube cooking channel!!
  • @lionelhutt9119
    thank you for including percentages and ratios. This is the first homemade bacon video that actuality gave me the information I need
  • @jonathan8122
    Dude, I am so freaking glad I found your channel! You go and show us things other cooking shows don't touch. Thanks man!