Curing:

You will need to start with some cured pork bellies. You can use your favorite cure, or use the above recipe. Another possibility is to purchase commercial un-smoked slab bacon, and triple smoke it. I have never done it that way, but I don’t see why it would not work.

Don’t be afraid to add your own spices and/or herbs.

For triple smoked bacon, I prefer to skin (remove rind) prior to curing. It requires a little more work, and it’s not easy, but I feel the end result is worth it.

After measuring out the appropriate amount of Basic Dry Cure and sugar, place in bowl and mix well.

I did this solely because I didn’t want any other flavours added, but if you have a favorite cure, go ahead and use that instead.

Evenly coat the belly with the cure mixture on all sides of the meat, pressing the cure into the belly to ensure that it adheres.

Place the belly in a 2-gallon Ziploc bag. Expel as much air as possible, close bag and place in a refrigerator, and cure for 7-9 days.

The Curing Time:

Everyday you will need to shake it gently to redistribute the cure liquid, and turn the bag over. This is called “overhauling”.

During curing, the belly will give off some liquid. Do not pour this liquid off; it is important that this curing liquid remain in close contact with the belly during the full curing time.

After 7 days, check the belly for firmness. If it is firm in all areas, especially the thickest points, it is fully cured. If it feels soft in some areas, refrigerate 1-2 days longer.

Since this was going to be left unrefrigerated for at least three days, I decided to cure it for 9 days instead of the recommended 7 days (although I don’t think this is necessary).

When belly is fully cured, remove from the Ziploc bag, rinse thoroughly under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Also thoroughly rinse out the Ziploc bag. After you have rinsed and dried the belly with paper towels, place it back into the Ziploc bag and return to the refrigerator, for at least one day and up to 3, to rest.

When you remove any cured meat from its cure or brine, the heaviest concentration is still located at the surface of the meat. This resting period allows the cure to equally redistribute itself.

Smoking Directions:

Day One

Remove belly from the refrigerator. While the belly is on the counter prepare your smoker. I find using the “cold smoking setup” is the only way to achieve the low temperatures you need. Preheat the smoker to 90-100°F, and also preheat your generator at this time.

Place the belly in the cabinet and to air dried bacon until the pellicle has developed (surface should be tacky to the touch).

Once the pellicle has formed, reduce the temperature to 80°F.

Cold Smoke Setup: you can also make it using a card board box. Cut a rectangular hole in the side of the box large enough to allow the bisquette burner to fit through. Make sure that the hole is large enough that no part of the bisquette burner touches the cardboard; this part of the smoke generator gets quite hot. Next, cut a circular hole in top of the box for the flexible dryer vent to fit in (use the pictures in the provided link above as a guide to assemble your

Cold Smoke Setup). Don’t forget to place the water bowl inside the box to catch and extinguish the burnt bisquettes. When using a cardboard box for a cold smoke setup, never leave it unattended while the smoke generator is on.

Place bellies so that they are in the middle of the smoker. if you have more than one rack, use the upper racks before using the one closest to the heating element. Also, for more even drying, rotate the rack(s) front to back, and top to bottom every 4 hours. If you are leaving the bacon in the smoker for the full time, you don’t have to rotate during the night. Just start rotating again the following day.

Use Bisquettes of Choice:

After the pellicle has formed, keep the smoker cabinet between 70-90°F, and apply 3 hours of smoke (don’t forget to preheat the generator before adding the bisquettes). I use apple, maple or pecan. If you would like a stronger smoke flavour you can use hickory.

After applying the smoke, ideally you should leave it in the smoker at 70-90°F, until you apply the second and third applications of smoke. But if that is not practical, you can remove it from the smoker and allow it to sit at room temperature. Make sure the belly is on a wire rack, so that air can circulate underneath it.

Day Two

Follow steps 4 and 5 of day one.

Day Three

Follow step 4 of day one.

After applying the smoke, increase cabinet temperature up to 180°F, and cook until the belly reaches an internal temperature of 150-155°F.

If you don’t want to fully cook the bacon, increase the cabinet temperature to 170°F, and bring the bacon up to 137°F. At this temperature, it is not safe to eat and it will require further cooking. You should treat it as regular cured bacon.
Remove from smoker and allow to cool. At this point, the bacon is fully cooked and you can slice and eat as is. Or you can fry it at a low temperature. It will not shrink as much as regular cured bacon.

Leave belly whole, and slice off only what you intend to use. Refrigerator or freeze for longer storage.