How to Make Homemade Bacon from Scratch in 5 Simple Steps

Do you enjoy the traditional comfort breakfast? You know…eggs, bacon, and some toast with a small cup of orange juice and a big cup of coffee?

Well, that is a personal favorite around our home.

So when we were gifted with a couple of hogs for processing I decided to make my very own bacon. There are quite a few ways you can make bacon, but after lots of research, this is the method we decided to go with.

Here is How to Make Bacon Yourself:

First, you will need-

• A pork belly
• Sharp knife
• ¼ cup of salt
• ¼ cup of brown sugar
• ¼ cup of syrup
• Ziploc bag
• Smoker

Now, you are ready to begin.

1. It All Starts with the Pig

A lot of people think that you have to raise pigs in order to make your own bacon. Well, they’d be incorrect. You can actually go to the store and buy a slab of pork belly. It is usually inexpensive too because it is just plain meat. Nothing has been done to it.

Whether you are getting the pork belly from your own pig, or you are buying it from your local store, you are good to go with this method.

Once you have the pork belly, you’ll have to rinse it and pat it dry. Then you can move on to the next step.

2. The Mixture

Now, this step is all about how creative you want to be. You can create your own recipe for your bacon if you like.

However, for me, I’m a fan of Tim Farmer’s Country Kitchen. I actually followed their method for making bacon so I stuck to their recipe as well because we really enjoyed it.

So their recipe is:

• ¼ cup of salt
• ¼ cup of brown sugar
• ¼ cup of syrup

Now, obviously, most people would recommend that you use true maple syrup, but if you only have regular syrup you can give that a go as well.

Also, if you don’t want a sweeter flavored bacon, you can add just a half cup of salt and a half cup of sugar. This is your bacon so feel free to play around with it as you see fit. You just need to make sure to include both salt and sugar in the curing process.

You’ll mix up these ingredients in a bowl and move on to the next step.

3. Let the Fridge do the Work

Once your mixture is created, you’ll rub it all over the bacon on every side. Make sure it is coated really well.

Then you’ll place your pork belly in a sealable storage bag, like this. You will need to seal the bag and leave it be.

However, one time per day for the next 7 days, you’ll need to turn the bag over, so the mixture has the opportunity to drip through every inch of the meat for optimal flavor.

Once the 7 days are up, you’ll have to remove the meat from the fridge. You’ll need to rinse the pork belly.

From there, place it back in the fridge on a baking rack with a pan underneath, so it’ll catch any moisture that drips during the drying process. Be sure that the meat is left uncovered.

When the meat is dry you can remove it from the fridge and move on to the next step in the process.

4. To the Smokehouse We Go

Now that your meat is dry, you are ready to move on to the smokehouse. You can use a smoker you built or one you’ve purchased.

Then you’ll hang the bacon in the smokehouse. You can use a bacon hanger, like this one, to help you along in this process.

From here, you’ll allow the meat to smoke under 100°F. Most say that around 80°F is the optimal temperature. You can allow it to smoke for around 4 hours or longer, depending upon your personal preference.

However, you’ll have to make sure that the internal temperature of the meat is somewhere between 140-160°F.

Once you’ve achieved the desired temperatures, you are ready to move on to the next step.

5. Trim and Slice

So your meat is all smoked and has lots of delicious flavor. Now what?

Well, you will notice that you still have that thick layer of skin that covers the pork belly. You will use a sharp knife and cut that off.

Then when you remove the skin, you’ll save it. This is a great addition when you are cooking pinto beans. It gives the dish a lot of extra flavors.

Plus, you won’t waste anything that way either.

Once that is removed, slice your bacon. You can make it as thick or thin as you desire. This is the great thing about making your own bacon. It can be done exactly to your liking.

Next, you’ll fry your bacon up and utilize it in any number of ways. Looking for some ideas on using your bacon?

Well, look no more because we have you covered. Here are some great recipes where you can utilize your homemade bacon:

Delicious Bacon Recipes

1. Bacon Fried Mozzarella Sticks

I never promised that the recipes I’m offering up would be healthy. In fact, we are talking about bacon here, so you should probably expect them to be a little on the unhealthy side. Either way, here is a delicious bacon recipe that I think most folks will love.

You will use your fresh bacon and stuff it with delicious mozzarella cheese. Then you fry it until the bacon is crispy and the cheese is gooey. It sounds like a delicious nugget that might become a favorite snack.

Plus, if you are following the low-carb diet, then you’ll be pleased to know that this is protein-packed and low-carb too.

Try this bacon recipe

2. Crock Pot Bacon Mac and Cheese

Are you a macaroni and cheese fanatic? I’d be dishonest if I didn’t tell you how much I absolutely love to indulge in macaroni and cheese. Yet, it isn’t something I eat often. However, when I make it, I want it to be something that I will really enjoy.

So when I saw this recipe, I knew it would be perfect for those special occasions where I let myself indulge in this favorite comfort food. It not only is macaroni and cheese, but it also includes delicious bacon. This is where you could insert your delicious homemade bacon.

Then to top it off, you can actually make this dish in your crockpot. Which means this usually takes less of your time while the dish is being prepared. That is a double bonus in my book.

Try this bacon recipe

3. Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders

Do you love chicken tenders? It doesn’t matter how old I get, I love them. Yet, as I get older I have become a sort of a chicken tender snob. Those frozen chicken tenders that you get through a drive-thru just don’t cut it for me anymore.

In fact, I love the real-deal chicken tenders. Which is why this recipe stuck out to me. It takes real chicken that is dipped in sweet and spicy flavors to give you that grown-up flavor that you desire while still giving you the familiarity of chicken tenders.

However, what sends this recipe over the top is the fact that they wrap those chicken tenders in bacon. This just sealed the deal for me. If you are looking for a delicious and familiar way to utilize your bacon, then this could be it.

Try this bacon recipe

4. BBQ Onion Meatball Bombs

This is a really unique recipe, but it is definitely one that I cannot wait to try. You begin by mixing up a meatloaf. You can use any variety of meat you prefer. Once you have all of those ingredients mixed, you are ready for the fun to begin.

Next, you’ll stuff this mixture into a sliced open onion. The onion is basically a mold to hold everything in place, while also giving off an amazing flavor simultaneously.

Finally, you wrap the whole thing in bacon and hold it in place with toothpicks. Then you fry it up in a large pot. This could easily be an amazing one-pot dish. You could add some homemade meat sauce to the dish for the winning shot.

Try this bacon recipe

5. Bacon Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes

This is a recipe that would be great for the whole family. Do you love sloppy joes? If so, then you are going to love this idea.

They begin by making a delicious homemade sloppy joe mix. Then you’ll fry up your homemade bacon, in our case.

Finally, you will put it all on a bun. You’ll layer the sloppy joe mix, with some cheese, and then your bacon before you add the top bun. It looks so delicious, filling, and comforting.

Try this bacon recipe

So you now know how to make your own homemade bacon. I was really stunned when we first began researching how to do this ourselves. I assumed it would be a really difficult process, but as you can see it really isn’t.

Not only do you know how to make your own bacon, you have 5 delicious recipes that will allow you to put it to good use.

Hopefully, this will help you branch out and feel confident to make one more item that you no longer have to worry about purchasing from the grocery store.