How To Cure Bacon the Traditional Way: Just Salt; No Artificial Preservatives 

When I was young I knew an old farmer that cured his own bacon. It was salt cured to last a long time without refrigeration. When he cooked it he would put water in his frying pan and boil the bacon first, drain and then fry. This was just to make it less salty.

Dang… it’s not traditional when you use a fridge. I don’t have a fridge or freezer so I’m looking for videos that demonstrate that method. It’s still excellent info though, thank you.

Good video 👍👍👍 on the no additives . Almost 76 and been doing this on & off, well over 40 years - no comparison with supermarket yuk😉 your video is simplicity and that is how it should be👏👏👏

I do my own curing and hands down home cured bacon is the BOMB. It is even better than some of the most expensive shop bought stuff. Become your own artisan supplier....... to yourself.

How would you smoke this if you live in a warm environment?

Very well done -- direct, clear, no bullshit. Thank you.

Dan, I remember making bacon and sugar cured hams in NC as a child. We wrapped the bellies and hams in brown paper and it went into a cotton sack. The paper and sacks absorbed the moisture and the sugar, salt, and black pepper were the power of the cure. We used regular sugar and later used brown sugar but there has not been any better hams and bacon than that. Way before there was ever "pink" salt.

Ok,now I have watched both videos. Happy to see you add sugar. If you do another video remember to mention adding sugar allows you to reduce salt. If you're making bacon to preserve the meat do not rinse salt and or sugar until it's time to cook. After all you just spent all that time drying out the meat. The last thing you want to do is get it wet. Same thing with a cured country ham. Also referred to as salted pork. The two tub idea is a improvement over the first video. But I recommend using just one tub and placing a stainless steel baking cooling grate in the bottom. One that holds the meat up out of the juices. This will allow air flow around the meat. This will greatly speed up the curing process. And I have never had any reactive problems using stainless steel for curing. I love your wood Smokehouse. However folks should know you can smoke bacon at hotter temperatures. It smokes in about one hour,very nice. Last thing,experiment with different types of wood. Yes hickory is nice. But Oak, Maple,Pecon are all very nice. I highly recommend using fruit woods like apple and cherry. My favorite is red alder, it grows naturally and is native to the Pacific Northwest. Very mild, absolutely wonderful smoke flavor. Have a great day 🌤 😀 👍🥓.

So I’ve watched a few videos saying that if you call smoked bacon or don’t get bacon above a certain degree when you’re smoking it, that you risk the chance of having botulism. Since it doesn’t have any nitrates in it, I’ve been wanting to do it this way for so long, but being kind of scared. your thoughts please

Nothing beats home raised and cured bacons! Sure miss the days when we raised our own hogs.

Wow, I'm really NEVER going to get store-bought bacon ever again!! I can't wait to try this 😊

Do you know why i think it was DRY mystard was used back in the late 50's on smoking hams....I cant find a recipe for the old way they cured it back then, and since I was so young it wasnt on my SEE/REMEMBER how brain, lol

.. THANK YOU FOR THIS !! I am going to try withOut sugar .. I love the homemade smoker .. thanQ again !!

I got to try curing my own bacon. Lots of good info here. 4 thumbs up from Little Buddy! Got to be a winner!

Things we do for healthy food. We live to eat healthy! or We eat healthy to live!

Thanks for the updated video :) Have used your earlier salting video so will be happy to try this one out. Off to order my pork belly now :)

I SO want to try this! It looked like you used less salt than the first video. Hmmmmmm...will have to watch your video on making the smoker now.

Thanks for the comeback.....Pretty good grazing is a hard act to follow........on to the Corned Venison this Month......

Well, now I want some bacon! Haha!

This is exactly what I want to see. No additives, just pure salt and sugar! Thank you!

Salt Peter (Sodium Nitrate) is no more or less an "artifical preservative" than Salt (Sodium Chloride). Both have been used for thousands of years to preserve meat. If you're against "additives", then no salt for you, either.

Amount of salt matters not the size of the grain.

I had to Butcher Shop and I used to cure and smoke my own baking and meats al tell you there's nothing like the first time you try a new recipe and taste the first piece of cooked Bacon ,mmmmmmgood ✌💪👨‍🍳🎅🚌👍

Try air fryer cooking the bacon, awesome...

I smoked a slab of bacon last February. I cut it in half. I ate the one half after smoking and vacuumed the other one and froze it. I could taste the smoke on the first one but the smoke taste was gone on the other after about 8 months. My advice is to eat the smoked bacon as soon as possible.

Hope you don’t kill a bunch of people with this video! That is not even close to enough salt to properly cure a pork belly!

Thank you for the video! Would it make a difference if you added onion and garlic powder, as well as liquid smoke to the salt / sugar mix? Thank you!

Kids are so honest :_) unless they've been taught to lie lol

I just salt boxed a 6.5 pound slab of pork belly this morning. I will let it stay covered in the rock salt for 6 days, then I will hang and dry. I used garlic powder, black pepper, old bay, 100% natural liquid smoke, and brown sugar.

I just did 3 pork bellies with course Celtic salt, and maple sugar. I drilled holes in a small plastic tub that fits into my silicon collapsible tub. After salt curing, I will try it on my Camp Chef smoker grill on low heat and medium smoke, . . . maybe 3 hours? What do you think? or high smoke?

How much salt per kg? Thanks

can you salt pork for a week and eat it raw?

Did you mention how much salt to use? I went back and re-watched and I might be missing it.

I love your bacon because its healthier withiut using cured salt which contains nitrite which can caused colorectal cancer.I am going to do my own bacon using your recipe.Greetings from Sarawak, Borneo.Tqvm.

I didn't know smoking it dropped the ph making it inhospitable for pathogens because of acidity. I think more people might watch this if that was in word bubbles or something in the video thumbnail. Thank you for this and God bless

How long will this keep? Can you keep it out of the fridge and how long would that last??? How long will it last in fridge?????? How long will it last out of the fridge????????? Sorry for so many questions

V well detailed pork belly becon recipe, nothing can bit A2Z speaking explaining!! Its lovely ending, wow from TANGA Tanzania.

Does your frig. Have to be a certain temp?

Another great video. Thank you for making it.

Cute kid you got there. I'm going to try this with beef belly since I'm Jewish.

Loved this video. Your son is so cute

Thank you so much .i did build a cold smoker and smoked. 3 cheese s different kinds for 7 hours it tasted great but has to cure for a couple weeks. thanks again for sharing. Have a great weekend

Have you made buckboard bacon like this? Would it be about the same process?

Love that smoker you built!

Great tutorial. All the videos using the pink Prague Salt annoy me. Would this technique work for salmon as well?

Maple ruins bacon to me.

Those guys remind me of my little boys. 🤗 My youngest just asked me earlier, “How come you never make bacon for breakfast?”.

Nice video. Wish I could make some bacon. Good to see how much little buddy has grown.

“Too salty” does not compute for me

thank you

Dope shirt. Appreciate the knowledge.

For us city folks with no access to a smoker could it be possible to use liquid smoke?

What is the ratio of salt to meat?

how about using a rack to set the bacon on inside the pan then you don't have to waste a pan unless you cure bacon a lot

i was always scared of nitrates until i learned more about the horrors of botulism. you only need a small amount of pink salt - definitely not even half as much as they use in commercial charcuterie. if you choose to avoid preservatives, always prioritize hygiene - sterilize all utensils and surfaces with boiling water and peroxide. and always cook naturally preserved food(s) to safe (pathogen killing) temperature and hold there for at least 5 minutes, 10 to be sure, specially if feeding kids or old folks.

Out of curiosity, would this same procedure be able to be used for other cuts of meat? What about for wild game such as venison?

Trying this without sugar starting today. Thanks for the natural approach!

His soooooo redy 😅😅😅

Just curious what the reason is for seasoning and putting in the fridge for five days twice?

Surprised you did not let the slab sit idle for a day between removing salt and smoking. All other recipes I have seen recommend this.

😍

u dotn need to cook it u can eat it like that .. maybe smoke longer 2-3 days with resting

What is the benefit of leaving skin on? We've always skinned the pig as we butcher. Is there a reason you don't?

Thanks for sharing. I have seen in comments that you have said it will keep indefinitely at room temp. What about in a hot environment though? Do you know if it freezes well?

What if there’s no refrigerator?

Hi...just wondering if you could substitute maple syrup for the maple powder? Easier to get syrup than powder...

I was curious as to where you purchased the Smokemeister 2.

Just put a plate upside down in your tub ...with a cup under one side of the plate so it sits at a 45 degree angle and let the juice naturally drip off into the tub....ensure you turn the meat around daily so it cures well

To be honest. Your title is misleading. It says using just salt, but you are actually smoking it.

this video was a way better. great job

Salt control is done by the EQ method which matches the amount of salt to the weight of the meat which means you can't oversalt the bacon. This guy obviously has no idea of how that works. Don't try this, there are much better ways of doing it.

Can it be eaten witjout cookinf it ?

Well done .

I'm wondering if instead of sugar I could use Stevia powder as a healthy version if it would work. I'm on the Keto diet right now

SALT AND MAPLE, crack peppercorn

should not stack your meat so i have read all times

Lol all 4 thumbs, what a cutie. Yummmm, I'm going to do this, thank you.

Could possibly be done with hickory flavored liquid smoke to replace the smoking process??

straight forward, no fancy stuff ... i like that. Tanks !

Can cut it and freeze it. ?

Where do you get your salt?

Nice video. How much salt per pound of pork bell6 please?

I just came across your video....totally awesome......do you leave the skin on after everything is done........or do you take it off then cook.....thanks again....love the video.

awesome video and thank you. I just picked up some bellies yest and going to cold smoke. Have never done this before and will try this way. I have some maple syrup that i want to use. Do you just make a paste with the sugar salt and syrup and rub it all over or would you just rub the syrup over the belly and then sprinkle the salt and sugar..or does it really matter which way . Thanks again. A sub for sure

Looks amazing!

What would be the difference in the end product leaving the skin on vs off?

This definitely good with sugar added. Thanks for the come back

Thank you very much question can I cover it before I put it in the fridge cause it will stay for 10 days in the fridge with other food so what do you recommand can I cver it with a plate or any other thing thanks a lot

Nang ganda ng pag kakaluto.Mapapa sana all ka talaga sa gawa mo.Your so fantastic.

How long would the meat last unrefrigerated when preserved in this way?

If i want the meat with some special flavors, should i add the seasonings into the salt and sugar before curing or i have to marinate the cured meat ? Can i steam the cured meat ? Thank you in advance .

how do you store it?

I pu some pork belly in salt 6 days ago,draining the water/wet salt off daily and resalting the exposed parts. No bad smell,or any smell really,but it doesnt appear to have shrunk or turned much darker. I am going to unearth it tomorrow and rinse off. Can I dry it in a food dehydrator at a low temperature,such as 50oc or should I hang it?

Can you do beef bacon the same way?

So, its a cold smoke and as a result you are not shooting for an internal temperature. You doing this in the fall only?

Or maybe buying a small baking rack

Hi do you have to smoke the bacon or can you fry it with just the salt methard

great thank you

For cold smoking what is warmest the outside temperature can be before it becomes unsafe to cold bacon?

with this method how long does the bacon keep for in the fridge and in the freezer if vacuum packed?