Main ingredients 🥩
Pork bellySaltSugarSodium nitrite
Seungwoo Dad's Homemade Bacon
A traditional homemade bacon made by curing whole pork belly with salt, sugar, and sodium nitrite for a week, then slowly baking at low temperature in the oven.
🙋 Recommended for
- ⭐ Those who want to make traditional homemade bacon that is less salty and more flavorful than store-bought.
- ⭐ Cooking enthusiasts who enjoy long-term curing and low-temperature cooking with time and effort.
Ingredients needed 🛒10 servings
- Pork belly with skin 2.4kg
- Salt 200g
- Sugar 100g
- Powder Number One (sodium nitrite 6.25%) as needed
Recipe 🍳
- Pat dry the surface of the whole pork belly with skin using paper towels, and cut in half to fit the pan size.
- Mix 200g salt, 100g sugar, and Powder Number One (sodium nitrite) in appropriate ratios to make the curing mix.
- Rub the curing mix evenly onto the surface of the pork belly at 1.5% to 2.5% of the meat weight, coating both sides.
- Seal the meat in a vacuum pack, then wrap again with plastic wrap to block air, and refrigerate for one week.
- After a week, insert a probe thermometer into the center of the meat and place in an oven or air fryer preheated to 100°C.
- Slowly cook at low temperature for about 2-3 hours until the internal temperature reaches 65°C.
- Remove the bacon and let it cool slightly, then use a knife to thinly separate the tough pork skin from the meat.
- Slice the finished bacon thinly or thickly according to the dish and store or use as desired.
- Rub the pork belly evenly with a mix of salt, sugar, and sodium nitrite.
- Vacuum seal and refrigerate for one week.
- Bake at 100°C in the oven until internal temperature reaches 65°C, then remove the skin.
Cooking tips 💡
- Always use pork belly with skin (in the form of samgyeopsal with skin) to prevent excessive moisture loss and warping during cooking.
- Sodium nitrite is essential for the characteristic pink color, flavor, and preservation of bacon; measure precisely within the regulated safe limits.
- The finished bacon is already cooked to a safe internal temperature of 65°C, so it can be eaten as is, but pan-frying sliced bacon enhances flavor by rendering fat.