Herbed Bacon

By erinstargirl

This Herbed Bacon is delicious & savory. While it works well as an ingredient in many recipes, it also holds its own for breakfast.

Ingredients

• 3 lb piece local pasture raised, hormone free, steroid free and GM feed free raw pork belly {skin removed}
• 1/2 cup sea salt
• 4 TB organic dried sage
• 4 TB organic dried oregano
• 4 TB organic dried thyme
• 4 TB organic dried marjoram
• 4 TB organic dried garlic powder
• 4 TB organic granulated onion

Details

Servings 3

Preparation

Step 1

In a small bowl, thoroughly mix the salt and seasonings together. Set aside.
Rinse the pork belly and pat dry. Rub the cure mixture over the belly, massaging it in to all the nooks and crannies of the belly.

Dry cure in the fridge - first make sure your fridge is cold enough {>38 F}. Second, you have a couple options for how to store your curing belly. 1. *what we do* Place the salted belly on a wire rack with a shammy lined underneath the rack to catch any drips. The salt cure will pull moisture from the belly {working as intended} and will drip. Flip the belly daily. 2. Place the salted belly in a large food safe seal-able bag and lay it flat in the fridge. Again, flip the bag daily. The OCD part of me would also recommend laying the bag on a sheet pan or shammy juuuust in case the bag leaks; minimizing raw pork juice all over your fridge.

The belly will start to firm up; depending on the thickness, the curing process can take anywhere from 7-10 days. Once it is firm all over - it is done.

Run the belly under cold water and rinse away the cure mixture as best you can {since the cure mixture is massaged into the pork belly, it is nearly impossible for all of it off}. I do this a few times, giving it a good rub while rinsing. Pat the belly dry.

If you're smoking your bacon, let the belly sit at room temperature or in the fridge on a rack for an hour to form its pellicle. Smoke at your discretion. I have yet to smoke the herbed bacon, but I'd suggest using a hickory or alderwood.

Store in the fridge. If you won't use it up within a week or so, freeze what you won't use.