Make Your Own Dry Cured Bacon at Home

Making delicious, dry-cured bacon at home is easier than you think with our simple bacon cure.

What You'll Need

1. Meat

Choose your favourite cut to create the style of bacon you enjoy. For us, you can't beat pork belly!

2. Vacuum bags and a vacuum sealer

3. Measuring scales

You'll need to accurately weigh both your meat and the required amount of cure.

4. A smoker (recommended)

For the best flavour, smoke your bacon once cured. If you don't have a smoker, you can cook it in the oven instead.

Method

1. Weigh your piece of raw meat and note the weight.

2. Cut a vacuum bag large enough to hold the meat and seal one end.

3. Before opening your pouch of bacon cure, turn it upside down and give it a good shake to ensure the ingredients are evenly mixed.

4. Weigh out the required amount of cure:

• Plain Bacon Cure: 30g of cure per 1kg of meat

5. Place the meat into the vacuum bag. Sprinkle half of the cure evenly over one side of the meat, ensuring all of the cure stays in the bag.

6. Turn the bag with the meat over and repeat with the remaining cure, coating the other side evenly.

7. Once the cure is evenly distributed, vacuum seal the bag, ensuring the cure remains in contact with the meat.

8. Place the bag in the refrigerator for 10 days. Turn the bag over once daily to help distribute the cure evenly throughout the meat. Setting a daily reminder on your phone can help.

9. On day 11, remove the meat from the bag and rinse thoroughly under cold water to remove any excess cure.

10. Preheat your smoker to 120°C (205°F) and smoke/cook the bacon until it reaches an internal temperature of 70°C (160°F).

11. Remove the bacon from the smoker and allow it to cool completely.

12. Slice to your preferred thickness and fry until crispy and delicious.

Ingredients: Salt, sugar, dextrose (tapioca, maize), yeast extract, flavour, preservative (250).

Blended in New Zealand from locally sourced and imported ingredients. Store in a cool dry place.