How to Make Maple Cured Bacon at Home?

If you’re a bacon lover, you know that nothing compares to the delicious taste of crispy, salty bacon strips in the morning. But have you ever tried making your own bacon at home? Homemade bacon is far superior to store-bought bacon, which is already fabulous! While waiting for the drying to finish takes some patience, I believe the process is relatively straightforward. Getting your hands on some pork belly is the first stage in your bacon quest. It’s not a common ingredient, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to come by. In this guide, we’ll show you how to make maple-cured bacon at home. This recipe combines the smoky flavor of bacon with the sweetness of maple syrup for a delicious twist on a classic breakfast food.

If your grocery shop does not stock it, your butcher should. Pork belly is also commonly used in Asian recipes, so look for it at your local Asian market. The hard outer skin of pork belly is sometimes sold on, but you’ll prefer a portion without it. It’s not difficult to remove, but have your butcher slice it off if feasible. It’s not only more convenient, but you won’t have to pay for the skin’s weight.

BACON (3)

However, because curing salt contains nitrates, which generate nitrites during the curing process, many people are hesitant to use it. According to certain studies, nitrates are associated with cancer. I can’t comment on the safety of eating cured meats, but I can say that the curing salt in my recipe uses a very little quantity.

How to Make Maple Cured Bacon at Home?

So you want to make your bacon but don’t have a smoker. There’s no need to be concerned; where there’s a will, there’s a way! Here are some other options: You can put up a charcoal barbecue for indirect heat if you have one. This is accomplished by placing your hot coals and wood on the other side of your meat. If your gas grill has numerous burners, you can use it for indirect smoking.

While using an oven isn’t typical, and you won’t get the authentic smoked flavor and color, I’m sure the result would be fantastic. A small amount of liquid smoke or even smoked salt might be used to replace the actual thing.

Don’t try to finish your bacon at a high temperature, no matter what you do. You don’t want the fat to render away, and you also don’t want a burnt or overcooked surface. low-and-slow smoking will provide a lovely mahogany color while preserving the tasty fat.

Ingredients:

  • A 3-pound chunk of pork belly, skinless
  • One tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup kosher salt
  • A quarter cup of brown sugar
  • A quarter cup of maple syrup
  • 3/4 teaspoon (Prague Powder #1) pink curing salt
  • A half-cup of distilled water

Instructions:

  1. Combine all ingredients except the pork belly and stir in a mixing dish.
  2. Add the pork belly to the mixture in a 1-gallon Ziploc bag. Before sealing the bag, remove as much air as possible, then stir around the liquid until the belly is completely covered.
  3. Allow the bag to cure in the refrigerator for one week, tipping it over and stirring the liquid each day to catch any leaks.
  4. Remove the bacon from the bag after curing, rinse it to remove excess salt, and pat it dry.
    Smoke the bacon at 200-225°F until it reaches a temperature of 150°F on the inside.
  5. Depending on the temperature of your smoker and the thickness of the pork belly, this should take about 2-3 hours.
  6. Before slicing the bacon, allow it to cool completely.

What is the Best Way to Cure Maple Bacon?

Apply the cure-all over your meat and leave it in the fridge for 5-10 days (depending on the size of your meat). Soak your meat for an hour or longer after taking it from the fridge to remove any extra cure and salt. Cut the meat into two or three pieces if you’re cooking a complete side. Combine the salt and brown sugar in a bowl and massage it over the meat.

I mix 50/50 salt and brown sugar and generously rub it into both sides of the meat for a sweet cure (see the photo at the top). Curing bacon takes three to ten days, with three days for a light cure with a bit of salt, which is excellent for thin slices, and ten days for thick slices with a strong salt flavour.

What is Maple Bacon Made of?

Simply put, maple bacon is bacon that has been glazed with maple syrup. For a sumptuously sweet and savory breakfast, it mixes the smoky-salty flavor of bacon with the smoky-sweet flavor of maple syrup. Flavor responses are also created by the curing salts and the smoking method used to make bacon. A sweet-smelling chemical called maple lactone is released when pork belly is smoked.

They are smoked with natural hardwoods. 90 calories per 2 slices; 2.5 g saturated fat (13 percent daily value); 370 mg sodium (15 percent daily value); 0 g total carbohydrates. It’s gluten-free—the most popular bacon in the United States. Hand-selected pork belly is sliced into thick marbled slices, then cured with natural maple in a 90-year-old method and smoked over real hickory chips for a consistent smokey and sweet flavor.

What Gives Maple Bacon its Distinct Flavour?

The Maillard reaction combines sugars and amino acids at high heat, the most critical component of bacon’s deliciousness. Because the sugar in the fat is required for the Maillard reaction, the fatter a bacon strip, the more excellent it tastes when cooked. The smokey redolence from either naturally smoked bacon or added hickory smoke extract is the prominent flavor imparted by bacon.

A few drops of liquid smoke can simulate the bacon flavor (be careful; a little goes a long way, and too much will ruin a recipe). Smoked paprika and onion powder are two other highly suggested additions to get that umami flavor. The Kitchen has a recipe for crispy breadcrumbs sautéed in olive oil and butter with smoked paprika and salt to give them that bacony flavor.

Can I Make Bacon without Curing Salt?

Without nitrates, bacon will look like roasted pork and taste like a pig roast. Handmade bacon is worth it with or without pink salt. After learning all about cured bacon, you may wonder how bacon may be made without it.

In reality, all bacon must be cured before being consumed. Uncured bacon is still cured bacon, but the method is very different. A method that is both healthier and tastier! Curing salt is primarily used to limit the growth of undesirable germs, making the meat less likely to pick up microorganisms that you don’t want. It also imparts flavor and aids in the preservation of the meat.

Why do you Cook Bacon at a Temperature of 150 Degrees Fahrenheit?

The interior temperature of the bacon will never reach 150 degrees, and smoking at these lower temperatures allows the meat to remain in the smoker for 4 hours without melting the fat. For as much of the cooking procedure as feasible, the meat must be above 140°F (60°C). While smoking is a low-and-slow method, keeping the meat below that temperature for several hours (unless it’s chilled or frozen) is not safe.

Some recipes suggest baking bacon at 425 degrees F, 375 degrees F, or starting the bacon in a cold oven. Still, the optimal temperature for baking bacon is 400 degrees F. It cooks the bacon uniformly, regardless of thickness, and doesn’t splatter.

Conclusion

It’s perfectly acceptable to leave out the pink-curing salt. After all, your bacon will be hot-smoked to a safe temperature rather than cold-smoked. It will be alright to store it in the refrigerator and freeze it like any other meat. Keep in mind that your bacon will be dull and grey instead of the standard pink color (imagine the color of a cooked pork loin, for example). Curing is the first of two key stages, and it requires pink curing salt, commonly known as Prague Powder. Curing salt (not to be confused with pink Himalayan salt) prevents fat from becoming rancid and protects against bacteria such as botulism.