HOME-CURED JALAPEñO BACON

Home-Cured Jalapeño Bacon image

Number Of Ingredients 9

3 pounds skin-on pork belly
2 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup or dark brown sugar
3 pieces jalapenos
2 cloves garlic
1/4 piece red onion
1/4 cup cilantro
3 sprigs fresh bay leaves

Steps:

Trim pork belly to fit into a large zip-top bag.
Add remaining ingredients to the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth.
Pour cure into zip top bag with the pork belly. Seal and refrigerate, turning daily, for seven days.
On the seventh day, remove the pork belly from the fridge and rinse well.
Pat dry with paper towels. Pre-heat oven to 200°F. Place pork belly fat side up on a rack on baking sheet (line with foil for easy clean-up).
Roast pork belly 2 or more hours until a thermometer reads 150°F in the center. Alternately, you can smoke or grill to this same internal temp.
Remove pork from the oven and slice off the skin while still hot. Seal pork in plastic and refrigerate up to 10 days or freeze.
To serve, slice thinly and pan-fry or chop and add to beans or stews. Freeze for about 30 minutes or until firm and slice with a sharp chef's knife.