Homemade Keto Maple Bacon
Course: BreakfastCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium
Servings
45
servingsPrep time
20
minutesCooking time
2
hours30
minutesCalories
80
kcalTotal carbs
1
gramNet carbs
zero
gramsFat
5
gramsProtein
8
gramsI’ve been making my own bacon for years. You can save about 40% off prepackaged bacon and it tastes so much better, plus you can put whatever flavors you want into the cure. In this recipe, I convert Michael Ruhlman’s maple bacon into a keto friendly pig candy. The number of servings will vary based on the size of your pork belly.
Ingredients
Pork belly (skin off) – approximately 10 lbs
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar free “maple” syrup
3 TBS coarse ground black pepper
4 bay leaves, crumbled
2 tsp pink curing salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg (preferably fresh ground)
Directions
- In a bowl, mix all ingredients except the pork belly into a paste.
- Cut the pork belly into to equal sized pieces and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Put one half of the pork belly in a jumbo (2.5 gallon) Zip-Loc bag, then rub a little more than half of your curing paste over both sides. Add the second half of the pork belly to the bag and rub the remaining curing paste over it.
- Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible and wipe the zipper with a paper towel to remove any pepper granules then zip it shut. I strongly encourage you to double bag.
- Let the pork belly cure in a refrigerator for seven days, flipping the bag every other day.
- After seven days, remove the bacon from the refrigerator, rinse it and pat it dry.
- Set a smoker to 200 degrees using the wood chips of your choice (I used maple) and smoke your pork belly to an internal temperature of 150F (2-2.5 hours).
- Remove bacon from smoker and let cool in refrigerator over night.
- Slice with a knife — or better yet, a deli meat slicer.
Recipe Video
Notes:
- Macros are based on a serving size of two thick cut slices
I just happened upon a 10 pound piece of pork belly on sale for 2.49 a lb. at my local store. First thing I thought of was you and your recipe. I came home with it and told my husband to get to making some bacon.
Awesome! Between this and the fatty, you’re going to have a great weekend!
Just finished making this bacon and it was amazing!
Best way to get the correct/safest measurement for curing salt when making bacon is to weigh the belly and use one of the EQ calculators available on line. They will also calculate, by weight, the salt and various spices to be used. The length of time needed to cure a belly is by it’s thickness – 1/4” per day, plus 2 days. So a 1” thick belly needs 6 days (4+2). One size doesn’t fit all, but homemade bacon is worth the effort!
Can you leave out the pink curing salt? If not, is there something else you can use in place? Thank you
I started a pork belly curing on Sunday. I am looking forward to seeing how this turns out. The recipe is nice a straight forward.
This turned out excellent. For the first bacon I have ever made, I am extremely satisfied. I cut it a little thicker that I wanted, but I am usually annoyed by how thin bacon from the store is.