How to make homemade bacon- Maple Chili Flavor
Yes, you read that right…..we are making homemade maple chili bacon and it is to die for! It is perfectly smoked, slightly sweet, with just a touch of heat from the chili.
If you are on the journey to making more food from scratch at home, bacon is a must! Homemade bacon is much easier to make than you may expect. You can customize the flavors of it and it will save you money too.
Bacon is not cheap to buy but when you make it at home, it is affordable and has so much more flavor. It starts by curing pork belly in the fridge for 7-12 days. You then rinse off the salt, add your spices or flavor enhancers and then smoke it! It is as easy at that.
It is a great staple to make to keep on hand because you can make a big batch of it and store it in the freezer for delicious homemade bacon at your finger tips. We enjoy our bacon with breakfast, in sandwiches, pastas, and so much more. Once you start making homemade bacon, you will NEVER go back!
Tips for Perfect Homemade Bacon
- Find a nice thick pork belly that has a good amount of meat to it. Some pork belly can end up being almost completely fat. While hats delicious, I think you get the best quality product if your bacon ends up with a good percentage of both meat and fat to it.
- Be sure to cure it long enough. This can vary depending on the size and thickness of pork belly you are using. A typically rule of thumb we follow is minimum 7 days but this last batch we did took 12 days. You will know it is done curing when the meat is no longer vibrant pink and is brown/grey in color. The longer you leave it, the more flavor it will have as well.
- Always rinse the pork belly thoroughly before smoking. If you have never cured meat before this may seem counter intuitive but the cure is really salty so you want to give it a good rinse or it will be inedible!
- Smoke the bacon until the internal temp reaches 145-150F. Just like cooking any type of pork, this is the temperature you want your meat to get to so it is safe to consume.
- Allow the bacon to cool COMPLETELY before slicing it. I typically will put it in the fridge over night after smoking it so it gets nice and firm. This allows you to make nice thin and clean slices of bacon!
Homemade Maple Chili Bacon Ingredients
Curing Salt– This is a combination of salt, sugar and curing salt. You can find the curing salt at many grocery stores or on amazon.
Pork Belly– This is the cut of meat that bacon is made from. I like to look for a nice thick slab that has a good amount of meat on it. MY favorite is the big slab from Costco.
Maple Syrup– Use a good quality maple syrup for the best flavor. I prefer this over brown sugar for a richer and deeper flavor.
Chili Flakes– You can increase or decrease the amount of chili in the recipe depending on your spice liking. I do not do very well with spicy food and I find the amount in this recipe perfect.
The Steps
1. Start by weighing out the pork belly you have. Calculate the pork (in grams) x .025 and that will tell you how much of the curing salt mixture to use for your size of pork belly.
2. Once you have figured that out, you are going to measure out that amount of curing salt and rub that over all sides of the pork belly.
3. Next, sprinkle 1 tbsp of chili flakes all over the pork. Use a bit more or slightly less depending on the size of your pork belly.
4. Then you are going to place the pork belly gently into a large plastic bag. Pour the maple syrup all over the pork in the bag. Seal the bag and gently rub the maple syrup all over the pork.
5. Place the bag of pork belly in the fridge to cure for 7-12 days. You will know its done curing when the meat turns from pink to a grey/brown color.
6. Once the meat is fully cured, remove it from the fridge and rinse the meat thoroughly. You want to do this because the curing mixture is extremely salty and would make it inedible if you didn’t rinse it.
7. After the salt is all rinsed off, you are going to sprinkle the remaining tbsp of chili flakes all over the meat.
8. Then you are going to place the meat in a smoker at 80F for about 4 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 145-150f.
9. Once desired temperature is reached, allow the bacon to cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes then place in the fridge to fully cool until firm. I like to leave the bacon in the fridge overnight but a couple hours is fine too.
10. Slice the bacon as thin or as thick as you like, then it is ready to enjoy!
If you try this at home, let us know your thoughts below or leave this recipe a review! There will be more homemade bacon flavors to come 🙂
Perfectly smoked homemade bacon that is slightly sweet from the maple syrup with a hint of spice! 1. Start by weighing out the pork belly you have. You can follow my exact measurements if that is the amount of pork belly you have. If you have more or less pork belly, calculate the pork (in grams) x .025 and that will tell you how much of the curing salt mixture to use for your size of pork belly. 2.Once you have figured that out, you are going to measure out that amount of curing salt and rub that over all sides of the pork belly. Be sure to get the pork fully covered, using all of the curing salt that you measured out. 3. Next, sprinkle 1 tbsp of chili flakes all over the pork. Use a bit more or slightly less depending on the size of your pork belly. 4. Then you are going to place the pork belly gently into a large plastic bag. Pour the maple syrup all over the pork in the bag. Seal the bag and gently rub the maple syrup all over the pork. 5. Place the bag of pork belly in the fridge to cure for 7-12 days. You will know its done curing when the meat turns from pink to a grey/brown color. For the size pork belly I used in this recipe, it took a full 12 days. The longer you leave it, the more flavor it gets too. 6. Once the meat is fully cured, remove it from the fridge and rinse the meat thoroughly. You want to do this because the curing mixture is extremely salty and would make it inedible if you didn't rinse it. 7. After the salt is all rinsed off, you are going to sprinkle the remaining tbsp of chili flakes all over the meat. If you want the meat extra sweet, you can also drizzle a bit more maple syrup on at this point. 8. Then you are going to place the meat in a smoker at 180F for about 4 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 145-150f. 9.Once desired temperature is reached, allow the bacon to cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes then place in the fridge to fully cool until firm. I like to leave the bacon in the fridge overnight but a couple hours is fine too. 10. Slice the bacon as thin or as thick as you like, then it is ready to enjoy! *You can find curing salt at most grocery stores or find it on amazon. * If you do not have a smoker, you can absolutely make this bacon in the oven! All the steps are the same just in the oven not on the smoker. 
Homemade Maple Chili Bacon
Ingredients
For the Curing Salt Mixture
For the Bacon
Instructions
Notes
