How to make Homemade Rosemary Garlic Bacon
If you love using bacon in your cooking, then this Rosemary Garlic Homemade Bacon is perfect for you! It is perfectly salted, with tons of fresh garlic and rosemary that give it such incredible flavor.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good classic bacon or something with a bit of sweetness but this Rosemary Garlic Bacon may just be my favorite. It is easy to make, and goes with so many recipes!
This bacon is cured for 10-12 days in the fridge, really allowing all of the flavors to develope throughout the pork belly. Some of my favorite ways to use this homemade bacon are in pasta dishes, with a roast, in soups or even in sandwiches. I mean who doesn’t want to add more garlic to their favorite recipes in the form of bacon!
If you have never made homemade bacon before, I promise you will love it. You can cook it on a smoker ( like we typically do) or even in the oven. It just takes a few minutes of work, then sits in the fridge for 10 day before cooking and enjoying! We like to get a big pork belly slab from Costco and make a big batch. Slice it, and store it in the freezer for delicious bacon on hand whenever we need.
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 fat is 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 Rosemary Garlic Bacon Ingredients
Pork Belly– You can find a slab of pork belly at most grocery stores or butchers. We like to get the big slab from Costco as its very affordable.
Curing Salt– This consists of a mixture or salt, sugar and curing salt. This is what gives the meat flavor and makes it safe to consume.
Garlic– I recommend using fresh chopped garlic to get the most flavor in your bacon.
Rosemary– Fresh rosemary adds such a great depth of flavor to this bacon, making it perfect to cook with.
The steps
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 the chopped garlic and rosemary all over both sides of the pork belly.
4. Then you are going to place the pork belly gently into a large plastic bag. Seal the bag, making sure to get most of the air out.
5. Place the bag of pork belly in the fridge to cure for 7-12 days flipping the pork belly after 4/5 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 garlic and rosemary 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 can sprinkles some pepper over both sides if you like for a bit of extra flavor. We do this and it is delicious!
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!
If you try this bacon, let us know in the comments what you think!
Check out our other favorite homemade bacon recipe below. Maple Chili Bacon!
https://cmbarndominium.com/how-to-make-homemade-bacon-maple-chili-flavor/
Perfectly salted and smoked homemade bacon, cured with fresh garlic and rosemary. The best bacon to use in pasta dishes, sandwiches, soups or even with roasts. 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 the chopped garlic and rosemary all over both sides of the pork belly. 4. Then you are going to place the pork belly gently into a large plastic bag. Seal the bag, making sure to get most of the air out. 5. Place the bag of pork belly in the fridge to cure for 7-12 days, flipping he pork belly halfway through. 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 garlic and rosemary 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 can sprinkles some pepper over both sides if you like for a bit of extra flavor. We do this and it is delicious! 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 make this bacon with any size pork belly, just be sure to addjust the curing salt mixture based on my formula in step 1. * If you use a different size pork belly, ust increase the rosemary or garlic depending on the size you do. Those measurements don't have to be exact. Measure with your heart! * If you vacum sealed, this bacon will last months in the freezer. *Looking for more bacon too try? This Maple Chili Bacon is our other favorite recipe! 
Homemade Rosemary Garlic Bacon
Ingredients
For the Curing Salt Mixture
Instructions
Notes
