HOW TO CURE A PORK BELLY RECIPES

Steps:

• In a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, peppercorns, cloves, allspice berries, juniper berries and hot red pepper flakes. Grind until coarse.
• Mix the spices with nutmeg, kosher salt and curing salt.
• Rub the spice and salt mixture all over a 10-pound piece of pork belly, with the skin. Peel and coarsely chop 1 head of garlic, combine it with 1/2 cup red wine, and rub this on the meat, too. The wine helps the salt find its way into the meat.
• Arrange a metal rack on a sheet pan with sides and place the meat on the rack, to allow airflow. Leave it in the refrigerator for a week. Turn it over daily and pour off any liquid. The tesa is ready when the salts have penetrated to the center, one to two weeks depending on how thick the belly is. Test after one week by tasting a thin slice from near an edge, crisped in a pan. Once cured, the tesa can be refrigerated, tightly wrapped, for a month, or frozen. Cook it as you would bacon or pancetta; it’s especially good as crisp lardons in a salad.

Steps:

• Rinse the pork belly and pat dry. Transfer to a resealable 2-gallon plastic bag. To make the spice rub, mix the kosher salt, pink salt, brown sugar, honey, red pepper flakes, paprika and cumin in a bowl. Coat the pork belly all over with the mixture.
• Close the bag and refrigerate 7 to 10 days, flipping once a day, until the pork belly feels firm. It should take 7 days for a thin belly that is about 11/2 inches thick, longer for a belly that's 2 to 3 inches thick.
• Remove the pork belly from the bag, rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Refrigerate the belly on a rack, uncovered, 48 hours.
• Set up your smoker according to the manufacturer's instructions using applewood chips, and set to 200 degrees F. Smoke the pork belly 3 hours, or until the bacon reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F.
• Remove the rind (optional), then slice and cook as desired. To store, wrap the bacon in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 2 months.
• Pink curing salt is a mix of salt and sodium nitrite. It keeps the meat pink and protects it from bacteria. You can find it at specialty food stores or online.