SLAB BACON WITH RIND RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat a 4- to 6-quart heavy-bottomed pot over low heat, and add the bacon.
• Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium, and cook until the bacon is crisp and golden brown.
• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat, leaving the bacon in the pot.
• Add the olive oil and garlic, and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, carrots, bay leaves, oregano, and crushed red pepper.
• Sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until vegetables are softened but not browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add the potatoes and clam broth.
• The broth should just barely cover the potatoes; if it doesn‘t, add enough water to cover.
• Increase the heat, bring to a boil, cover, and cook the potatoes vigorously until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center, about 10 minutes.
• If the broth hasn‘t thickened lightly, smash a few potatoes against the side of the pot, and cook 1 to 2 minutes more to release the starch.
• Add the tomatoes, and simmer 5 minutes more.
• Remove pot from the heat, stir in the diced clams and parsley, and season with black pepper.
• If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely.
• Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to 1 hour, allowing the flavor to meld.
• When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat; don‘t let it boil.
• Ladle into cups or bowls, making sure the clams, vegetables, and bacon are evenly divided.

Steps:

• Cut your pork belly into a nice square, bacon-like block. Rinse it and pat it dry.
• Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl until they are uniformly combined.
• Mix the wet ingredients (if using) in a separate bowl until they are uniformly combined.
• In a glass dish, use your very clean or gloved hands to slather the meat all over with the wet ingredients (if using) until thoroughly coated everywhere.
• Place one half of the dry cure mixture in the bottom of the glass dish.
• Place the wet pork belly into the dish and press it into the salt/sugar mix.
• Carefully pour the rest of the dry mixture across the top of the meat and press it in uniformly all around, using your hands to thoroughly massage the cure mix into every nook and cranny of your pork belly. Use up any excess mixture in the dish to make sure both sides are thoroughly coated.
• Place the dish in the refrigerator for 5-10 days, until the meat feels firm throughout, with no soft spots. (5 days is a good average for a thin belly about 1-1/2 inches thick, but check to be sure. The longer you cure it, the saltier it will be.)
• As the cure dehydrates the bacon, liquid will accumulate in the dish. It’s supposed to. Think of it like brine. Turn the bacon over every day, and slosh the brine around it.
• After 5-10 days curing, thoroughly rinse the salt/sugar brine off of the pork belly.
• Pat the bacon dry with a clean towel and set it on a rack over a baking pan. Allow the bacon to air-dry uncovered in the refrigerator for 24 hours. It will develop a pellicle, or protective skin, on the surface of the meat. Without the pellicle, the smoke won't stick to the meat and you won’t get that bronzed surface that looks and tastes so good.
• If oven-roasting, preheat the oven to 175–200 degrees F. If using liquid smoke, baste the cured pork belly with a pastry brush to evenly coat all sides. Roast for about 2 hours until bacon reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F, the minimum safe temperature for pork. The meat should be cooked a bit on the outside, but not all the way through.
• If smoking, smoke over hickory, cherry or applewood chips at 175–200 degrees F for 2–3 hours, until meat reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F, the minimum safe temperature for pork. The meat should be cooked a bit on the outside, but not all the way through.
• Let the bacon cool to room temperature on a wire rack over a baking pan, tightly wrap in parchment paper, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. (This sets the flavor and texture.) 
• Slice off the ends of the cold bacon, which may be very dark and more salty than the innards. Fry and eat if you like.
• With a long, very sharp knife, slice your bacon across the grain, thin or thick, as desired. Use hard-to-slice pieces in pots of beans or soup. Cut bacon into cubes to make lardons and use them like bacon bits in salads, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, baked beans, sauces, etc. If you put the bacon slab in the freezer for 15 minutes, it becomes easier to slice.
• Fry bacon pieces/slices in a skillet, or crisp them in the oven. Save the fat for up to a month and use it to fry. 
• Homemade bacon will keep for a week in the refrigerator and several months in the freezer.