Homemade bacon

This is an incredibly simple way to make your own lovely bacon. Anyone can do it, you don’t need any special equipment, nothing can really go wrong and the results are so fantastic that I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys good food and cooking.

You begin by making a dry cure, which is a combination of salt, sugar, spices and herbs. You then apply this to the pork. Five days later you have bacon. I like to hang the whole bacon somewhere cool and dry for several weeks before slicing it, but it will keep for months once cured. 2.5kg piece of pork belly, cut from the thick end, ribs removed For the dry cure 300g fine salt

200g soft brown or demerara sugar 2 tbsp lightly crushed coriander seeds

2 tbsp cracked black peppercorns

2 or 3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and roughly chopped

1 small bunch of thyme, leaves picked

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced (optional)

1. First, make the dry cure. Place all the ingredients, including the herbs and the garlic, if using, in a large bowl and mix well. Scatter a handful of the cure over the bottom of a large plate or tray. This needs to be big enough to take your piece of pork belly, but small enough to fit in the fridge. Lay the pork belly on the cure, then scatter over another handful. Make sure you apply a little cure to all the cut surfaces of the pork. Aim to use about 100g in total. Cover and leave in the fridge for 24 hours. Reserve the remaining cure.

2. The next day, pour off the liquid that the salt has drawn out of the meat. Apply a second scattering of dry cure in the same way, a little underneath and a little on top, and return to the fridge. Repeat the process for three more days (five days in total).

3. Rinse any cure residue from the bacon under cold running water, then pat the bacon dry with a clean teatowel. If you make your bacon during the winter, hang it up to dry outside, out of direct sunlight and the rain, and where plenty of cool air can move around it. Under a porch is ideal, or in an airy shed or garage.

4. As the temperature warms up and the flies come back, it’s better to let your bacon air dry in the fridge. Simply leave uncovered on a clean, dry teatowel. I like to air dry my bacon for a few weeks before I begin eating it. During this time it will become firmer and develop flavour. Once the bacon is dry, you can keep it wrapped in a clean teatowel in the fridge for several months. ➤