Aaah bacon! An Ode to Pork

I've written on and off about the skills and knowledge of our ancestors.  How did they ever survive without a refrigerator?  A modern grocery store?  A cold 12-pack?  They raised their food, preserved and stored it for winter.  Their survival depended on it.  They also accomplished this seemingly herculean feat without modern chemistry of dyes, hormones, pesticides and preservatives. 

Part romance for simpler times and part curiosity has led me on my latest quest - curing/smoking my own bacon from a pork belly.  I ordered my pork belly from an organic farmer (Arnold Farms) at the Davenport Farmers Market about a month ago.  It was $5.75/lb and was nicely wrapped and prepackaged when I picked it up on Saturday morning.  This slab went about 8 pounds.

 I modified a recipe that I found in Men's Health Magazine of all places.  The cure recipe that I used:

2 1/2 cups of salt
1 1/2 cups of  brown sugar
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
3 tsp of allspice
2 tsp of coriander
1 tsp of red pepper flakes

I cut the pok belly into four pieces and then liberally coated all sides with the salt mixture.  The slabs were then placed into ziploc bags, air removed and sealed.  They will now sit in the refrigerator for a few days before smoking at the end of the week. 

I have no doubt that it will be delicious, edible and likely different than our store bought, pre-packaged bacon.  Time will tell.