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Homemade No Nitrates Low Sugar Bacon is the goodness of bacon without added junk. Make your own Keto, Low Carb, Paleo, Dairy & Gluten Free bacon from pork belly and a few basic seasonings!
We were recently able to get half of a pig for our freezer. I have wanted one for a long time so I was very excited to have lots of fresh pork in the freezer. There were a few cuts of meat though, that had me stumped. What in the world is a pork belly and what do I do with one? I went to trusty Google and learned it was what bacon was made from. Oh! Well, we know what to do with bacon! We love bacon! After searching for homemade bacon recipes, I came up with this one from slimpalate. I didn’t use anything exactly like they did but the base came from there. Homemade No Nitrates Low Sugar Bacon works very well for us.
Must the sugar be added?
Usually I do not want to add sugar to things unless it is absolutely necessary. In this case, the sugar balances out the salt so I do add it. It would be much saltier without the sugar. Also, since it is all washed off, it doesn’t really matter.
Try also: Homemade Italian Sausage.
Ingredients:
pork belly
sea salt
coconut sugar or your choice of sugar
black pepper
dried minced garlic
dried rosemary, broken
Directions:
Rinse and pat the pork belly dry.
Open it up and lay it flat.
Combine salt, coconut sugar, pepper, garlic and rosemary and mix well.
Rub the seasoning mixture into the pork belly thoroughly. Use your hands to really rub it in on both sides.
Put the pork belly in a Ziploc bag and in the fridge for 7 days.
After 7 days, rinse the pork belly thoroughly with water.
Put the pork belly on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and cook in a preheated 200* oven for about 4.5 hours or until the internal temperature of the pork belly registers 150 degrees.
Allow to cool completely then refrigerate overnight. This hardens the fat and makes it easier to slice.
With a sharp, long knife slice the bacon and cook it up!
YUM!! 🙂
Refrigerate for several days or freeze for up to 12 months.
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Homemade No Nitrates Low Sugar Bacon
Homemade No Nitrates Low Sugar Bacon is the goodness of bacon without added junk. Make your own Keto, Low Carb, Paleo, Dairy & Gluten Free bacon from pork belly and a few basic seasonings!
Ingredients
- 2 lb pork belly
- 2 Tbsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar or your choice of sugar
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried minced garlic
- 1 tsp dried rosemary, broken
Instructions
- Rinse and pat the pork belly dry.
- Combine *salt, coconut sugar, pepper, garlic and rosemary and mix well.
- Rub the seasoning mixture into the pork belly thoroughly.
- Put the pork belly in a Ziploc bag and in the fridge for 7 days.
- After 7 days, rinse the pork belly thoroughly with water.
- Put the pork belly on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and cook in a preheated 200* oven for about 4.5 hours or until the internal temperature of the pork belly registers 150 degrees.
- Allow to cool completely then refrigerate overnight. This hardens the fat and makes it easier to slice.
- With a sharp, long knife slice the bacon and cook it up!
- Refrigerate for several days or freeze for up to 12 months.
Notes
*Don't use fine table salt. It will make the end result much too salty. Use a coarser sea salt or kosher salt.
**A lot of the sodium and sugar gets rinsed off during the preparation process. The nutrition Information does not account for that.
MyProductiveBackyard.com
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
4 ozAmount Per Serving Calories 340Total Fat 24gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 95mgSodium 1851mgCarbohydrates 2gFiber 0gSugar 2gProtein 26g
This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix using unknown brands unless named in the recipe. If nutrition is important to you, I highly encourage you to verify any data you see here with your favorite nutrition calculator. Also, you can put in exactly what you used so it is the most accurate. This is just to give you an idea, as any nutrition calculation is not exactly accurate unless every single product brand used is entered. Please note also that I am not a certified nutritionist or health professional of any kind. Please consult a doctor or trained professional for medical advice.
Ellen
Sunday 12th of January 2025
Can I use this recipe for sliced pork belly?
Cindy
Sunday 12th of January 2025
Hi Ellen, I'm afraid starting with the pork belly already sliced just won't work well. That would change the ingredient amounts but also just not work to get it all worked into the meat like it needs to be. I'm sorry I wouldn't recommend that. ~Cindy
Aneka
Friday 5th of April 2024
Hey, I’ve read forums that said the pink salt is needed to prevent botulism if the meat is smoked above certain temps. Any feedback? I want to go the no nitrate route and smoke but scared to death of the oven and smoker step. Don’t want a bunch of salt pork. Thank in advance.
Cindy
Sunday 7th of April 2024
Hi Aneka, I don't blame you for being very cautious of that step. I'm sorry to say that I have never smoked and have no experience to give you guidance on that. If you are on Facebook, I bet you could find a group of smokers who would be very helpful. Maybe try there? I hope you find the info you need. ~Cindy
Martin
Sunday 29th of January 2023
When you wrote 200 degree, did you mean Fahrenheit or Celsius? I am assuming F, as C would be dried to a crisp.
Martin
Saturday 4th of February 2023
@Cindy, Thanks, worked v well. My wife loved it!l, although I think I slightly overcooked it.
Cindy
Sunday 29th of January 2023
Yes, Martin, you are totally correct. All measurements are US based so like the cups and Tablespoons, etc in the recipe, it would be Fahrenheit. I will try to remember to include that in future recipes so it is clear. I appreciate you pointing that out. I don't want anyone to not have important parts of the recipe. Thanks for stopping by! ~Joy
Roxanne
Thursday 10th of November 2022
I made this and it came out soooooo salty! I'm currently trying to reverse brine it before frying it to hopefully save it. 🤞🏼Maybe do 2 teaspoons of salt instead of tablespoons?
Vasculio
Friday 22nd of November 2024
@Roxanne, Depends on the type of salt used. 2 tablespoons of kosher salt will be perfect for this recipe. But if fine table salt is used, it will be super salty. 2 tbsp of kosher salt is roughly 20 grams, which is close to 2% of 1 kg of pork belly. (Typically for bacon making, salt is set at around 2% of the meat’s weight and sugar at 1%.) Whereas 2 tbsp of fine salt can be as high as 46 grams, which is more than double the correct salt amount. So in most recipes the salt listed is just for general reference, whereas in actual practice we have to adjust it according to the type and size of the salt grains we use. Weighing is most accurate. 🙂
steve
Wednesday 6th of December 2023
@Cindy, After being rinsed, slice of a small piece and fry it to test the saltiness. If its to salty for your taste soak it in cold water for thirty minutes or so. then move on to the next steps when your satisfied.
Cindy
Friday 11th of November 2022
Hi Roxanne, I apologize that I am just seeing this note. For some reason I don't get notifications when there is a new comment. :( Oh no, I'm so sorry it was too salty! I am sure it is supposed to be 2 Tablespoons. It needs plenty of salt for the curing process. I assume you didn't miss the step to rinse it off well between refrigerating for 7 days and baking in the oven for 4.5 hours? That should get rid of most of the salt. It sounds like you have come up with a good solution to reverse brine it. I hope that works to taste good to you! Please let me know!