French style bacon

ingredients

• French style bacon

  • 8 5cm long pieces mesquite or apple wood blend
  • charcoal barbecue
  • meat thermometer
  • 1/3 cup (30g) sea salt flakes
  • 1/4 cup (40g) crushed black peppercorns
  • 1 kilogram piece of female pork belly (see tips)

method

• French style bacon

  • 1

    Combine sea salt and pepper; sprinkle over pork and press to coat. Transfer pork to a large ziplock bag; add any remaining salt mixture. Seal; refrigerate for 3 days to allow pork to cure, turning occasionally to cure evenly.

  • 2

    Rinse pork briefly under cold running water; pat dry with paper towel. Roll pork belly to form a cylinder then tie at 2cm intervals with kitchen string to secure. Set aside for 30 minutes to come to room temperature.

  • 3

    Preheat a kettle-style charcoal barbecue or off-set barbecue for indirect grilling to 120°C. Add a piece of wood to the coals, place grill on barbecue, then pork, cover with lid and smoke for 2½ hours or until cooked through and pork reaches 65°C on a meat thermometer. (Add more charcoal and wood pieces as you cook to maintain the barbecue temperature.)

  • 4

    Set pork aside to cool; wrap and refrigerate until required.

notes

Start recipe 4 days in advance. Bacon will be ready in 3 days. The meat of female pigs tends to be less ‘porky-tasting’ than that of uncastrated male pigs. The bacon will keep refrigerated for up to 8 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Cut thin slices (or small cubes) and fry as you would bacon and eat with fried eggs. Use it in quiches, soups or in a potato salad, or make a spaghetti carbonara with it.