Dry-brining Pork Belly
Ingredients
Meat
- 5 lbs pork belly skin off; works for pork ham or roast
Curing Mixture
- ¼ cup koshering salt
- 2 tsp pink curing salt Pink curing salt is a mix of salt and sodium nitrite. It keeps the meat pink and protects it from bacteria. You can find it at specialty food stores or online. It may be listed as #1 or Prussian salt.
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar packed; you can not use the sugar, but then you need to add the same amount as koshering salt
Flavorings (optional)
- ¼ cup honey chestnut honey is best, any works, as does molasses
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes or sambal oelek, or cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp smoked sweet paprika powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
Instructions
- Rinse the pork belly and pat dry.Transfer to a resealable 2-gallon plastic bag or similar-sized container.
- To make the spice rub, mix the kosher salt, pink salt, brown sugar (if used), and optionally the flavorings.Coat the pork belly all over with the mixture.
- Close the bag and refrigerate 7 to 10 days, flipping once a day, until the pork feels firm.It should take 7 days for a thin belly that is about 1½ inches thick, longer for a belly that's 2 to 3 inches thick.
Notes
Note: I don’t use the flavorings. Recently I’ve not used sugar in the cure either. I don’t like my bacon too sweet.