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Anyone who knows me well knows that I love bacon. No, really. I LOVE bacon. Years ago when I had my tonsils out, I had the worst trouble eating due to some nerve damage that was unavoidable. For months, I was hungry, but I had no appetite. That sounds like it makes no sense until you experience it. People used to tell me that they wished they had that problem. Umm, no, you don’t. Trust me, it sucks. In fact, there were moments where I was rather terrified. I mean, you have to eat to survive, but I was lucky if I could get more than 2 or 3 bites down most meals.
At one point I started to crave bacon, like all the time. Because I had lost so much weight, my doctor actually told me to eat whatever I craved even if it was bacon…all day long. Best year of my life!! Fast forward 10 years, and I now know bacon is not the enemy we all thought it was. It’s likely that my unintentional fasting put my body into a state of ketosis so it started craving fat, like yummy bacon.
Recently I decided that if I couldn’t find Whole 30 compliant bacon in my local stores, I was going to make my own. I’m lucky that I have a huge specialty grocer near me so finding pork belly was not hard. Ask at your grocer’s meat counter if you don’t see it or find a butcher shop in your area.
My inspiration was this recipe by Paleo Leap. I use my own Italian seasoning mix and red pepper flakes to give it a bit of a kick in this recipe. I also prefer to remove the skin in advance so the pork belly gets a good coating of seasoning on all sides.
Ingredients
2 pounds pork belly, skin removed (ask the butcher for help if needed)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning mix
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Directions
Using a sharp knife, like a boning knife, remove the skin of the pork belly or ask the butcher to do it at the store. The skin also can be removed after the bacon cooks. I like to remove it first so the spices have more contact with the meat.
Set aside the bay leaves. Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the pork belly with the spice mixture. Everywhere. Rub it well. Get a little too familiar with it. Trust me.
Place the spiced up pork belly in a plastic bag large enough for it to stretch out and get comfortable. I like to use my Food Saver for this. I think the vacuum sealing helps the spices marinate into the meat. Before sealing the bag, toss in the bay leaves. Seal the bag, removing as much of the air as possible.
Mark the bag with the date, so you don’t forget. Store in the fridge.
Optional: Visit your pork belly every day or so and give it a little rub down through the bag. This makes sure all the seasonings are well-distributed. It’s important to show your bacon some love.
After about a week, remove the pork belly and the bay leaves from the bag. Discard the bay leaves. Rinse if you like, but I love the layer of spices along the edge once it is cooked so I leave it go. Plus, I’m lazy so I avoid any extra steps standing in the way of me and my bacon.
Place the pork belly in a shallow baking dish. Place in a preheated 250 degree Fahrenheit oven and bake for approximately 2 hours or until the internal temperature is about 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Allow the pork belly to cool. Store in the refrigerator. Whenever you want bacon, which if you are like me is always, slice off a piece and cook it up however you like.
