Beef Belly Bacon from Scratch | Homemade Bacon Cure & Smoke (Oak/Cherry) | Masterbuilt Gravity 800

This cook is proper homemade beef belly bacon, made from a full beef belly and taken all the way from cure to smoke. No shortcuts, no rub — just a balanced cure, a proper pellicle, and a low-and-slow hot smoke over oak and cherry. Beef bacon hits different when you do it right. 🥓 BEEF BELLY BACON – CURE RECIPE Beef belly weight: 1.827 kg Cure type: Dry cure 🧂 Cure Ingredients 45 g kosher salt 30 g brown sugar 4.6 g Prague Powder #1 (6.25% sodium nitrite) 2 tsp cracked black pepper 2 tsp garlic powder 1½ tsp onion powder 1 tsp smoked paprika (Optional: mustard powder or chilli flakes — not used in this cook) 🥩 CURE METHOD Mix all cure ingredients thoroughly so the curing salt is evenly distributed. Pat the beef belly dry and apply the cure evenly over all surfaces. Place in a zip-lock bag or loose vacuum bag (do not vacuum tight). Refrigerate for 5 days, flipping the belly once per day. 🚿 POST-CURE PREP Rinse thoroughly under cold water. Soak for 20 minutes to balance salt. Pat dry completely. Place uncovered on a rack in the fridge overnight to form a pellicle. 👉 The pellicle is a slightly tacky surface that helps smoke adhere and improves colour and flavour. No rub is applied before smoking. 🔥 BEEF BACON COOK METHOD Equipment Smoker: Masterbuilt Gravity Series Shelf position: Top shelf Water pan: ½ full with hot water Pit Settings Temperature: 240°F / ~115–120°C Cook style: Hot-smoked Wood Choice Oak (primary) – clean, beef-forward smoke Cherry (secondary) – colour and mild sweetness ⏱️ COOK TIMELINE Bacon on: 9:00 am Internal ~54°C at ~90 minutes Pulled at 65–70°C internal ❄️ POST-COOK HANDLING Rest on the bench for 10–15 minutes. Refrigerate uncovered until fully chilled. Slice cold (hand-sliced in this cook — the Aldi slicer tapped out 😅). 🍳 HOW TO USE IT Fry to crisp Dice for lardons Use in sandwiches or burgers Anywhere you’d use bacon — just beefier and richer 🔔 MORE COOKS COMING This was Sinclair Saturday – Episode 49. If you enjoyed it, subscribe — there’s plenty more BBQ and curing cooks coming.