Ok, been busy with a work for hire project. I’ve had some meat in the basement fridge for a bit the first one is 26.5 pounds of pork bellies. I try to purchase the heaviest weights of heritage pork bellies that I can find with the rines removed and a uniform thickness.

Brined for 2 to 3 weeks in a soft solution of ;
1 cup kosher salt (Not less than a 1/2 cup)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 heaping tablespoon #1 pink cure (Do Not Confuse Pink Salt with this!!!)
1 gallon water.

I use a 5 gal bucket that is food grade and it has never been used for anything else but food in it. For 4 t0 6 bellies I need 2-5 gal buckets and a double batch of brine. I can fit/hang 5 racks into my smaller smoker at one time.

I make a double batch of brine and set the bellies in rotate every day or two, Fill a gallon ziplock with the brine and lay on top to keep the bellies submerged into the brine. Keep these in a cold place that maintains a 33 to 39 degree temp for the duration of 2 to 3 weeks, (you can do less time but,). My basement fridge.

Removed from the brine and rinsed off underwater

Laid out uncovered in the fridge to dry for 1 to 2 days (or hung in the smoker).

Hang in the smoker and using the “A-maze-N” full of my choice pellets, cold smoke for a day till gone and then the next day cold smoke them all over again.
The third day fire up the smoker @ 150 for 1 hr, @160 for an hr, @ 170 for an hr then @ 180 till the internal temp is 145 to 150. Shut off the smoker and let them rest. (Side note here I’m doing them during the cold weather months with no worries of heat and freezing).

After a day or two rest slice then to your desired thickness. Slice and portion into bags then vac, then freeze!

Excellent smokey bacon!

You will find if you slice this bacon thick or thicker than the store bought, it will;
Taste better
Splatter less (Barely a need for a splatter screen)
Needs to have a lower fry temp (keep the burner on a lower temp!!)
Cook it to a tid bit lesser done, but still to your liking.

Biggest reason, it is not injected with solution and you know exactly what is in it!
Heritage breed pork that is just salt and sugar.
The curing salt is at a level of less than 1/3 of the norm and still extremely lesser than the commercial processors that you get at the stores, plus there is nothing injected into it!

Let me know If I may be of any other help on this.

Lately I’ve been making this for others as well as myself. This last batch has been all spoken for.

But I’d rather be on the lake with my mind on God than in a church with my mind on fishin’ Denny Orfield