Maple Lacquered Bacon Recipes

MAPLE BACON RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients other than pork belly in a bowl and mix together.
• Pour mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc bag and add the pork belly. Remove as much air as possible from the bag before sealing, then mix around the liquid so that the belly is completely covered.
• Place the bag on a baking dish to catch possible leaks, and allow it to cure in the refrigerator for 1 week, flipping it over and moving around the liquid each day.
• After bacon is done curing, remove it from the bag, give it a rinse to remove excess salt, and pat it dry.
• Smoke at 200-225° F until bacon reaches an internal temperature of 150° F. This should take 2-3 hours depending on your smoker's temperature and the thickness of the pork belly.
• Refrigerate bacon to cool completely before slicing.

MAPLE-LACQUERED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• Pour the maple syrup into a shallow bowl and give each bacon slice (both sides) a generous dip in the syrup. Lay the bacon on the prepared baking sheet, and sprinkle it with black pepper. Bake for 20 minutes. Flip the bacon over and bake until it is crisp at the edges and caramelized on the bottom, another 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Nudge the bacon slices to unmoor them from the baking sheet, and let cool for a minute to firm up. Transfer to a long platter to serve.

MAPLE-CURED CANADIAN BACON RECIPE

Steps:

• To make the cure, combine 1 quart of water, kosher salt, maple syrup, brown sugar, pink salt, bay leaves, garlic, and peppercorns in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Transfer to a large container and stir in remaining 3 quarts of water. Place in refrigerator until completely chilled. Fully submerge pork loin in cure and let sit in refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
• Remove pork from cure and place in large container. Add enough fresh water to fully submerge loin. Let sit for 30 minutes, then remove pork from water and pat dry with paper towels.
• Fire up the smoker or grill to 225°F (107°C), adding chunks of smoking wood when at temperature. When wood is ignited and producing smoke, place pork in and cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 140°F (60°C) when inserted into thickest part of the pork loin, about 2 to 3 hours.
• Let pork cool for 30 minutes. Slice and pan fry before serving.

LACQUERED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking pan with 2 layers of foil and top the foil with a sheet of parchment paper.
• Stir the maple syrup, sage and cayenne in a small bowl. Dip the bacon in the syrup to coat and arrange the slices on the pan in a single layer.
• Bake the bacon until it starts to brown on the underside and tips, about 20 minutes. Flip the bacon and rearrange the slices if it is browning unevenly. Continue to bake until dark all over, 10 to 15 minutes more.
• Transfer the bacon to clean parchment paper to cool slightly before serving.

LACQUERED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir the chutney, juice, mustard, and vinegar together in a small bowl. Arrange the bacon in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake the bacon until it begins to look opaque and the fat begins to render, 10 to 12 minutes. Pour off any accumulated drippings. Turn over the bacon and brush about 1/2 of the glaze on the bacon. Return the bacon to the oven and cook for 3 to 4 minutes longer. Remove the bacon from the oven and turn it over again. Brush it with the remaining glaze and return it to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until well browned and firm. (With the glaze coating the bacon gets chewy and crunchy but stays short of crisp.) If you want to drain the bacon, do it on a rack rather than on paper towels to avoid wiping off the glaze. Serve warm.