Homemade Bacon

5 lbs slab of pork belly with the skin removed
Half a cup of kosher salt
Half a cup of brown sugar
Black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of curing salt (Insta Cure #1)
3-4 sprigs of thyme destemmed
Maple syrup

1. Mix the dry ingredients and thyme together
2. Coat the pork belly in a thin layer of maple syrup.
3. Apply the dry rub evenly across the pork belly ensuring you get all sides.
4. Place pork belly in a ziplock bag, lay flat on a baking sheet and place in the fridge for 7-8 days.
5. Flip the ziplock bag over after 3-4 days. You should start to see liquids building up in the ziplock bag that the cure is extracting from the pork belly.
6. Remove the pork belly from the fridge 3-4 days later.
7. Slice off a thin piece of pork belly and fry it up. If it is too salty for your taste, place the pork belly in a cold water bath for 30-60 minutes.
8. Fill-up the hopper with Cuisinart’s maple bourbon pellets and pre-heat the grill to its lowest temperature setting.
9. Place the pork belly on the grill, place the temp probe in the thickest part of the belly and allow it to smoke for 4 hours.
10. Do not let the internal temperature of the pork belly go above 150F. If you reach that temperature then remove the pork belly from the grill before the 4 hours is up.
11. Place the smoked bacon in the fridge and allow it to cool overnight
12. Slice the bacon up in the morning to your desired thickness. Make sure to fry the bacon before eating.