Ingredients:
- 1 2½ lb. pork belly, squared off and rind removed
- 2½ tablespoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pink salt, optional
- 1/4 cups of good quality finely ground coffee
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup of cocoa powder or dark cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp of brewed coffee
Directions:
- Place the pork belly in a large zipper bag. Add the salt (and pink salt if using), ground coffee, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and brewed coffee. Rub the cure into the pork belly, pressing the rub into the pork belly and turning to make sure the entire pork belly has the rub covering it. Squeeze out all the air from the bag as you close it. Refrigerate for 7 – 10 days, flipping it daily to ensure the flavors have evenly spread throughout the pork belly.
- After 7 – 10 days, throughly rinse the cure off the meat. Pat tdry with paper towels and set it on a rack over a baking sheet. Allow the bacon to air-dry in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.
- When dry, preheat the oven to 225 degrees.
- Roast the pork belly in the oven to an internal temperature of 150 degrees for about 90 minutes. Chill the bacon well, then slice to your desired thickness. Alternatively, you may smoke the bacon instead of baking in the oven. To do this use a blend of apple and pecan woods and whole coffee beans in your wood box. Light the smoker and place the bacon on the grill to cold smoke for 8 hours.
- Wrapped in parchment paper, then wrapped in plastic wrap or foil and placed in a Ziploc bag, the bacon will keep for three weeks in the refrigerator and three months in the freezer.
