From the excellent people at America's Test Kitchen. Bryce and I LOVE bacon... and we agree this is the best we've ever had!
1 c dark brown sugar - 180 g (original recipe called for maple sugar; we tried it once but don't notice a difference between that and the much easier to pick up dark brown)
1/2 c Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 3/8 c Morton kosher salt... basically 80 g of any salt)
1 T peppercorns, cracked (I use significantly less... maybe 1/2-1 t)
2 t minced fresh thyme
1 bay leaf, crumbled
3/4 t pink salt (NOT Himalayan salt, but a curing salt that contains nitrites which prevent bacterial growth & boost meaty flavor; also called DQ curing salt or Insta Cure #1)
4 lb pork belly, skin removed*
wood chunks for smoking
Combine sugar, salt, pepper, thyme, pink salt, & bay leaf in a small bowl. Place pork belly in a 9"x13" glass baking dish (if you need to buy one - go for one with a plastic lid) and rub all sides & edges with sugar mixture. Cover tightly and refrigerate until pork feels firm yet still pliable, 7-10 days, flipping meat every other day.
Rinse pork and dry with paper towels.
Hot smoke bacon until it reaches 150 F, 1.5-2 hours.
[detailed instructions to be added later... if you see this and want to try before they're up, let me know and I'll get them to you]
* I used to get pork belly at Lee Lee's, but I had to cut the skin off... a tricky/dangerous/time-consuming procedure. I recently discovered Costco is a great source for pre-skinned pork belly. One of their packages makes a double recipe (not complaining :-).