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Home » Breakfast Brunch

Homemade Jamaican Jerk Bacon

10/21/2015 Updated: 07/01/2021 By Karrie 22 Comments

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Add some spice to your mornings with this all-natural, sugar-free Homemade Jamaican Jerk Bacon recipe.  Homemade dry jerk seasoning mix recipe is included too!

Homemade Jamaican Jerk Bacon

One of my favorite homemade bacon recipes!

Bacon is a great love of mine.  Spicy is the other great love of mine. 

So the other day, I decided to combine these two and make a spicy homemade Jamaican jerk bacon. 

I love making my own bacon because I get to use the meatiest piece of pork belly I can find and I can make it spicy.

Making homemade bacon means I also get to slice the bacon as thick as I want it! 

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who like bacon thin and crispy and those who like it thick and chewy. 

I am the latter and believe that the thicker the bacon slice, the better.

Homemade Jamaican Jerk Bacon

Pink curing salt:  To use or not to use

I might catch some criticism for this recipe because I don't use pink curing salt.  It is my personal preference to keep my nitrites to a minimum and try to consume only the natural occurring ones in my diet. 

To be honest, I've been making my own bacon without pink curing salt for over 15 years and I've never had a problem with the growth of bacteria or botulism. 

This bacon is still salt cured in the refrigerator for 5 days and, to me, tastes just like the store bought kind.

I used to add a sweetener (honey or a natural brown sugar) in the curing process but I like salty more than sweet so I started making it without sugar. 

Plus it falls under the Paleo diet plan rules when made without sugar. 

If you really like a little sweet taste to your bacon, just add about 1-2 tablespoon of brown sugar to the curing seasoning mix.

Homemade Jamaican Jerk Bacon

Obviously, this homemade Jamaican jerk bacon is fantastic for breakfast, but it also make the best BLT.  Yum! 

Last weekend, I made some twice baked potatoes with it and they were amazing!

Homemade Jamaican Jerk Bacon

Hope y'all give this Homemade Jamaican Jerk Bacon recipe a try!  If Jerk isn't your thing, feel free to experiment with your own bacon seasonings.

Homemade Jamaican Jerk Bacon

Add some spice to your mornings with this all-natural, sugar-free recipe for Homemade Jamaican Jerk Bacon. Homemade dry jerk seasoning mix recipe is included!
5 from 8 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Jamaican
Prep Time: 5 days
Smoking Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 5 days
Servings: 3 pounds
Calories: 2398kcal
Author: Karrie | Tasty Ever After

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds fresh pork belly skin-on is preferred
  • ¼ cup kosher salt
  • ¼ cup dry jerk seasoning mix (homemade recipe below)

HOMEMADE DRY JERK SEASONING MIX RECIPE (makes a little under ½ cup)

  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons onion powder
  • 4 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons ground allspice
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon crushed hot pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Rinse off pork belly and dry well.  Place the cleaned pork belly in a zip lock bag, add the kosher salt and the salt-free dry jerk seasoning. Rub the salt and seasoning into the belly so it's completely covered. Seal bag and place in the refrigerator.
  • Refrigerate the pork belly for 5 days, turning the bag over every day to help distribute the spices.
  • After 5 days, remove the pork belly from the bag and wipe off the salt and seasoning mixture.
  • Set up a smoker using hickory, apple, or cherry wood chips and place the pork directly on the grill rack. Smoke at 225F degrees for 2-2.5 hours, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 150F degrees.
    Oven method instead of smoking the bacon: Preheat oven to 200F degrees. Place bacon on a rack over a baking sheet and roast for 1.5-2 hours, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 150F degrees.
  • The skin can be cut off or left on (if left on it will be a little chewy and tough but adds great texture to the pork). Slice bacon and cook as usual.
Nutrition Facts
Homemade Jamaican Jerk Bacon
Amount Per Serving
Calories 2398 Calories from Fat 2169
% Daily Value*
Fat 241g371%
Saturated Fat 87g435%
Cholesterol 326mg109%
Sodium 9595mg400%
Potassium 993mg28%
Carbohydrates 11g4%
Fiber 2g8%
Protein 44g88%
Vitamin A 430IU9%
Vitamin C 3.6mg4%
Calcium 91mg9%
Iron 4.9mg27%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @tastyeverafter or tag #tastyeverafter

More Breakfast and Brunch

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 ©  Tasty Ever After  All images and content are copyright protected, so please do not copy or claim my work as your own.  Please do not use any images or republish this recipe without prior permission.  If you want to reference this recipe, link directly back to this post.  Thank you.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Vic T.

    August 28, 2019 at 7:26 am

    5 stars
    Nice post! I can't wait to try this recipe. Thanks for posting!

    Reply
    • Karrie

      August 28, 2019 at 1:22 pm

      Thanks Vic and please let me know how you like it when you try it!

      Reply
  2. Gaila

    January 14, 2016 at 3:05 pm

    5 stars
    I love this idea Karrie! I mean I know everything's better with bacon, but adding Jerk seasoning to DIY Bacon is just genius!

    Reply
  3. Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy

    November 04, 2015 at 5:34 am

    oh wow! You have taken bacon to another level. I love anything with jerk flavours and it takes me back to being in Jamaica.

    Reply
    • Karrie@tastyeverafter

      November 04, 2015 at 11:42 pm

      Thank you Dannii and Jamaica (and their jerk shacks) are so much fun.

      Reply
  4. Vineetha @ Mint and Mimosas

    November 03, 2015 at 10:12 pm

    Bacon is a favorite of mine too. I pretty much always order a side at brunch, with whatever I order. Lately I've been seeing candied bacon everywhere. Yesterday at lunch we ordered deviled eggs and it was served with crumbles and whole strips of candied bacon. While it was delicious, I love the sound of all the spices in this Jamaican Jerk version. Yum!

    Reply
    • Karrie@tastyeverafter

      November 04, 2015 at 11:41 pm

      Bacon is some good stuff!! I bet a candied jerk bacon would be out of this world. Spicy and sweet...the best of both worlds

      Reply
  5. Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen

    November 02, 2015 at 2:15 pm

    What an amazing looking dish. Making your own bacon is genius. I would love to wake up to these every morning.

    Reply
    • Karrie@tastyeverafter

      November 02, 2015 at 4:10 pm

      Thank you Anu. It's super easy to make

      Reply
  6. annie@ciaochowbambina

    October 29, 2015 at 8:36 am

    5 stars
    Yum...pork belly...and you've taken it to a whole new level! My guys would love this - if I don't eat it all first!

    Reply
    • Karrie@tastyeverafter

      October 29, 2015 at 10:29 pm

      Haha! Thanks Annie and pork belly is the bomb!

      Reply
  7. Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom

    October 28, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    5 stars
    Wow! Props to you for making your own bacon! And you must have been reading my mind, because I was just thinking about making some jerk seasoning, but I never would have thought rub it on bacon! This sounds like a serious flavor bomb going off in the kitchen!

    Reply
    • Karrie@tastyeverafter

      October 29, 2015 at 10:31 pm

      Thank you Kathleen. I make a lot of jerk seasoning around here because we use it on everything and anything

      Reply
  8. GiGi Eats

    October 27, 2015 at 8:08 pm

    5 stars
    LOL! THAT BACON totally looked like plantains to me!

    Reply
    • Karrie@tastyeverafter

      October 27, 2015 at 9:53 pm

      It does look like plantains!! I should've done Jamaican Jerk Vegan Plantain Bacon. Next time

      Reply
  9. Andrea @ Pencils and Pancakes

    October 27, 2015 at 5:03 pm

    Wow this looks amazing. We have a bunch of pork belly from our pigs but I didn't know what to do with it honestly. I don't have a smoker but I didn't know you could do it in the oven. Last year with our pigs the bacon was think but this year we go it a little thinner and I think I like it better.

    Reply
    • Karrie@tastyeverafter

      October 27, 2015 at 9:56 pm

      Thank you so much Andrea. Wait a sec, you have your own pigs? Where do you live cause I'm super jealous that you have a bunch of pork belly and coming over right now to get it! lol! Seriously though, I am heading over to your blog right now to check it out

      Reply
  10. Karrie@tastyeverafter

    October 27, 2015 at 3:46 pm

    Yay to brown bacon!! Thank you Bestie. xoxo

    Reply
  11. Ben Maclain | Havocinthekitchen

    October 21, 2015 at 7:49 pm

    5 stars
    I love jerk chicken (If it's OK to say that about a thing you've tried just a few times), but I've never though it's possible to make bacon the same way. That sounds like...a one great delicious piece of...bacon, ha-ha! Well done!

    Reply
    • Karrie@tastyeverafter

      October 27, 2015 at 3:47 pm

      Thank you Ben and I could eat everything and anything coated in jerk seasoning

      Reply
  12. LaVern Tucker

    October 21, 2015 at 1:52 pm

    5 stars
    And.....everything is better with bacon....love-it........

    Reply
    • Karrie@tastyeverafter

      October 27, 2015 at 3:44 pm

      True dat LaVern!

      Reply

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