Two Basic Methods, One Result

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There are two basic methods to start to make bacon from fresh product:

Dry Curing 

Wet Curing

Both essentially accomplish the same result: curing fresh meat to preserve it.

There are two basic methods to make the cured product into bacon:  

Cold Smoking

Hot Smoking

So you first have to choose your method of curing, then your method of smoking.

There is no better "right" way or "wrong" way; it's what you want to do and what type of finished product you wish to accomplish.

 

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In the first step, you're taking fresh product to a cured product.  Whether it is belly or butt, you are creating what is known as "salt pork"; fresh unsmoked but cured product.  Great in beans as well as in greens, or soups, etc!