Is Smoked Bacon Healthy?

Is smoked bacon good for you? Potassium, which supports bone health, heart health, muscle strength, and avoids high blood pressure, is one of the minerals found in bacon. Bacon also contains more than half of the recommended daily allowance of two key minerals: selenium and phosphorus.

Home smoked bacon also has the added benefit of allowing you to use the cuts of meat you prefer and control the flavors while keeping it as healthy and nitrate-free as possible. If you’re interested in learning how to cure and smoke bacon but aren’t sure where to start, keep reading. Pork cuts fit for bacon

Not all bacon is necessarily smoked naturally, however. Liquid smoke, essentially the byproduct of condensing smoke from a fire, can inject some of that smoky feel through less conventional means.

Bacon is made from pork and goes through a curing process where it is soaked in salt, nitrates and other ingredients. The fats in bacon are about 50% monounsaturated and a large part of those is oleic acid. This is the same fatty acid that olive oil is praised for and generally considered “heart-healthy” ( 1 ).

Smoke at 200°F for around 3.5 – 4 hours, or until the internal temp of your bacon is 160°F. If you used a smaller (and thinner) pork belly this will take less time. The best way to check this is by using an instant read thermometer such as the Thermapen. There is no need to wrap your bacon at any point in the cook.

I like this bacon best when it’s smoked on a charcoal smoker. A gas smoker or pellet smoker is a close second to charcoal. You can also smoke this homemade bacon on a gas grill or charcoal grill if you set them up properly for smoking (follow the links below). Use plenty of wood.