Time to make: Approximately 7 days and 5-6 hours.

I will be breaking down the steps required to make your own homemade bacon.

There are two flavor styles and then a general process that you can follow.

Requirements:

1. A smoker/grill capable of smoking
2. An oven if you do not want smoked bacon
3. Skinless Pork belly (7-12 lbs)
4. Cure #1, Pink Curing salt
5. Vacuum sealer (for ease unless you want to leave it uncovered in a fridge)
6. Meat probe/thermometer
7. Wire rack for cooling/drying
8. Slicing knife

Flavor style 1 (Savory):

Salty/Italian (Please note that the ingredients are BY WEIGHT)

2% salt (Kosher or Sea salt is fine)

0.25% Cure #1 (Pink curing salt)

1% Brown Sugar

0.5% Black pepper (freshly ground or cracked)

0.25% Garlic Powder

Flavor style 2 (Sweet):

This is not by weight but instead by measurement. Meant for an 8-9 lb pork belly.

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Sea Salt

1/2 cup maple syrup (or syrup of choice)

1/2 cup Ponzu sauce

1/4 tsp cure #1 (Pink curing salt)

Alternatively, all seasonings can be swapped or rotated with whatever you want. The most essential ingredient is the Pink Curing salt. You need this to create a properly preserved bacon that can allow it to be stored for longer. You can make this without it but it does not hold up quite well.

Steps for seasoning:

1. Prepare all of these ingredients into a single bowl and mix them all together.
2. Prepare a vacuum bag that is large enough to hold the entire slab of pork belly and then leave an extra 3-4 inches.
3. If using the sweet approach, place the pork belly into the bag first and then drop the seasoning into the bag. This approach is better since the seasoning will be quite runny.
4. If using the savory approach, seasoning liberally and pat the seasoning into the meat. This will ensure the seasoning penetrates the meat.
5. Vacuum seal both as tightly as possible.
6. Place the slab(s) into your fridge and wait an entire week. That's right. You will have to wait 7 whole days for this to have the best result!

Steps for cooking:

Once a week has gone by you can finally prepare for the cooking stage.

1. Remove the slab(s) from their vacuum sealed package.
2. THOROUGHLY rinse it under some cool water. You want to remove as much salt as you can or else it will be entirely too salty to consume. Trust me...
3. Pat the belly dry and allow it to fully air dry. Feel free to throw it back into the fridge at this time if you'd like. You can optionally put the slab on top of a wire rack to allow all sides to dry.
4. If you are using a smoker/grill. Prepare it to 225-275 degrees. You don't want any higher but you can go as low as 180 if you really want. I prefer 225-250 to account for any fluctuations in temperature (opening grill, humidity, etc...). Fuel your pellet grill or stick burner with hickory or any wood that pairs nicely with pork.
5. Once the grill has reached your desired temperature, place the pork belly inside your grill.
6. If you have a meat probe, meater (brand), or similar, now is the time to put it inside the belly. If you don't then check once an hour to see where the temperature is.
7. The goal is to cook this pork belly to 160-165. No more or less. We do not want the slab to reach a higher internal temperature as this will potentially ruin the end product.
8. Now let the grill and the meat do its' thing. Once your internal temperature has reached 160-165, pull the meat off of the grill and let it rest on a counter on top of a wire rack. Throw it in a fridge if you want to expedite the process.
9. Once cooled. slice as thin or thick as you'd like! Once sliced and completed, feel free to fry, cook or do whatever you'd like with your bacon. Since it's cooked all the way through you may also consume it straight up if you'd like.
10. If you are using an oven, do the same process but just in your oven.

As with all of my recipes, this is just a general guide and not the end-all recipe. If you have a better or more intriguing way of doing this process that suits your needs, definitely feel free to do it that way or even share it with me!

Recipe:

2 red onions

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups water

1/3rd cup sugar (any sugar)

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1  teaspoon black peppercorn

1  teaspoon garlic powder - or 2 garlic cloves smashed

1  teaspoon chili flakes

Feel free to add any non-salt seasoning to your mix for other flavors.

The instructions:

1. Slice the onion after peeling the skin. Use a mandolin with caution or use a knife and aim for similar cuts
2. Combine everything except onions into a pot and bring to a slow boil
3. While waiting for the vinegar to boil, boil some water. Once the water is boiling, pour over the onions in a bowl and let them soak. Once a minute passes, drain the water and continue waiting for the vinegar mix to boil.
4. After you soak the onions for 1 minute, transfer them to a clean mason jar.
5. Immediately turn off the heat once the vinegar is boiling. Carefully add it to your mason jar with the onions. Fill the jar with the liquid and make sure the peppercorns and flakes go into the jar. Leave 1/4 inch of space in the jar and seal with the lid.
6. Let the jar sit until it reaches room temperature on the counter. Afterward, let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours. After 24 hours, shake the jar and enjoy.

Note, use a clean utensil for taking out any of your pickled onions. Avoid adding removed onions back into the jar to avoid any contamination.

These pickled onions taste good with so many things. Vinegar added to a dish will elevate it to another level.

The RG Hi-Nu is at the top of my favorites along with the Nu that I made a while back. They are simply the best RGs that you can get currently with some of the best gimmicks and attention to detail.

My process for building this was identical in every way to the Nu that you can find here. I won't bother you with repeating the same things there so the reading will be short and sweet here.

(Don't mind the Exia... We don't talk about the Exia.)

I followed the same process I do for each mobile suit which is to follow the written instructions. But immediately I was extremely impressed with the attention to detail and quality of the various pieces including the inner frame. If I took images of it I would provide those but alas, I did not. If I remember for future builds I will try to get more of those photos.

But the amount of little bits and pieces that move and add articulation to the build is simply incredible. From the silver (grey) triangular bits near the feet to the knees being complex is what makes a great build over a good build.

The color blocking choices with the various blues are what really made me enjoy this kit. That and the bulkiness of the suit. I am an enjoyer of bulky/chunky suits unless it is an Evangelion kit and in which case I really enjoy the lanky nature of the Eva's. If I have the time in the future I will go back over the silver (grey) and gold (yellow) pieces with chrome markers in their respective colors to add more depth to the build.

Unfortunately both Nu's use the same 2015 black runner type for the wing joints that I absolutely dislike. They are easy to break, brittle, and generally a nuisance to deal with. Refer to my Nu, but the wing snapped apart due to those awful joints. Fortunately for this build, the wings typically stay folded and sit inside a holder which means fewer problems for any snaps.

The HG 1/144 Gouf is one of my favorites. I am a sucker for mobile suits that aren't primarily white, blue, and red. Also considering my favorite color is blue it was a no-brainer to pick this guy up at my local hobby store for 13 dollars.

This build was a typical snap build but I spent some extra time going ahead and cleaning up the edges and nubs. I also decided at the point that I will be putting on some water slide decals. This was the first time I have ever used water slides.

In the end, this build turned out very nice but I was not entirely satisfied yet. I wanted to put a top coat on this kit and see what the hype was all about. I saw a post on Reddit that showed a lineup of about 20 Zaku mobile suits all top coated with a matte finish and it was incredible. I told myself I need to do it too. So I did.

I ended up purchasing a can of Mr. Hobby Flat Matte topcoat to give me the finish I was looking for after watching and reading many reviews of different brands of topcoats. It had everything I wanted and had the best finish to my eyes. (It also turns out to be safe with stickers, water slides, panel lining, and paint). So I made a quick holder out of a cardboard box for all of my pieces and then continued to spray them one by one until each piece was appropriately coated. I like the cure for 20-24 hours but one thing I did after a couple hours was moving all of the pieces that had joints or moving parts to make sure the coating did not seize the parts.

In the end, this build came out great and I was so surprised at the quality of the top coat on top of the water slides and the panel lining that I had done. It also makes the color pop out a lot nicer. It sticks out versus all of my other non-coated mobile suits but for good reason. A lot of extra time, planning, and research went into this boy and it paid out in the end.

The RG Nu is one of my favorite builds to this day with the exception of the RG Hi-Nu. This newer Real-Grade Gundam definitely provides that itch of Master Grade quality at a High-Grade scale. Although it's on a 1/144 scale, it is much larger than a typical Real Grade. This allows the Nu to have more height, width, and detail across all facets. The waistline of the Nu is about as tall as a full HG RX-78 V2.

The way that I approach Gundam starts with a two-snip approach. I first remove the piece by trimming some of the runners and leaving a remaining chunk so I can snip it off afterward. This allows me to have a cleaner more flush trim and minimize the amount of excess plastic left on the piece. I follow the instructions and don't stray off since I'm not largely into customizing just yet (although I am doing more). I like to snap build my pieces after they are trimmed and have done my pass-through with either a razor blade or a glass file to ensure I have a nice smooth surface. Completing all of these steps allows me to visualize how the build will turn out in the end before I do any customizing, sticker laying, panel lines, or top coating.

I typically take progression photos of each build I make unless I am truly captured by the build. I like to document the process to show individuals who may not be familiar with how model construction happens. I actually did not understand how a model kit was built until I got my hand on my first kit.

Once the kit is fully constructed after snap building, I take a close inspection and ensure there is nothing missing, misaligned, or off. I have recently gotten into the habit of cleaning my pieces after the building is complete to remove any factory oils or finger/skin oils. The reasoning for this is to allow for panel lines to be filled cleaner and apply stickers or water slides decals properly. If residue remains on the pieces, the stickers will begin to lift or peel. This results in a bad-looking model and is not something I want. I learned this the hard way after seeing some of my decals popping off of my HGUC Xi. Another benefit is that if you intend to topcoat a model (did not topcoat my Nu) it is required to clean your piece otherwise the coating will not adhere properly. The only mobile suit that I have coated currently is my HG Gouf.

In the end, all the time spent pays off to do some clean panel lines and sticker layouts. The panel lines on a primarily white mobile suit add a definition that you cannot get without putting in the work. My favorite type of panel lining tool consists of the Gundam brand flow-type panel liners. I do however use the felt-tipped panel liners for the larger panel lines/gaps or for more intricate parts. If I want to get fancy I can use my Tamiya panel liners (bottled paints). I have some brown panel liner paint for the gold parts and black for everything else. This requires a lot more skill as it is easier to ruin and harder to remove off of your kit. The Gundam brand marker can be removed with a finger or eraser abrasion.

From just panel lines to adding the final touches with the stickers I have to say that this is definitely one of my favorite kits.