Home-cured, warm-smoked bacon with Szechuan peppercorns

Separate the belly from the loin, remove the spare ribs, and square the belly off; keep the trim for sausage.

Split the belly into two slabs and weigh each to calculate the cure.

Calculate salt, cure number one (or celery powder for a vegetable cure), garlic, sugar powder and Szechuan peppercorns from the slab weight.

Mix the cure and spices and spread evenly all over the slab; vacuum seal it.

Cure two weeks for a large slab (seven days for a smaller one) at 36 to 40F, in the refrigerator.

Remove from the bag, pound in bacon hooks and hang in the smokehouse without a fire to dry out a bit so it takes on smoke.

Warm smoke, with the fire in the side compartment, at generally 73 to 104F for 24 hours; warm smoking flavours without cooking.

Remove the skin while warm, then cool the slab in the fridge; freeze an hour or two before slicing to firm it up.

Slice on a slicer. Put slices in a cold cast iron and bring up to heat, rendering out the fat; save the fat.

Serve on toast with a little mayo, pickled onions and lettuce.