Beef Bacon Recipe
The Best Beef Bacon Recipe – An easy step-by-step guide to making pieces of crisp, chewy, meaty and delicious bacon with homemade dry-aged beef!
Why We Love this Bacon Recipe
Nearly everyone loves bacon, but not everybody eats pork. This practically no-fail cured Beef Bacon recipe allows you to turn slabs of fatty beef into irresistible bacon with a robust beefy flavor.
The process for making bacon from scratch is simple: Cure the meat, then rinse and dry-age, slice it, and pan fry or oven bake. Boom, done! (If you happen to have a smoker and want to smoke the bacon slab after dry aging, that also adds an extra layer of flavor, but it is not necessary.)
Yes, the same recipe can be used with pork belly to make pork bacon, but if you’ve never made beef bacon, it’s definitely worth giving a try!
Ingredients You Need
- Beef navel – or well-marbled brisket or short ribs
- Sugar – granulated white sugar is best
- Curing spices – Kosher salt, black pepper, pink curing salt
Pro Tip: To re-create the crispy, irresistible quality of pork bacon with beef, you need to find the right cut of beef. It needs to have quite a bit of fat marbling, or at least a nice thick rim of fat around the edge. Since regular bacon is made with pork belly, it makes sense to buy beef navel or a “beef plate”. A good fatty piece of brisket will also work, as well as large beef short ribs with lots of marbling.
How to Make Beef Bacon
Set out a small bowl. Mix the granulated sugar, salt, black pepper, and curing salt together. Set the beef navel slab on a cutting board. Rub the salt mixture over all sides and edges.
Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap. Place the beef slab in the center of the plastic wrap and sprinkle any remaining curing salt on top. Wrap the beef tightly in the plastic and refrigerate for 4 to 5 days.
After curing, unwrap the slab of beef and rinse it thoroughly with fresh water to remove as much salt as possible. Then place a baking rack on a rimmed baking sheet or in a baking dish. Place the beef bacon on the rack. Pat it dry with paper towels. Place the beef bacon, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days to dry age.
Get the Complete (Printable) Homemade Beef Bacon Recipe + VIDEO Below. Enjoy!
Once the bacon has dry-aged, place it in the freezer for 30 to 60 minutes to flash freeze. It should be solid enough to easily hold its shape as you cut it, but not so solid that you can’t get a knife through it. Slice the bacon into thin strips.
Pro Tip: The trickiest part of making homemade bacon of any kind, is slicing it thin. I find the easiest way to do this is to partially freeze the beef slab so it’s very solid, then slice it with a sharp chef’s knife into 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick strips. You can definitely use an electric knife or deli slicer if you have one.
If you plan to smoke the bacon for extra flavor, do so before slicing the beef into bacon strips.
Cooking and Serving Suggestions
To cook the bacon as a savory side dish, set a large skillet over medium heat. Lay several strips of bacon in the skillet, and fry them for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden brown.
Or use our oven bacon baking method to bake the beef bacon!
Serve crisp beefy bacon with other breakfast and brunch favorites like scrambled or fried eggs, homemade pancakes, french toast, or breakfast salad.
Beef bacon is a terrific pork-free alternative for many recipes. Use it to make Irish Bacon and Cabbage, Spicy Cowboy Bacon Burgers, Bacon Ranch Jalisco Tacos, Whole Wheat BLT Tacos, and just about any dish that needs a pop of bacony goodness.
Frequently Asked Questions
What other seasonings can you use in this recipe?
Want to add extra spice to the curing salts? Try mixing in some smoked paprika, ground Szechuan pepper, or a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Is beef bacon healthier than pork bacon?
Yes, it is! Bacon with beef has more protein with less fat and calories than pork.
Does beef bacon taste like bacon?
The slightly chewy and crisp texture of beef and homemade pork bacon are rather similar. Leaner beef isn’t as fatty and has a rich, beefy/meaty flavor.
How do you store leftovers?
Uncooked beef bacon will keep well in the fridge for up to 5-7 days. Keep the slices stacked and wrapped tightly together in plastic wrap, and place them inside a zipper bag or other sealed container.
Freeze the uncooked bacon for up to 1 month.
Cooked bacon keeps well for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
Looking for More Delicious Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Easy Gravlax Recipe (Cured Salmon)
- Best Smoked Beef Brisket
- How to Smoke Trout
- The Best Turkey Brine Recipe
- Texas Style Oven Brisket Recipe
Beef Bacon Recipe + VIDEO
Ingredients
- 3.5 – 4 pounds beef navel or well-marbled brisket or short ribs
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon pink curing salt
Instructions
- Set out a small bowl. Mix the granulated sugar, salt, black pepper, and curing salt together. Set the beef navel slab on a cutting board. Rub the salt mixture over all sides and edges. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap. Place the beef slab in the center of the plastic wrap and sprinkle any remaining curing salt on top. Wrap the beef tightly in the plastic and refrigerate for 4 to 5 days.
- After curing, unwrap the slab of beef and rinse it thoroughly with fresh water to remove as much salt as possible. Then place a baking rack on a rimmed baking sheet or in a baking dish. Place the beef bacon on the rack. Pat it dry with paper towels. Place the beef bacon, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days to dry age.
- Once the bacon has dry aged, place it in the freezer for 30 to 60 minutes to flash freeze. It should be solid enough to easily hold its shape as you cut it, but not so solid that you can’t get a knife through it. Slice the bacon into thin strips. Place the bacon strips in a Ziploc bag and remove all air before sealing it. Refrigerate the bacon until ready to use.
- To cook, set a large skillet over medium heat. Lay several strips of bacon in the skillet, and fry them for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden brown. Or use our oven bacon baking method for baking the beef bacon.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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As a total bacon connoisseur and a huge fan of beef, I can’t believe I’d never heard of this before! It was easy to make (despite taking some time) and tasted amazing!
who knew that this was a thing!? you have just changed my life forever, thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Love this beef bacon recipe! So delicious!!
My husband was craving beef bacon. Thanks for the easy-to-follow recipe!