I’m more of a rub guy than a sauce guy, but here’s the process I go through…I trim the skin away and any real thick pieces of fat away, but don’t make it too lean, fat is your friend while smoking. I inject my pork w/squeeze butter. Then I rub a thin layer of plain yellow mustard on the pork. This won’t add any flavor, only help hold the rub on. Then rub a nice layer of dry rub on, here’s my recipe…
Most of the USA Bacon methods I have seen although cured in the same way (Brown Sugar, Salt and Prague Powder), usually pork belly for Streaky Bacon. I like Loin best for Shortback bacon. Most recipes from the USA then seem to want to low and slow cook/smoke the slab of cured bacon on the smoker afterwards?
I cold smoke mine so once cured it is smoked 2-3 times with wood dust for 12 hours at a time. Usually through the night so the outside air temperature doesn’t affect the inside temp of the smoker so much and then it is sliced and over the coming weeks is grilled or fried in a pan for Bacon Sarnie, (Buttie or Bap) or just used in a big English Fryup
This is what my last batch of Shortback Bacon looked like after cold smoking for 2 nights
This is how I see most American recipes looking after curing and hot smoking. I am sure people cold smoke as well. But many prefer to hot smoke it though it seems to me . Which is why I differentiated, rightly or wrongly
sshhhh top secret add for your Carolina Mustard and Vinegar sauces …fresh ground Allspice. For some Texas “gravy” sauce (for dunkin’), add some of that smoked liquid pork fat while warm and emulsify your homemade vinegary red sauce with a blender stick …makes a lightly brown thickened almost salad dressing (BBQ gravy!) to splat on your sammich
