My first thought...
But seriously...anyone care to post a primer on DIY bacon? I didn't see a bacon sticky in the meat-smoking section. What equipment is needed? Processes? Best cuts of meat, etc.?
Equipment: large ziploc bags (2-2.5 gallon, depending on the size of the meat), refrigerator, a container to put the ziploc bagged bacon in while it cures (to catch leaks), a grill or smoker if you want to smoke it.
Best cuts of meat: belly or side is the classic bacon we get, but shoulder works, too. Pork loin is Canadian bacon. Lots of opinions on this, but belly and shoulder are the most common, and belly is fastest and easiest for a first time.
The process is 2 steps: cure and smoke. Curing is preserving and flavoring the meat with salt and (usually) nitrate/nitrite. Pink curing salt is what give it the color and some flavor. Read up on it - it's poisonous to eat straight, but you're using a tiny amount. You might be able to buy it from a sporting goods store if they sell stuff for hunters to make jerky or cure meat. You might find it at a brewing store, or you might have to order it online.
The basic cure (by weight) is 1lb kosher salt, 1/2 lb sugar, and 2oz pink salt.
Using belly: Wash and pat the meat dry. Put it in a sheet pan and cover it with cure. Flip it over and cover it with cure again. Make sure the edges and every bit of it are covered. Check again.
(You should have leftover cure unless you did a big piece. Don't save the stuff that touched the meat, but save the leftovers that didn't.)
Slide the belly into a ziploc bag, push all the air out, and seal it. Put that package in a container and put it in the refrigerator. It needs to cure for 5-7 days per inch of thickness, so for belly, that's usually a week. For thicker pieces, measure from the center to edge, and that's the thickness. (A shoulder might be 3 inches, so about 3 weeks.)
While it is curing, flip it over every day or every other. It will be expelling liquid and making a brine. Make sure the brine stays in contact with the meat.
After a week, it should be firmer than when you started.
Rinse it off well. I find cured meat is often too salty, so soaking in cold water for a couple of hours will help to draw some out. Or put it in a pot of water, heat it to a boil and turn it off. Let it sit till cool.
Dry the meat well and put it in the fridge uncovered for a day. This forms a better surface for smoke to stick to.
You can then smoke the meat at 200 degrees or so until it hits 150 degrees internally. You can also roast it in the oven without smoke at 200 degrees. OR you can start on the smoker for a couple of hours, then switch to the oven. Let it cool enough to handle and cut the skin (rind) off.
Cool completely, then refrigerate overnight BEFORE trying to get thin slices. (But you should cut a small slice and fry it just to taste!) But you'll get even slices if it is cold.
You can vary the cure by adding garlic, maple syrup, bourbon, lots of black pepper, etc. You can also re-coat it with pepper before smoking.
It is pretty easy and straightforward. I would say almost foolproof.
Now that I spent all this time typing, I'll see if someone beat me to the punch!