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["Mix together salt (and curing salt, if using) and sugars in a bowl with your hands. ""That way you can break up the lumps in the brown sugar."" Rinse pork belly, pat dry, and cut in half crosswise (with the grain).", "Rub pork halves all over with molasses. ""Get it into all the nooks and crannies. When it's nice and lathered up, sprinkle both sides with pepper."" Follow the pepper with a generous sprinkling of salt-sugar mixture; depending on the size of your halves, you may have quite a bit left over. ""Massage it in gently all over and then give them a little shake"" to get rid of the excess.", "Put each half in a nonmetallic container with 2-in.-high sides, such as a Pyrex baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap.", "Chill pork halves 5 days to 1 week, depending on their weight. Turn them over every day. They will produce quite a bit of liquid, which you should leave in. ""You have to turn them religiously. That gets them to cure evenly."" They will feel firmer than they did when raw and will be a deep rosy brown color (rosier if using curing salt).", "Rinse pork (it's okay if some pepper still sticks) and pat dry. ""Otherwise your bacon might be too salty.""
