I usually buy a whole pork belly, then break it into three 8-10" pieces so they will stack one on top of another in my curing box - then cure all the meat at once and freeze the cured meat that I'm not ready to use over the next week or so. Sometimes I will also cure some pork loin to make rashers of bacon.

I add it to all sorts of things - lots of sauce bases in casseroles and stews, cut into slices for use in quiches and as the weather gets warmer we tend to make warm salads with it. Once you have tried the flavour of it then you'll discover that it adds a little punch to all sort of dishes.

Try dressing some mixed leaves with a whole grain mustard vinaigrette, then tossing through some little chunks of fried bacon and top with a poached egg - makes for a great light lunch dish.