Smoked meat and dads go together in my family, which is why homemade bacon to celebrate Father's Day just makes sense. Making bacon at home takes a little time, but once you try your own, you'll only use commercial bacon when you're in a pinch. You can change the spice profile any way you'd like -- just keep the pink salt and kosher salt ratios in order with the weight of the raw belly.

I love bacon, but probably not as much as my pal and "The Chew" co-host, Michael Symon. It doesn't need to be in every single dessert or savory dish I eat. But homemade bacon with eggs and pancakes for a late breakfast with my boys and wife on Father's Day is my absolute jam.

The best version of this I ever made was with pork belly from Rebecca Krassnoski, a farmer featured in my last cookbook: "America Farm to Table." The owner of Nature Delivered Farm near Tampa, Fla., sbe'a a minimalist farmer who lives in a tiny, off-grid house, utilizing passive systems, repurposed materials and other sustainable methods to economically raise pigs for restaurants.

Curing salt, also known as Prague Powder No. 1 or pink salt, is key in food preservation to prevent or slow the process of spoilage by fungus or bacteria. Pink salt usually contains sodium nitrite, helpful in preserving the color of cured meat. Curing salt is not to be confused with Himalayan pink salt, which is regular table salt with trace elements that give it a pink color.

After Father's Day, use your homemade bacon in recipes as simple as a BLT or as complicated as duck scaloppine with warm bacon and lentils.

Homemade Bacon

Makes 2 pounds

1 teaspoon pink salt (also called Prague Powder No. 1)

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 cup pure, grade A maple syrup

6 cloves garlic, smashed

3 tablespoon crushed juniper berries

10 sprigs fresh thyme, roughly chopped

1 (2-pound) piece raw, uncured pork belly, skin removed (ask your butcher for the thickest piece available)

In a bowl, stir together the pink salt, kosher salt, pepper, nutmeg, maple syrup, garlic, juniper berries and thyme, and mix well to make a paste. Place the pork belly on a cutting board and massage the paste all over, making sure that the paste covers the entire surface of the pork belly. Place in a zip-top bag, seal, and refrigerate for seven days.

Preheat your smoker or grill to 225 F.

Remove the pork belly from the bag, rinse off the curing paste and pat dry. Place the pork belly in the smoker or outdoor grill and cook until it registers 155 F on a meat thermometer, 90 to 120 minutes, then remove and let cool.

You can slice your bacon and fry it like store-bought bacon, happy in the knowledge that yours is better. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to three months.

(Mario Batali is the chef behind 25 restaurants, including Eataly, Del Posto and his flagship Greenwich Village enoteca, Babbo.)