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Buy a pork belly. Make your own bacon. It's pretty easy and very delicious. That said, nitrates are in lots of things like celery.
Wait what? Nitrates in celery?
Yeah, that's how food processors cure meat without using curing salts: they just replace it with celery juice or celery powder that contains natural nitrates, which cause the same effect but allow for different labeling rules.
You can find lots of packaging for 'nitrate free' things that have a disclaimer somewhere saying '*except from celery.'
Can you describe the process in general, or point to a good recipe?
Mix salt, cure and sugar by weight based on weight of belly to be cured. Coat both sides with cure and place on a rack in the fridge. Turn daily and remove any fluid that drips on the tray under the rack. Leave for 5-7days. Remove from fridge. Rinse with cold water to remove the cure. Dry and place back on the rack in the fridge overnight. The next day smoke to your liking. You can cold or hot smoke it.
Slice and yummm bacon......
Is "cure" an ingredient?
Sorry it's called "Prague powder". A pink substance that looks kind of like salt. Yes it's an ingredient. It's the ingredient that replaces some salt as the curing agent. Basically nitrates. Instead of salted meat you get cured meat. It's also used in most processed meats like Salamis and Coppa and such and gives "that flavor" to sured meats.
Ah I see, thanks!
How to make bacon: https://youtu.be/8fuOmhzGAtg