Bacon is pretty easy. It should be stored in a refrigerator (10 days) or freezer (3+ months), not in the open air. You cure it in a refrigerator as well.
You'll absolutely want to use curing salt, which includes sodium nitrite, to inhibit growth of botulism. If you think adding nitrite is a problem, you should know that your body creates nitrate, which breaks down to nitrite, and that most veg have between 1,800 and 3,200 ppm (parts per million) of nitrate/nitrite, while bacon cured with curing salt typically has less than 200 ppm of nitrite. If you're concerned about nitrosamines (which only rarely appear in bacon), take a bit more vitamin C, problem solved.
Recipes and detailed instructions for slab bacon and Canadian bacon (smoked pork loin) are on my website ( http://stumptownsavoury.com ).
