Bacon newbie question

[Scott_R]

Hello, all.
I've started looking into doing bacon on a Pro Series 575 and I've come across two wildly different approaches.
One is from Babish and seems more mainstream: using pink salt (Prague #1) and smoking to 150 (he even uses a Traeger and references the AmazingRibs pink ratio calculator). From what I've read USDA cooking temps for pork is 145, so this seems fine.
But then I came across Cowboy Kent Rollins who notes the use of pink salt and celery salt but says it's not really needed except for long preservation, and he doesn't use it (bacon not to be used immediately is frozen). Well, OK. But he also smokes to 170. (He uses a wood smoker.)

What should be the takeaway from these two approaches?

 

[MidwestSmoker]

The cooking temperature is the key. Pink salt is absolutely needed if you are cold smoking (less than 150 degrees). If you are cooking to 170 degrees then you don't need it, but the bacon will come out more cooked. Try both ways and see which one you prefer.

 

[RustyJake]

This video gives a good description and understanding of when curing salt would be used. It's more about the time the food is cooked in the 'danger zone' as opposed to the finished temps

Even though this is sausage in the video, the same would apply for bacon

 

[Murphy's Law]

I have always used pink salt, sugar, pepper and kosher salt to dry cure for 7 days (inside a large 2.5 gallon zip lick). Rinse and let sit another day uncovered in the fridge, and then smoke to 150.

Once it’s cooled I will slice and vac seal.