bacon smoking


 

j law

TVWBB Member
i have some bacon in cure right now... will be done this weekend. then off to dry and finally smoke! 2 questions:

1. how hard is it to keep the wsb at the lower (175-ish) temp called for?
2. recipes call for smoking until bacon reaches 150F. why is this temperature important? bacon has to be cooked after the smoking anyhow. wouldn't time exposed to smoke be more important?

thanks!
 
if you cook it too hot you'll start to render the fat, and you'll be left with very little bacon left. I usually use about a quarter to a half of a starter cylinder of comp K charcoal. I dont put the bacon slabs on until the temperature gets stable. only once the bacon is on there will i drop in some apple or cherry wood. my first bacon smoke I used hickory and must have overdone it as I hated it. We still ate it of course.
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Fruit woods are a little less forgiving but still have a great flavor.

I've done it now maybe 6-7 times, so by no means am I an expert, but I do learn something each time. Keep at it and you'll figure out what works best for your tastebuds.
 
1+ on What James said.

But i put on my bacon on a cold smoker.

Dont know the size of your wsm or your outside temp or even what fuel you are using. But do a practice run and start with 10-15 lit in your wsm and se what temp you get with that.

When its time to smoke the bacon use the same amount of lit coals but use the MM method.(no need to fill the ring on a short burn like this)

Once you dial in how mutch coals it takes to heat up your smoker the temp will be easy to target/maintain.
 
i have a 22" wsm, but i also have the ProQ cold smoke generator for cold smoking. i guess this is where my confusion comes it - i always assumed bacon was cold smoked, to add smoke flavor without cooking the bacon (as bacon is always cooked anyhow after curing / smoking)

however, the recipes say to smoke until the bacon reached 150F (which will never happen if cold smoking at 90F!!).

again, if bacon is cooked just prior to eating, why smoke until 150F?
 
Some bacon are cold smoked. Never done that myself. Well the internal temp of 150 i guess is to make it safe to eat even if you not fry it. But i wouldent go higer couse then you start to render alot of the fat.

I keep my temps as low as 170-190(maby finish at 200) To high temps will roast the bacon belly and not give you the true "bacon" feel.

And a belly will be done in 2-3.5h depending on size. And by done i mean the inner temp is 150F.
 
Here's something I wrote when I cold smoked and hot smoked a piece of belly. I cut the belly in two, cold smoked one of them, and hot smoked the other. I hope there are some answers in the thread.
 
When last i smoked some swine i used ~60 unlit topped with 6 lit K. Kept temps @ 185 for the first hour or so and ~195 for the last two. 3hrs total. I had no problem maintaining temps but then again used my BBQ Guru for a little helping hand. Pulled off at 150F.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Timothy Hoffman:
You need this for cold smoking. Available now in the UK and US. I am ordering next week.

http://www.macsbbq.co.uk/CSG.html </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Looks interesting. Please report back once used.
 
I Minion the start with just a few lit, like 6, and load the bacon in immediately. It gets smoke from the get-go while the temps rise. I choke the vents so the rise is slow, but allow them to drift up into the 200s. Doesn't much matter to me. When the temps get up there the bacon is already done.
 
6-8 lit will get me up to temp in the summer month. But now when its cold outside i need to add some extra lit. And the great thing with just a few lit is you can take some out if the wsm runs hotter then you want.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">why is this temperature important? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

it may be important in terms of shelf life. Turning belly into bacon was a way to preserve it.

Also, Kevin speaks of flavor development at higher internals.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> if you cook it too hot you'll start to render the fat, and you'll be left with very little bacon left. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

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I typically pan fry sliced bacon, and always end up with the pan full of grease. Belly has no shortage of fat, a little loss isn't a problem.

Why I do think lower controlled temps are important, has more to do with the shape of the belly. It has corners, and they will overcook.

Don't be afraid of the oven. I've been cold smoking and then finishing in the oven. Build a mini minion, and if it dies before you reach your desired internal, throw it in the oven.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Why I do think lower controlled temps are important, has more to do with the shape of the belly. It has corners, and they will overcook. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Agreed. The corners will be tough when frying.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Don't be afraid of the oven. I've been cold smoking and then finishing in the oven. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Excellent point. Always used to think that was cheating but I'm over it.
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well, the smoking went quite well. WSB was ranging between 170-205F. After 2-3 hours, the belly had gotten to ~135F, but started dropping down, eventually to 110F as the coals died out. I finished it in a ~215F oven until it hit 150F

bacon was great! wonderful smoke flavor, and being able to slice it extra thick made a nice texture contrast - crisp outside and slightly soft inside

(if i knew how to post photos i would...)
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gary H. NJ:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Why I do think lower controlled temps are important, has more to do with the shape of the belly. It has corners, and they will overcook. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Agreed. The corners will be tough when frying. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Some people like to square off the corners before the smoke/cure, I prefer to do it afterwards. Dice em up small and put em on top of a meatloaf... smoky bacon fat dripping throughout the loaf is incredible.
 
how tough?

i guess my belly pieces fit completely above the water pan (one on each rack).

is it when the belly hangs past the water pan (more exposed to the heat) you get the drying out?
 

 

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