How much smoke wood to use for smoking dry-cured bacon????


 
T

tjkoko

TVWBB All-Star
My plans are to dry-cure bacon. Rub the pork belly, place it into a lug and allow the liquid to drain off and away, more or less. I don't intend on allowing the belly to soak in its own liquid unlike what the Buckboard Bacon recipe calls for.

After 7-10 days have elapsed, the belly will be soaked in water for an hour then rinsed, dried and pat dried followed by smoking in the WSM. Is more smokewood used in this style of dry processing than, let's say, the amount used for a single buckboard bacon?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I don't intend on allowing the belly to soak in its own liquid </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Why not?

I use maybe 1.5 fist-sized pieces that I hatchet down to smaller pieces.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I don't intend on allowing the belly to soak in its own liquid </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Why not?

I use maybe 1.5 fist-sized pieces that I hatchet down to smaller pieces. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Anyway, why not?
Depends on what type of wood I'm using. Apple prob around 2 fist sized pieces, if using Hickory, about 1.5. like Kevin, I break them down to small pieces as well. I do this to the wood on all my cooks.
 
Kruger:

It's from a smokehouse in Alabama that I've gotten my bacon in the past. When cooked, there was absolutely no water produced, just grease/oil therefore my assumption is that it was a dry cured bacon they produced.

And I've seen a recipe or two at Askthemeatman.com that instructed that the bacon not be setting in its own liquid during the curing process.
 
You can certainly do it that way but I don't really see the point. 'Dry-cured' bacon is bacon that was not brined nor injected. It does not mean that what water might exude (and it really isn't all that much) is drained away. The bacon most of us here on the board do is dry-cured but is very unlike commercial bacon - i.e., it does not produce all kinds of water when it is cooked (thankfully!). That, and its superior flavor, is why we like it so much.

But try making it both ways and see what you think, drained and not drained. I'll do the same the next time I cure some.
 
Just finished with being cured and smoked, the newly made bacon will sit in the fridge for about a week to allow the flavors to mellow a bit prior to consuming. We'll let y'all know how it tastes.
 
How did you manage to leave it in the fridge for a week. I at least have to attack one piece right off the smoker!

I'm surprised at the wood amount you folks we're using. I usually go with two maple and one hickory chunk, basically double the amount. I haven't found it too smokey, although I normally smoke it around 175 - 200 degrees so probably higher temp than most and less time in the smoke.

Clark
 
Perhaps my taste buds have a threshold of sensitivity much lower than yours. And I've had the same experience with my own home-smoked beef jerkey: bitter at first that finally mellows with age. Patience, anyone?

For most of the time in the WSM my bellies smoked at less than 200F. Two pieces were smoked. One brought to internal 130F and the other to 149F. And I'm still searching for that article indicating that the slab should never be brought to an internal temperature >125F.

And we'll see how the taste test turns out!
 
Well, a week has elapsed and I'll never purchase retail bacon again. NEVER NEVER NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tastey and cooks without throwing water along with bits of scum from within. And therefore - so much for brined bacon because dry curing is definitely the way to go.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">... I'll never purchase retail bacon again. NEVER NEVER NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!... </div></BLOCKQUOTE> and that pretty much says it all
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you might want to try flavor curing or applying some saltless rubs just before smoking to flavor the bacon, I like to make some with and some without rub
 
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