1st Bacon!


 
S

Scot W

New member
Read a ton of posts here. Cure,no cure, Cold Smoke, Hot smoke? But still got some questions

I have the 5 Lb Belly in a brine right now, coming out tomorrow morning.

1. I am going small minion method, with Hickory, but vent openings? Any thoughts?

2. Using Water and Pizza stone to keep temp at MAx 200, prefer slightly below?

3. Big question, cutting off the rind? it seems awfully tough? Should it be done? before or after smoke?

Thanks in advance.
 
Definitely aim for low temps. 200-225F I start with a small minion but ever smoker runs differently so vent % are not really relevant.

remember the idea isn't to "cook" so much as it is to smoke. I would suggest water in pan to help keep temps down (even some ice would help). The goal is to get as much time in the smoke before you hit your target internal.

As for rind.... personal preference but i'm a "rind off" BEFORE smoking guy. If you take off after you will lose a lot of the effort you put into smoking it. I love pork rinds but on my bacon I find it too hard after frying. I mean there is "crunchy" and then theres "holy crap did I chip a tooth".
 
don't worry too much about your temps. Your goal is to get the slab to an internal of 140*. Keeping cooking temp down has the advantages of: a longer smoking period, more uniform cooking, and less rendering of fat. However, you should be able to lay significant smoke on in an hour or two, and bacon gets cooked until crisp anyways so the other two issues are moot as well.

I've been smoking my slabs with a small smoke generator and finishing them in a low oven.

The rind is easiest to remove when the slab is still warm but cool enough to handle. I prefer to take the rind off before curing so I don't lose 50% of my smoked surface.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top