Is there too low a smoke temp for bacon?


 
Milan Bartolec

Milan Bartolec

New member
I'll be smoking my 2nd bacon tomorrow, but it will be the first time with my new AMAZEN-PELLET-SMOKER. Doing a dry run with the pellet smoker in the 22" WSM right now. Outside here in the PNW its 45F. With the smoker smoldering away the pit temp reads 52-54F. Is this too low a temp? I know I've seen references to smoke at 80F, but don't know if that is supposed to be a minimum or possibly a ceiling.

Details:
WSM 22"
No water pan
No meat in WSM
45F outside temp
little bit windy
 
You'll eventually want to get the belly up to 145-155F so that it firms up a little for slicing. I usually try to smoke around that temp for a few hours and then increase it a little to finish.
 
even for a cold smoke bacon will I want to get it up to 145-155F? Searches on the web for cold smoke bacon don't mention finishing it at that temp, but most really seem to point to either 80-100F, and found even a few that like 65F. So hopefully there is no 'too low' temperature.
 
After 12 hours with apple dust with the AMZN SMOKER here is what they look like.
Doesn't seem to be much smoke color. They are very soft not firm like my first 'hot smoke'.



IMG_0539_zps2001bb8c.jpg
 
the one on top is a savory dry cure with black Pepper
the on one bottom is a sweet dry cure with maple syrup (grade b) and brown sugar.
I think the color on the lower is from the cure.
 
When it comes to cold smoking, you need to lengthen the smoke time to more than one day to ensure bacterial death. The cold smoked bacon I've gotten in the past from DeRamus meats is rather firm, being that it's cold smoked for several days. Here's the letter they sent to me a couple of years ago and their stuff is real smokehouse stuff:

WE SMOKE OUR BACON AT 110 DEG FOR THE FIRST FEW DAYS .THEN BRING IT UP TO 130 INTERNAL TEMP FOR 30 MINUTES, THEN TURN IT BACK DOWN TO 110 DEG AND LET IT FINISH SMOKEING . SMOKE IT UNTIL WE LIKE THE COLOR. AND LET IT COOL DO NOT LET IT TOUCH WHILE COOLING AS IT COULD POSIBLY SOUR WHERE IT TOUCHES. WHEN IT IS COOLED IT IS READY TO GO. AND IS A SHELF STABLE PRODUCT.

WE DO USE NITRITES AND SALT AND SUGAR FOR CURING . THE BACON IS IN CURE FOR 21 DAYS OR LONGER NO MORE THAN 28..

WE DO SOAK OUR BACON FOR TWO DAYS CHANGEING THE WATER SEVERAL TIMES TO REMOVE EXCESS SALT , USING WARM WATER.
 
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