Rain cant stop the Bacon


 
M

Mike Leiter

TVWBB Pro
Been curing 10 lbs of pork belly the last 8 days and then today I wake up to smoke it and its raining. Quick trip to our storage unit and haul back the Easy Up canopy and get the smoker going.
These thicker bellies took a bit longer than the thinner ones I had been getting but the end result is so much better. I did these for a friend and he went with a Apple and Pecan mix for the smoke. Two were cured with Maple Sugar and the other with a Herb blend. Of course after slicing I had to do a few test pieces to make sure I wasn't giving away bad product :cool: I think I have done around 40lbs of bacon the last 2 months for personal use and friends now and glad I joined the site and learned how to do it.





Made quite a few packages of sliced and then one of ends and a few bits for mixing with beans and etc..
 
Nice looking bacon Mike...your like the mailman...no rain will stop you from producing great bacon!!

Love it!!
 
They look fantastic Mike, bet they tast just as good.
It could be worse
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Bill Schultz said:
They look fantastic Mike, bet they tast just as good.
It could be worse
DSC_1569_zpsf57a4346.jpg
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Bill, Thats why I moved away from Upstate NY...Too much white stuff..

Thanks for the compliments guys. I really wish this batch wasn't for someone else this time as it was really good on my test pieces.
 
I really wish this batch wasn't for someone else this time as it was really good on my test pieces.
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now, what did I do with all that bacon?? it was here a minute ago....

Mike, this looks perfect, can't blame you for wanting to keep it!

 
Looks amazing! What type of wood and how long did you smoke it for? What temp did you pull it off?

thanks!
Daum
 
M Daum said:
Looks amazing! What type of wood and how long did you smoke it for? What temp did you pull it off?

thanks!
Daum
Click to expand...

I used a mix of Apple and pecan chunks this time as that's what friend wanted to be used for his batch. I kept the WSM at around 160 max using the snake method and only 1 vent on bottom and top vent wide open this run. It was in the 40s and rainy all day and that helped temp wise to keep it cool. I pulled the slabs off when it hit 143 and then put in gallon zip locks and then ice bath for about 30 minutes. After that freezer for about 30 minutes and then through the slicer.

This has really been the best tasting batch I have made yet and wish it had been my batch :)

Thanks again for the compliments guys.Its really fun making and even more so making these varieties of bacon's with different wood/smoke combos.
 
In my best Obi 1 Kano-be voice: With experience comes Greatness. It's been fun to watch your learning curve, Mike.
 
I want to try to this soon, I love good apple smoked bacon and would love to learn how to do this, about how long of a cook was this time wise. So using the snake method you were able to keep the temps done to 160? I have never been able to go that low yet. Make the old mouth water.

Kevin
 
Kevin L (NKY) said:
I want to try to this soon, I love good apple smoked bacon and would love to learn how to do this, about how long of a cook was this time wise. So using the snake method you were able to keep the temps done to 160? I have never been able to go that low yet. Make the old mouth water.

Kevin
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Yes I was. I keep the top vent open and only use 1 vent on the bottom after I get it close to target temp. I found its much easier to slow the temps down before it hits my max desired temp then bring it down if it goes over. I used double rows of 2 high for the charcoal ring and a few chunks of wood on top of that. Cooler outside temps also help a bunch on keeping it lower. I use a Maverick for temp watching also.

Brian Dahl said:
In my best Obi 1 Kano-be voice: With experience comes Greatness. It's been fun to watch your learning curve, Mike.
Click to expand...

Its been lots of fun learning :) I`m pretty sure the family and friends are glad I got another WSM and went on this newest bacon adventure.

I did notice with the mixing of apple and pecan woods this time it darkened the slabs a bit more than usual under same conditions as all the others without pecan wood.
 
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