Even on 'hot' smoking one should only take it to 140 degrees internal temperature, as you say; its going to be cooked before eating
On a side note ~~ cold smoked bacon 'can' be eaten raw ~~ that is to say you do not need to cook it
The quest for better bacon... Texture
- Thread starter Brad L
- Start date
Even on 'hot' smoking one should only take it to 140 degrees internal temperature, as you say; its going to be cooked before eating
On a side note ~~ cold smoked bacon 'can' be eaten raw ~~ that is to say you do not need to cook it
Tom Golden
TVWBB Pro
But with any cold smoked product you better have your pink salt (or equivalent) proportion correct.
Salt I always do at 2% and Cure #1 at 0.25%
Tom Golden
TVWBB Pro
I hang mine using, well, bacon hooks.
Shawn W
TVWBB Emerald Member
How are you making out Brad? Dying for an update.
Tests 1, 2, & 3 are now complete. They are sitting in the bottom of my fridge waiting for test #4 to finish up. I am changing test 4 a little, in that I am going to air dry it for 10 days. I noticed on test #1 that most of the weight was lost during the first 7-10 days.
The cold smoked slabs had a very strong smoke odor, which did not exactly smell pleasant originally. The rest period has mellowed that smell to be tolerable, but my wife is not pleased with the smell in our fridge and freezer. Smoke flavored ice out of the ice maker is NOT a good taste.
Here are the four slabs #1 on top and #4 on the bottom.
An interesting note here is that tests 3 & 4 were smoked at the same time, and looked the same until slab 4 was hung to air dry. The color on slab 4 is closer to a caramel color instead of the mustard color of slab 3. The picture makes the slabs look closer in color than they actually are. I don't know if this is important, but just an observation at this point.
I plan to continue to hang dry Test 4 until Friday Oct 10th. Around that time I will slice all these slabs up, cook a few strips of each up, take a few glamour shots, then post the final outcome. It has been a LONG 5 weeks so far, I ran out of bacon 3 weeks ago, and I have been cranky since.......
The cold smoked slabs had a very strong smoke odor, which did not exactly smell pleasant originally. The rest period has mellowed that smell to be tolerable, but my wife is not pleased with the smell in our fridge and freezer. Smoke flavored ice out of the ice maker is NOT a good taste.
Here are the four slabs #1 on top and #4 on the bottom.
An interesting note here is that tests 3 & 4 were smoked at the same time, and looked the same until slab 4 was hung to air dry. The color on slab 4 is closer to a caramel color instead of the mustard color of slab 3. The picture makes the slabs look closer in color than they actually are. I don't know if this is important, but just an observation at this point.
I plan to continue to hang dry Test 4 until Friday Oct 10th. Around that time I will slice all these slabs up, cook a few strips of each up, take a few glamour shots, then post the final outcome. It has been a LONG 5 weeks so far, I ran out of bacon 3 weeks ago, and I have been cranky since.......
Last edited:
I wanted to buy a bunch of bacon hooks the last time I went to Butcher|Packer, unfortunately they only had one in stock. I have been using it to air dry test 1. I put slabs 3 & 4 on pizza screens that I had laying around that I use for making jerky. They looked much better than the first 2 slabs. Even just cleaning the WSM grates a bit would have helped the presentation, but I usually just nock off the big clumps and leave the seasoning to prevent rusting.
I will be ordering more bacon hooks soon. I also need to make a hanging rack for inside the smoker for hanging bacon and sausages.
Dave from Denver
TVWBB Wizard
Brad, looks great. If your wife is like my wife she might change her tune once she tastes it. Looking forward to the results after next friday. You can also hang by threading butcher string 3 or four times down one edge of the meat.
The Results
Here they are, all sliced up and nowhere to go.
Test 1 in the front and 4 in the back. As you can tell from the pictures the texture is very different in each of the samples.
Test one was firm, solid, if stretched it would return to it's shape; VERY silky smooth feel. Total lost weight 24%
Test two was the most firm, smooth feel, not as refined as test one. Total lost weight 15%
Test three was the softest, almost tacky feel. Very similar to commercial bacon from the store. If this were stretched it would likely tear, fall apart. Total lost weight 10%
Test four was soft, solid, VERY VERY silky smooth. I almost ate this one raw. Total lost weight 26%
About 18 pounds ready to be vacuum packed, frozen, and some sent to family members.
Here they are, all sliced up and nowhere to go.
Test 1 in the front and 4 in the back. As you can tell from the pictures the texture is very different in each of the samples.
Test one was firm, solid, if stretched it would return to it's shape; VERY silky smooth feel. Total lost weight 24%
Test two was the most firm, smooth feel, not as refined as test one. Total lost weight 15%
Test three was the softest, almost tacky feel. Very similar to commercial bacon from the store. If this were stretched it would likely tear, fall apart. Total lost weight 10%
Test four was soft, solid, VERY VERY silky smooth. I almost ate this one raw. Total lost weight 26%
About 18 pounds ready to be vacuum packed, frozen, and some sent to family members.
I'd like to share my method of preparing bacon. Something I came up with a few years back.
Start with a half sheet pan.
Cover with a sheet of parchment paper large enough to overhang all 4 sides. I use a precut full sheet pan size
Place your bacon strips on pan, can be touching, but not overlapping.
Cover bacon with parchment paper, half sheet pan size works well.
Fold edges of first parchment paper over to seal up all around. Long sides first, narrow sides last.
Place another half sheet pan on top and place in preheated oven.
Bake @ 425° for 25-30 minutes, thicker slices cook longer than regular slices. Cleanup with this method is a breeze, and zero splatter in the kitchen. Having lots of company, throw a few trays in the oven, even bake the biscuits on top of the bacon!
The Taste,
Test one on top, test 4 on the bottom.
They were all very good, and I was happy eating all of them. But they all had different highlights.
Test one; Sweet, crunchy (more firm), Rich - Very Good.
Test two; Bacon, firm.... not a bad thing, nothing special
Test three; Soft, nice mouth feel, quite good.
Test four; Sweet, soft, rich, excellent
I was actually quite surprised with these results. While slicing I expected test one to taste the best, based on texture, fat feel, and color alone. I would happily eat all of them without complaint, but I preferred # 4 the most. The depth of flavor and texture was more defined than the rest. Don't get me wrong, they all taste like bacon, and the differences are very subtle for such a boldly flavored product.
Was it worth the effort, absolutely; just look at the size of that pile of bacon!
I don't think the longer cure time affected anything, the air drying and smoke temp were definitely the game changers here.
Enjoy!
Start with a half sheet pan.
Cover with a sheet of parchment paper large enough to overhang all 4 sides. I use a precut full sheet pan size
Place your bacon strips on pan, can be touching, but not overlapping.
Cover bacon with parchment paper, half sheet pan size works well.
Fold edges of first parchment paper over to seal up all around. Long sides first, narrow sides last.
Place another half sheet pan on top and place in preheated oven.
Bake @ 425° for 25-30 minutes, thicker slices cook longer than regular slices. Cleanup with this method is a breeze, and zero splatter in the kitchen. Having lots of company, throw a few trays in the oven, even bake the biscuits on top of the bacon!
The Taste,
Test one on top, test 4 on the bottom.
They were all very good, and I was happy eating all of them. But they all had different highlights.
Test one; Sweet, crunchy (more firm), Rich - Very Good.
Test two; Bacon, firm.... not a bad thing, nothing special
Test three; Soft, nice mouth feel, quite good.
Test four; Sweet, soft, rich, excellent
I was actually quite surprised with these results. While slicing I expected test one to taste the best, based on texture, fat feel, and color alone. I would happily eat all of them without complaint, but I preferred # 4 the most. The depth of flavor and texture was more defined than the rest. Don't get me wrong, they all taste like bacon, and the differences are very subtle for such a boldly flavored product.
Was it worth the effort, absolutely; just look at the size of that pile of bacon!
I don't think the longer cure time affected anything, the air drying and smoke temp were definitely the game changers here.
Enjoy!
Dave from Denver
TVWBB Wizard
I knew you'd love it. Looks like we've got another convert Robert.
Brad you're doing really great work contributing this much information to the Forum in an orderly, organized, methodical manner.
Bob Correll
R.I.P. 3/31/2022
Totally agree.
Fine looking bacon Brad!
In my early bacon making days I always cold smoked, 100F to 110F, but it seems these days most all recommend an internal of 150, for insured safety I suppose. (back then I never checked the internal temp)
I still cool smoke until it's the color I want, then let the heat rise somewhat until 140 to 145 internal.
This is the color I like:
Thank you for the kind words.
Bob, How many hours did you cold smoke that thing!?!? And how thick was it?!
Bob Correll
R.I.P. 3/31/2022
Brad,
The pic is from almost 3 years ago, but looking at the photos exif info, start to finish was about 5.5 hours.
Not sure of the thickness.
It was done on a kettle using the wood chips shown below, in a foil pack on top of a few lit briqs , both replenished as needed.
For me, chips in foil produce a heavier smoke than chunks.
The pic is from almost 3 years ago, but looking at the photos exif info, start to finish was about 5.5 hours.
Not sure of the thickness.
It was done on a kettle using the wood chips shown below, in a foil pack on top of a few lit briqs , both replenished as needed.
For me, chips in foil produce a heavier smoke than chunks.
Phil was the one to get me going on explaining the ins and outs ..
Will be doing a set of Maple bacon over the next couple of weeks, Smithfield is down for a three day smoke starting tomorrow
I am glad that the bacon turned out, it takes a lot of convincing with people but once they are into it it seems that there is no going back
Just made some Schwarzwälder schinken and have finished a three day smoke (1 day - rest the next - then two days smoke), now it is down aging/maturing and over the next eight weeks it should get to be a deep mahogany colour
Last edited:
Shawn W
TVWBB Emerald Member
Totally agree.
Fine looking bacon Brad!
In my early bacon making days I always cold smoked, 100F to 110F, but it seems these days most all recommend an internal of 150, for insured safety I suppose. (back then I never checked the internal temp)
I still cool smoke until it's the color I want, then let the heat rise somewhat until 140 to 145 internal.
This is the color I like:
Bob, that might be the most beautiful looking slab of bacon I have ever laid eyes on.