What a great thread. I am a new guy to smoking and have just started making my own bacon. I have done it twice. One was a hot finish in my kitchen oven, no smoke. The second was a warm finish on my Weber OTG and Smokenator setup. I ran at 110F to 135F most of the time. I smoked for 5 hours with hickory chips. I can see that if you want that smokey note to your bacon, smoking is essential. A warm smoke lets me smoke for longer period than a hot smoke on the Weber, so there is more time for the smoke to get into the bacon.
If I had space, I'd set up a separate cold smoke unit for longer times. I am curious about the taste of the 3 day smoked bacon. While not "over smoked" where it is bitter, is it very smokey so that flavor really predominates?
I think the joy of making my own bacon is that I can play with it to get the flavor profile that is best for the individual. My wife loves sweeter bacon with a good smoke (1x), but I am guessing that a 3x smoke would not go well with her. I, on the other hand, would probably love it.
However, I would make a hot smoked bacon on my Weber at 200F grill temp and finish the bacon at 150F. Even 2 or 3 hours of smoke is better than none. And since I am in the Philippines where the meat handling is not nearly so good as in the USA, finishing at 150F is kind of reassuring too.
j law, the A-Maze-N smoke box does just what you describe. There a couple of variations, one for sawdust and two for pellets. For a no-charcoal cold smoke, it would be ideal. I don't have one, but friends do and they like it a lot.
