First try at bacon

realtorterry · Apr 11, 2016

Finally got new meat market I our area & they just so happen to carry bellies so I cut one up into three chucks to try differently

The first is just black pepper the second is plain & the third is brown sugar & maple

Here's the begins

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realtorterry
Apr 11, 2016

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realtorterry
Apr 11, 2016

Soaked it in pops brine for 14 days. Took it out today to starting working the pellicle. Rinsed & patted dry. Then cut off a piece & fried. May I assume that the BACON taste comes with the smoke? What I tried was more Hammy tasting?

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realtorterry
Apr 11, 2016

Fingers crossed for a good smoke tomorrow!!

pc farmer · Apr 11, 2016

I will wait to comment after you smoke it and try taste it again.

You cold smoking? Warm smoking?

carcyn · Apr 11, 2016

Smoke flavor definitely comes from finishing it on the smoker.
I smoke mine and finish it at an internal temperature of 145......just like we used to do on the farm years ago. Fully cured and smoked!
Make sure you let is sit in the fridge to dry off to form a pedical for the smoke to adhere to.
Good luck!

realtorterry · Apr 11, 2016

I'm planning on a cold smoke with the AMPS for 8-10 hours

SmokinAl · Apr 12, 2016

Everybody has their own opinion on hot or cold smoking bacon.

I prefer mine cold smoked, but you may want to try it both ways & decide for yourself.

Take one of the slabs & hot smoke it, & cold smoke the other 2, or visa versa.

Then you can make your own decision, and let us know your opinion of cold vs. hot.

Al

alelover · Apr 12, 2016

I cold smoked mine at 60 -70. 1st time I ever did bacon and it came out great. Did 10 hours the first day and 4 hours of smoke the next day. Let it sit open for 6 days then sliced. It came out awesome.

gearjammer · Apr 13, 2016

Can't wait to hear how this turns out.

Ed

realtorterry · Apr 13, 2016

Thanks Guys. I'm gonna cold smoke these tonight after work. Hoping to get 4-5 hours of smoke & then another 4-5 tomorrow

realtorterry · Apr 13, 2016

Hey quick question guys. I'm gonna take my bellies out of the smoker in the next few hours. Planning on smoking again tomorrow but my question is should I wrap them when I put them in the fridge?

pc farmer · Apr 13, 2016

I don't wrap in between smokes. I put on a rack over a pan to let air circulation happen.

daveomak · Apr 14, 2016

realtorterry said:
Hey quick question guys. I'm gonna take my bellies out of the smoker in the next few hours. Planning on smoking again tomorrow but my question is should I wrap them when I put them in the fridge?

When meat has been in the refer, it's best to warm it up to above smoker temp before adding the smoke... Condensate could form on the meat.. the water mixing with the smoke makes "acid rain" IMO and it tastes really bad...

Bearcarver · Apr 14, 2016

DaveOmak said:
When meat has been in the refer, it's best to warm it up to above smoker temp before adding the smoke... Condensate could form on the meat.. the water mixing with the smoke makes "acid rain" IMO and it tastes really bad...

Bear

realtorterry · Apr 14, 2016

Well I just read this. Hopefully the taste will be ok. I let it rest in the refer overnight. It's back in the smoker now for the last 5 hours, but I'll defiantly wrap it after this smoke for the rest before slicing

realtorterry · Apr 15, 2016

10 hours of smoke, wrapped & in the fridge to mellow. Hopping to slice Saturday

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realtorterry
Apr 15, 2016

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realtorterry
Apr 15, 2016

SmokinAl · Apr 15, 2016

They sure look good!

Nice color!

Al

driedstick · Apr 15, 2016

Looks great so far,,, I hope to do me some soon also.

Can't wait to see the sliced pics

DS

realtorterry · Apr 17, 2016

Well I let is rest for two days. Sliced off just a few pieces to test try while the rest went to the freezer to firm up. The verdict is in & it taste like an ash tray?? Smelt good & I was excited to taste, but the smokey smell stayed with the bacon?? I'm gonna put it back it the fridge for two more days & hope it mellows???

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realtorterry
Apr 17, 2016

Bearcarver · Apr 17, 2016

realtorterry said:
10 hours of smoke, wrapped & in the fridge to mellow. Hopping to slice Saturday

image.jpeg

realtorterry

Apr 15, 2016

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realtorterry

Apr 15, 2016

These don't look overly dark, so I would say the strong taste isn't from too many hours of light smoke.

I would think it could have been not enough Pellicle, or still a little wet when the smoke hit it.

Also could be some of what Dave mentioned in Post #11.

If I don't have a good Pellicle from overnight in my fridge, I put 120° of heat on it without smoke for an hour or two, before adding smoke.

That's easy for me to do, because I smoke it at 120° anyway.

Since you cold smoke, if you don't want to put any heat at all on, you gotta leave it uncovered in the fridge long enough to get pellicle, or put a fan on it until it's Dry & Tacky (Pellicle).

Bear

realtorterry · Apr 17, 2016

Thanks Bear! I only smoked for 10 hours & yes they weren't overly dark so even though they smelt smokey I felt confident that they wouldn't be overly smokey tasting. I did leave it in the fridge for two days for the pellicle. They were firm to the touch. Not much on tacky? Could be what Dave was saying? Not sure. Hoping maybe they will mellow in the next day or two wrapped in the fridge

daveomak · Apr 17, 2016

To get a proper pellicle to form on meat, it needs to sit in front of a fan, on a wire rack, for an hour or longer until the meat surface is room temp and tacky to the touch.... OR it can sit in the smoker at 120 ish def. F for an hour or longer.... NO SMOKE.... until the surface is dry and tacky... the dampers must be wide open during the pellicle formation to get rid of the moisture....

Below is a pellicle on salmon... Same thing.... dry surface.....

Pellicle NICE.jpg

daveomak
Apr 17, 2016

First try at bacon

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