First Bacon Attempt

acd4476

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• Aug 12, 2016

• #1

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• acd4476
• Aug 12, 2016

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• acd4476
• Aug 12, 2016

So this will be my first attempt at bacon with pops brine (lo-salt).  The pictures are at 14 days in the cure after rinse and drying. I just popped them back in the fridge to form the pellicle and will smoke them Sunday.   Now I do have a few questions:

1.)  I was a bit concerned as I cut a little bit of fat off of one and noticed how red/pink the meat was still.  I thought it was supposed to be grayish all the way through?  Can anyone help me out?  

2.) Also, who cold smokes vs hot smokes?  Temps are supposed to be in the 80s and I did notice pops hot smokes.  What I cant figure out is what temp he uses.  Plan to use the AMPNS.  Do I need to worry about 40-140?  

3.)  When do you add your spices?  Just before smoking or before the pellicle forms?

Thanks everyone!

 

pc farmer

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• Aug 12, 2016

• #2

#1.   Its suppost to be red/pink in the middle.  That means its cured.  The grey outside is cause it was exposed to the oxygen in the water.

#2  You don't need to worry about the 40-140.   Its cured.   I cold smoke and warm smoke.   When warm smoking I never go over 120 smoker temp.

#3  I add spices before forming a pellicle so the seasoning stays on.

 

pit 4 brains

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• Aug 14, 2016

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Looks like you're well on the way to some good bacon. You can cold smoke until you get the desired color. Slice and cook it like store bought bacon. 

To make it look really cool, hang it on a couple of bent skewers.. Here's some I did a few year ago...

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/114434/second-belly-in-2-weeks

 

acd4476

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• Aug 14, 2016

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Well pulled it out of the fridge today and gave it 5 hours of cold smoke of maple (100 on MES30 with AMPNS). Sliced off a pie e and it wasn't bad. Definitely cut a piece too thick flute my liking. Planning to fridge it overnight and slice it up tomorrow.

 

acd4476

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• Aug 14, 2016

Forgot to attach a qview

 

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pit 4 brains

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• Aug 14, 2016

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Looks fine to me.. Points

Waiting for the sliced pics.

 

acd4476

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• Aug 15, 2016

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• Aug 15, 2016

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• Aug 15, 2016

Sliced it up today and fried a couple pieces. Wish I could slice a little thinner but I'm pleased with the result. As you can see two pieces really didn't have any fat and looked more like Canadian bacon then belly bacon. Thanks for all the help!

 

Last edited: Aug 15, 2016

acd4476

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• Dec 19, 2016

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Attempt two in process. Will be taking out of cure tonight and letting a pellicle form over the next day or two. Cold smoked the last one and plan to try hot smoking this time.

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• acd4476
• Dec 19, 2016

 

acd4476

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• Dec 19, 2016

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• Dec 19, 2016

In the fridge to form the pellicle. This one has maple sugar, pepper, and garlic. The other half is plain ol bacon.

 

SmokinAl

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• Dec 20, 2016

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Looking forward to seeing how this one turns out!

I prefer my bacon cold smoked, but you should try it both ways to see which way you like.

Al

 

jipnsmoke

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• Dec 20, 2016

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Looks like you did every thing right. After smoking the bacon leaving it the frig a couple of days to meld always helps the flavor. Congrats.

 

acd4476

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• Dec 21, 2016

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How long can I let this sit in the fridge before smoking? Ive been extra busy at work. It'll be three days tomorrow. Is that ok?

 

Last edited: Dec 21, 2016

Bearcarver

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• Dec 21, 2016

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acd4476 said:

How long can I let this sit in the fridge before smoking? Ive been extra busy at work. It'll be three days tomorrow. Is that ok?

Click to expand...

3 Days is no problem!

BTW: Many people Cold Smoke. I Warm smoke, with Smoker Temps between 100° and 130°, and I believe "Pops" Hot Smokes his Bacon.

Here's my favorite Step by Step:

Bacon (Extra Smoky)

Bear

 

Last edited: Dec 21, 2016

pops6927

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• Dec 22, 2016

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Yes, I do hot smoke to get the internal up to 146° minimum, mainly with buckboard bacon (since the Dallas hog processing plant was shut down a couple years ago, belly has been very expensive and hard to find).  I know me and I know my boys and the urge to 'sample' is overwhelming, so for my and their protection I must raise the internal finished temp to a safe level for immediate consumption.  it lessens the slicing burden (one for the pan, one for me, one for the pan, two for me....) :)

 

Bearcarver

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• Dec 22, 2016

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Pops6927 said:

 
Yes, I do hot smoke to get the internal up to 146° minimum, mainly with buckboard bacon (since the Dallas hog processing plant was shut down a couple years ago, belly has been very expensive and hard to find).  I know me and I know my boys and the urge to 'sample' is overwhelming, so for my and their protection I must raise the internal finished temp to a safe level for immediate consumption.  it lessens the slicing burden (one for the pan, one for me, one for the pan, two for me....) :)

Click to expand...

My feelings exactly!!

Thanks Pops!

Bear