Bacon

[rnebbs65]

Hi folks . I have 12 lbs of cured  bellies in the smokehouse . I'm done with ny 2nd smoke ( 8 hrs each smoke ) bellies are not get very much color . I was wondering if anyone could tell me why . I use hickory pellets in a 12" A_Maze_N tube and never had any issues . Any help would be great !!

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Hi folks . I have 12 lbs of cured  bellies in the smokehouse . I'm done with ny 2nd smoke ( 8 hrs each smoke ) bellies are not get very much color . I was wondering if anyone could tell me why . I use hickory pellets in a 12" A_Maze_N tube and never had any issues . Any help would be great !!

How many times did you reload your Tube. It should only give you about 3 or 4 hours of smoke per load.

What kind of set-up do you have? Any Pics?

Bear

 

[SmokinAl]

Did you hot or cold smoke it?

Al

 

[tropics]

 
Hi folks . I have 12 lbs of cured  bellies in the smokehouse . I'm done with ny 2nd smoke ( 8 hrs each smoke ) bellies are not get very much color . I was wondering if anyone could tell me why . I use hickory pellets in a 12" A_Maze_N tube and never had any issues . Any help would be great !!

More info would help

Your Location

Type smoker 

Richie

 

[rnebbs65]

Sorry no pics . My location is Livonia, NY 30 miles south of Rochester . My setup is self made 5'x5'x6' Hemlock structure on a concrete pad , metal roof , adjustable furnace  floor vent bottom of door , and one top of the back wall . Outside temp for all three days was low 30's . I did 8hr continues cold  smoke each day , 16 hrs cooler hanging after each smoke . I have light amber color on bacon but not like what you guy's get . My flavor is awesome !! I just can't figure out lack of color . I smoke 25-100 lbs of sausage at a time  in smoker no problem with color ( have been making sausage since 1992 ) never tried bellies or hams ever . 

 

[daveomak]

When cold smoking, the smoke penetrates the meat, more so than sticking to the outside and creating color.. because there is no case hardening.....     or so some say...   With sausages, the intestine is a "semi permeable" membrane and the smoke sticks to it with a portion penetrating and getting to the meat...

You bacon will taste great...

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I don't worry about color change. If the flavor is there then I am happy. My last batch of bacon was some of the best we've ever made. It had very little color change.

 

[daveomak]

Like Dirtsailor, I cold smoke and my bacon has very little color but the taste is awesome....  The fat shows color but the meat does not...  This was smoked at around 70 ish degrees for 6 hours...  cooler temps would probably show less color but the flavor would be there...

Italian sausage smoked at around 140 for 4 hours...   case hardening happens at that temp and the smoke doesn't penetrate as well, if at all...

 

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• daveomak
• Feb 13, 2016

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• daveomak
• Feb 13, 2016

 

[rnebbs65]

Thank you guys !!! It all makes sense now , the flavor is out of this world . Next I"m doing Brican's recipe looks delicious .  

 

[tropics]

They have you covered,I just did a Bacon cold smoke 7 hrs hardly any color taste great

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/241579/belly-bacon-start-1-28-16

Richie