1st run at bacon

[wanna-be-smoker]

Pork belly is done it's brine/rinse and dry vacation and now I will magically turn it into 5 lbs of bacon lol. I did it in the pellet smoker to the IT of 150 then pulled it to cool and I had to square up ( at least thats my story) one edge so i got to taste test it lol

I want to cold smoke it next time because I think that cold smoke has such a more distinct smell and flavor kinda like the good old days of bacon. A guy on another forum smokes his then lets cool and then smokes again the next day. I wonder if i could cold smoke this one after it cools down or should i save cold smoke for next time lol

 

[dcecil]

Looks like you nailed, good job

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks pretty darn good to me.
I wouldn't bother cold smoking this one now since it's fully cooked.
But next time I would definitely try cold smoking. I think it gives a much better flavor & texture than hot smoking does.
But that is just my opinion, there are others who will only hot smoke their bacon.
I really don't see the point in hot smoking, cause why cook it twice. Unless you want to eat it cold out of the fridge, your going to heat it up & try to get it crispy either way.
Al

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

Thanks folks.

Al how long do you cold smoke it for ? And what pitfalls should I be looking for?

Especially in temperature area.

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

Well I threw 4 hours of cold smoke at it and tested again.
It is soooo much better now. I'll let it cool and put in fridge for slicing tomorrow. I see BLTs for dinner tomorrow night lol.

 

[CharlotteLovesFood]

Hmmmm bacon...
Great job I would love to one day make my own bacon!

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

I had to cut it in half to fit on the slicer so its a little shorter than I wanted. But next time I will just cut a couple inches off one end for burnt ends and it will fit the slicer and be plenty long enough slices

I did it on low smoke until 150 IT and then let it cool but decided after i testing it i wanted some more smoke. So I threw 4 hours of cold smoke at it and next time I will probably do just cold smoke.

 

[CharlotteLovesFood]

Look great to me, length isn't everything :D
I'm currently crushing on Bacon, Scrambled Eggs and Salsa sometimes with cubed fried garlic and herb potatoes :p

 

[SparkyLB]

Look great to me, length isn't everything :D
I'm currently crushing on Bacon, Scrambled Eggs and Salsa sometimes with cubed fried garlic and herb potatoes :p

That sounds yummy. Do you put some cheese in dem eggs?