Anyone Used an X-9 smoker for bacon?

[haywire haywood]

It's not belly, but an untrimmed loin.

X9.jpg

• haywire haywood
• Jan 16, 2015

X9-2.jpg

• haywire haywood
• Jan 16, 2015

 

[daveomak]

That'll work......  

 

[mneeley490]

Cool! That looks like one of Alton Brown's contraptions.

 

[wade]

I have seen something similar but it was in Australia. Instead of X-9 it was 6-X and was made by my mate Barry McEnzie  

Looks great Haywire - and I bet it does a great job of smoking too. Points for ingenuity 

 

 

[haywire haywood]

We'll see how it turns out.  First time actually smoking any meat.  The last attempt a couple weeks ago ended with a chunk of loin flying across the creek at the back of the yard. 

 

[bear55]

What internal temp do you expect with that set-up?  Did you cure that loin?

Richard

 

[haywire haywood]

It's cold smoke, so not much.  Right now it's about 50F in the box.

Ian

 

[daveomak]

make sure the surface of the meat is DRY....  form a pellicle.....   use very little, thin wispy smoke for about 2-4 hours on this try....  Use a mild fruit wood for smoke....  like apple, peach or maple works too......

 

[haywire haywood]

Well.... I left it in the fridge for 24 hours uncovered but you really couldn't describe it as dry when I took it out.  This is what I got after 7 hours with apple wood and it was wet on the bottom when I took it out.

end.jpg

• haywire haywood
• Jan 16, 2015

 

[wade]

Was the meat cured in any way before smoking?

 

[haywire haywood]

Yep, morton tq, brown sugar and maple syrup in a vac bag for 14 days.

 

[haywire haywood]

I decided to err on the side of caution and throw it out like the last one.  Maybe the third try will turn out.  Bah.  This is pizzin me off.

 

[haywire haywood]

X-9 v2.0

The smoke isn't carrying much heat into that box at all, it was about 30 in there on the last failed attempt, so I shortened the pipe and put the burner underneath the box so it will see a little rising heat from that.  We shall see. The pic blurred a bit but you don't need to read the fine print on the box.  It's just a surgeon general's warning not to use it as a smoker anyway.

V2.0.jpg

• haywire haywood
• Jan 18, 2015

 

[daveomak]

Cure it in a glass dish... in the refer....  loosely covered...  for 4 days....   that meat looks like it is 1" thick... rub cure into both sides of the meat...

 

[haywire haywood]

I had the butcher cut them to 2".  I've seen everything from the 24hours on the TQ box to 14 days on the net.  It's hilarious.  :)  I read that 2" is the max thickness without injection, so I let it go longer.  First time was 7 days and after more reading, let the second one go 14.

 

[daveomak]

What temp are you smoking at..... How long....  are you rinsing and drying the meat after the cure.....   Give us some help here....

 

[haywire haywood]

1TBS TQ per lb rubbed on the outside then a mixture of Dk brown sugar, maple syrup, and kosher salt on top of that.  Vac bag in fridge for 7-14 days turning daily.  Cold smoke at whatever the box ends up being.  This last time it didn't exceed 55 deg and ended up in the mid-30s at the end of the 7 hours, hence the reconfig to get the heat under it instead of out to the side.

 

[daveomak]

You used TQ......   You should not use additional salt when you use it....  It will make the food too salty to eat..... 

So.... 7-14 days.... at 2" thick, 7 days was about right...  

Did you rinse and dry the meat.... before smoking....

It looks like your smoke generator puts out a lot of smoke.....  Do you have a picture of the smoke output.... 

 

[haywire haywood]

Yes, at the end I rinse and dry with paper towels as much as possible.  I then put it uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours, but it didn't dry much.  The paint can does put out a good amount of smoke, I wouldn't call it thin and wispy, no pic though.

 

[daveomak]

And the salt addition along with TQ....