dnvrdv
Smoke Blower
A little more incentive. Doing my first one today. Qview is here:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/255799/first-shot-at-bacon-with-q
BACON (Extra Smoky)
- Thread starter Bearcarver
- Start date
-
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http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/255799/first-shot-at-bacon-with-q
I never had much luck trying to get Maple flavor---Tried Real Maple Syrup, and tried Maple Sugar.
Bear
That's Great---Going there now to check it out.
Bear
slotown
Fire Starter
Bearcarver and All,
I'm new to smoking with and MB40, all my experience have been with a WSM. I've wanted for years to smoke bacon, salmon, and cheese. Over Christmas, I talked SHMBO into letting me get an electric smoker with a promise that salmon was first up. Bam! Homerun on the salmon, next up bacon. The hardest part of this was finding a belly turns out my local Publics sells them.
I was a little surprised at the price, but I've checked at several other locations and then seems about the norm.
Anyway, sliced up the belly and removed the skin. I think I have a more to learn on the proper way to butcher the belly. When I was done I decided it would have been better to leave it in larger chunks. Oh well, there will be a next time.
Carefully weighed the bacon and measured out the cure for all the pieces. A good rub and into baggies for 8 days. On day three I learned that my Mother had passed away. She was 98. Off to Tucson for me. Before I left I passed the bacon baton to my son. Now he has never done anything with BBQing or grilling other than to eat the final product and provide feedback. I had a little trepidation, but heck, he is an Eagle Scout and more importantly I sent him this URL and told him to follow exactly beginning with step 8. Two days before I left Tucson he began the smoke. I told him to start at 6:00 AM. He slept in. Too bad for him he was up till midnight. He told me all went well and wrapped the bacon and in the fridge to rest. The morning I was to fly he sent me the following pictures. I was hungry all the way to Florida.
I repeated this as soon as I walked through the door!!
Way to go Bear, this stuff is way better than anything I have purchased in a store. The next set of photos were taken after I sliced all the bacon up. This is another area that I need to get better at. Who knew this much meat would be on every slice??
Thanks to all who have helped me with this journey,
I'm new to smoking with and MB40, all my experience have been with a WSM. I've wanted for years to smoke bacon, salmon, and cheese. Over Christmas, I talked SHMBO into letting me get an electric smoker with a promise that salmon was first up. Bam! Homerun on the salmon, next up bacon. The hardest part of this was finding a belly turns out my local Publics sells them.
I was a little surprised at the price, but I've checked at several other locations and then seems about the norm.
Anyway, sliced up the belly and removed the skin. I think I have a more to learn on the proper way to butcher the belly. When I was done I decided it would have been better to leave it in larger chunks. Oh well, there will be a next time.
Carefully weighed the bacon and measured out the cure for all the pieces. A good rub and into baggies for 8 days. On day three I learned that my Mother had passed away. She was 98. Off to Tucson for me. Before I left I passed the bacon baton to my son. Now he has never done anything with BBQing or grilling other than to eat the final product and provide feedback. I had a little trepidation, but heck, he is an Eagle Scout and more importantly I sent him this URL and told him to follow exactly beginning with step 8. Two days before I left Tucson he began the smoke. I told him to start at 6:00 AM. He slept in. Too bad for him he was up till midnight. He told me all went well and wrapped the bacon and in the fridge to rest. The morning I was to fly he sent me the following pictures. I was hungry all the way to Florida.
I repeated this as soon as I walked through the door!!
Way to go Bear, this stuff is way better than anything I have purchased in a store. The next set of photos were taken after I sliced all the bacon up. This is another area that I need to get better at. Who knew this much meat would be on every slice??
Thanks to all who have helped me with this journey,
Slowtown, congrats on you and your son's first bacon! You'll never want store bacon again.
Next time though, try a restaurant supply store; you might get a better price. I buy my bellies at Costco now. Last time I looked, they were $2.69 lb here for around a 10 pound belly, already skinned.
Next time though, try a restaurant supply store; you might get a better price. I buy my bellies at Costco now. Last time I looked, they were $2.69 lb here for around a 10 pound belly, already skinned.
dnvrdv
Smoke Blower
Slowtown,
I too got mine at Costco. Running my second belly tomorrow. Not sure we'll ever buy bacon again!
I too got mine at Costco. Running my second belly tomorrow. Not sure we'll ever buy bacon again!
slotown
Fire Starter
Oh for a Costco within 2hrs of here. Sam's does not have these, or a whole lot of other meats. Thanks.
Congrats Slotown!!
I'm real glad everything turned out Great for you!!
I try to make all my Step by Steps easy to follow------>>>>Just click on "Bear's Step by Steps".
I get my Bellies from Small Butcher Shops, but I live in a Pennsylvania Dutch area, and Butcher shops are all over the place.
Bear
grizsmoker
Fire Starter
Bear, in the past I have tried a number of your step by step tutorials and I have not been disappointed yet. Your Pulled Boston Butt, Baby Backs, and Prime Rib were all a huge success!
With this in mind I figured I would give bacon a try.
Costco Pork Belly
Cut belly into 3 equal sections.
Weighed each section and added the proper amount of TQ with some brown sugar as directed.
They are now in my fridge letting the TQ work its magic.
On Saturday morning (8 days) I will remove them from the fridge, rinse, soak in an ice bath, fry-test a couple slices, season, and place them back in the fridge to dry out over night to be warm smoked smoked on Sunday. The weather forecast is for a balmy 31 degrees, so I do not think it will be an issue keeping the pit cool enough)
A question I have is if the fry-test proves that they are overly salty what are my options? I assume a long cold soak will draw out some salt, but that is just a wild ass guess on my part.
I will be back to let you know if I was successful or not.
Thank you again Bear for sharing all of your knowledge with us. You are a great resource for the rest of us to be able to use.
With this in mind I figured I would give bacon a try.
Costco Pork Belly
Cut belly into 3 equal sections.
Weighed each section and added the proper amount of TQ with some brown sugar as directed.
They are now in my fridge letting the TQ work its magic.
On Saturday morning (8 days) I will remove them from the fridge, rinse, soak in an ice bath, fry-test a couple slices, season, and place them back in the fridge to dry out over night to be warm smoked smoked on Sunday. The weather forecast is for a balmy 31 degrees, so I do not think it will be an issue keeping the pit cool enough)
A question I have is if the fry-test proves that they are overly salty what are my options? I assume a long cold soak will draw out some salt, but that is just a wild ass guess on my part.
I will be back to let you know if I was successful or not.
Thank you again Bear for sharing all of your knowledge with us. You are a great resource for the rest of us to be able to use.
Thanks Griz,
Yes soaking would get rid of extra salt flavor, however if you followed my Step by Step it shouldn't be too Salty, because even though I always check, and I tell people to check, I have never had to soak any of my TQ cure Bacon to eliminate salt flavor. I only check & tell others to check as a precaution, because once you smoke it, if it's salty it's a little late to fix.
The short soaking I usually do of a half hour to an hour is just to eliminate any surface salt that happens to be there.
Bear
afogg
Newbie
- Jan 19, 2017
- 18
- 10
Do I need to smoke it for 11.5 hours? What would be the minimum recommended time to smoke the bacon?
Also...I noticed that the internal temp is only around 120, is there a minimum internal temperature I should be aiming for? I read on other websites that 150 would make it fully cooked?
Also...I noticed that the internal temp is only around 120, is there a minimum internal temperature I should be aiming for? I read on other websites that 150 would make it fully cooked?
I use only Light to Medium Smoke---Never Heavy (Dense) Smoke!!
I do between 10 & 12 hours because that's how long a full load of Pellets or Dust lasts in one of my Amazing Smokers.
I like at least 8 hours at my Temps for good color & flavor. If you cold smoke (Well Below 100°) it could take at least twice as long for the same color & flavor, but it would be Great too.
No Minimum Internal temp---Just get good color & the flavor is usually there with it.
Actually 145° would be fully cooked. I usually take my Buckboard Bacon & my Canadian Bacon to 145°, but not my Belly Bacon.
Bear
No, that means I never use a Dense smoke from any type of wood. I only use light to medium density of smoke to avoid nasty tasting meat. Apple is a little Mild for my Taste---I prefer Hickory.
Is that referring to the wood type? I was planning on using apple.
So basically I test fry the bacon as I smoke it to get to a flavor I like?If that's so I might not have bacon left by the time I'm done smoking!
If I look through my window in my door & can't see through the smoke, it's way too dense. I've seen some pics that it looks like a white sheet hanging on the inside of the smoker window. TOO MUCH !!
I never sample my Bacon as I smoke it. I just go by the color, because the great flavor seems to come along with the Great color.
And at the Temps I use for smoking Bacon, that gets just right between 8 and 10 hours.
Bear
poindexter
Fire Starter
Hey all so I just pulled the bellies out for a test fry and these don't seem right to me. Isn't there suppose to be more color?
What are y'all thoughts? Today is the 8th day for them being in the fridge.
Normally the meat part is a little more Reddish.
Did you follow my Method, at the beginning of this thread? It looks more like it was Brine cured, instead of Dry Cured with TQ.
It will get darker when smoked & then fried.
Bear
Last edited:
poindexter
Fire Starter
See once what it's like after you smoke it.
Shouldn't be salty if you used the Brown Sugar I use. If it was salty when you tested it, you can soak it a little to eliminate that. I had to do that one time, when I used Hi Mountain Cure & Seasoning, a long time ago.
Let me know how it comes out after smoking.
Bear
poindexter
Fire Starter
I soaked it for about 40 minutes. I did use brown sugar but only 1 tsp per pound because I am trying to cut back on sugar. I'm gonna let it sit in the fridge for a couple days and then cold smoke it! Thanks for all your help.
poindexter
Fire Starter
So I just threw them in the smoker with PECAN dust hopefully they will turn out good the ones on the bottom rack are touching a little.
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