Bacon Questions

[wilson]

To all my Bacon Mentors:

1.After I rinse and soak my bacon in fresh water, How long should I let it set in the Refrigerator to dry before I put it in the smoker??

2.How long can I let it sit in the frig before I have to smoke it?

3.When it gets done in the smoker should I chill it down in the refrigerator before I slice and package and if so, how long?

Thanks for all the help in advance.

Ron

 

[roger]

Wilson,

I need to find out also, I've had a loin curing in the frig since last Monday.

Hope to smoke it this coming Monday.

"Good Luck on the smoke"

 

[rockyb]

We are smoking our buckboard bacon tomorrow. The recipe says to let it cure for 2 weeks, which we did.

After curing, rinse in cold water and allow to sit in cold water for 2 hours, drain and pat dry. (I assume paper towels for the drying.)

Let it come to room temperature (1 hour or so) before smoking.

I guess you can let it sit in the refrigerator a couple of days before you smoke it, as long as you don't let it come to room temperature after soaking it.

 

[ghost308]

You need to let is sit and dry for at least 2 hours but you can also leave it covered in the fridge for several days before you smoke it , it's already bacon it won't spoil if left for a couple days.
After smoking pop it back in the fridge to chill it good and firm it up, this makes it easyer to slice, the firmer it is the thinner you can slice it, after smoking mine I like to let it rest on the kitchen counter for an hour or so before I chill it for slicing, the only reason for this is to drive everyone in the house crazy with the smell of fresh smoked bacon :)
The best tip I could give anyone who wants to make bacon is to " Smoke It COLD" the lower the temp the longer you can smoke it and the better the bacon 12 - 16 hours of smoking is common, my cold smoker won't even reach a temp of 150 and I like to keep it about 120.

 

[deejaydebi]

Like Ghost said - but I let my bacons get stiff almost frozen before I slice em.

If you take the bellys out and sit them on the counter while to get your smoker going you should have plenty of time to warm it up. I highly recommend hickory and cherry or apple and cherry if you have it.