bacon?

[Bearcarver]

Observations.... I probably need to clean my smoker. I've smoked 2 butts, 2 prime ribs, and two strip roasts without cleaning it. I pre-heated it to 175 before putting the bacon in, and it had steady smoke coming out of the chimney. No wood inside, so I assume that was creosote. 2 cups of pellets will burn a very long time in the amazin tube. That's what I put in for this heat smoke for the bacon. It's still going strong after 3 hours. I'm addicted to smoking now. This Smokin it unit is awesome.

Are you sure it was smoke coming out of the chimney?
I suspect it was the hot air coming out of the chimney, hitting the cold ambient air.
That's one of the advantages of the Window in an MES----I can see smoke coming from the top vent, but I can look in the window and there is no smoke inside the smoker, which means that isn't actually smoke coming out my top Vent.

And as for slicing---I put my Bacon in the freezer for 3 or 4 hours, before slicing, but that is with a auto-slicer. If you're slicing by hand, you might want to try about 2 hours first.

Bear

 

[newsmokerky]

Yes, I opened the door and smoke rolled out. Thanks for slicing tip.

 

[newsmokerky]

It was also 64 degrees

 

[Tex1911]

You can slice by hand but I found that to be no fun at all. Even a cheap slicer is better than none. If your future includes more homemade bacon, a slicer is a great investment.

For cleaning, I wrap anything I can with tin foil (Water pan, bottom of smoker etc.) which makes cleaning very easy. The racks I clean with oven cleaner and water hose outside. Then for the smoker itself, (I have the MES 40 with window) I turn it to 275 max for 1 hour.

Keep a smokin man!

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

The smoke you saw was probably the drippings from past smokes burning off.

I could see cleaning off the crud and burnt food stuffs from the bottom of the smoker, but I would hesitate to clean the sides, back, or top.
I am keen on having a patina on the inside of my smoker.
The cooking racks get cleaned in the dishwasher.
Water pan gets lined with clean foil before each smoke.
When if the water pan gets too grungy, I hose it off outside first and then into the dishwasher it goes.
Built in meat probe and thermometer probes get wiped down with hot soapy water, dried off, then followed with an alcohol wipe down after each smoke.
I wipe down the outside of the smoker after each smoke and the door window gets cleaned every 5th or 6th smoke.

 

[indaswamp]

I just hit the grates with a weed burner....put them back in the smokehouse and good to go. I too leave a patina on the inside of the smokehouse...if you can run your finger across it and nothing sticks to your finger, nothing to worry about. It's when you get grungy gooey creosote that will stick to your finger-that's when you need to clean it.

 

[newsmokerky]

I’ve got the bottom and chip tray covered in heavy foil. Guess time to swap it out. Do y’all change it out after every smoke? Don’t worry about build up on door and walls and ceiling?

 

[newsmokerky]

Prolly sliced a little to thick but tough free hand. Looks great. Fry test coming up.

 

[newsmokerky]

Holy cow this is great! Disco, you’re da man! Sliced thick but turned out great. Like the thick bacon Arby’s has on sammiches. The brown sugar in cure mixed with the smoke is tremendous

 

[newsmokerky]

Could taste some hickory, which is not a bad thing. But takes away from the apple wood. Next time, I will be sure to have clean alum foil in smoker. That’s where the hickory came from. But, it was a very successful bacon run.

 

[disco]

Could taste some hickory, which is not a bad thing. But takes away from the apple wood. Next time, I will be sure to have clean alum foil in smoker. That’s where the hickory came from. But, it was a very successful bacon run.

You are now in position to start bragging! Great job!

 

[Bearcarver]

I’ve got the bottom and chip tray covered in heavy foil. Guess time to swap it out. Do y’all change it out after every smoke? Don’t worry about build up on door and walls and ceiling?

I swap my foil out only when it needs it.
I clean my MES Window before every Smoke---Makes it easy to clean.
I always check if there is any loose crap hanging from the ceiling or walls that could fall off onto the meat. If there is I give it a Dry rubdown, knocking anything off, that is loose. before putting any meat in.

BTW: Your Bacon looks Great !!
Like.

Bear

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

I’ve got the bottom and chip tray covered in heavy foil. Guess time to swap it out. Do y’all change it out after every smoke? Don’t worry about build up on door and walls and ceiling?

At the end of each smoke, I toss out the foil then apply new foil for each smoke.
It is probably overkill, but I am fastidious.
If I accidently hit the sidewalls while applying sauces etc, I dry wipe with a paper towel right then and there too.
Wear heat resistant gloves of course.

Outstanding job on that bacon too.

 

[newsmokerky]

How long will this bacon last in a sealed container in the fridge?

 

[Bearcarver]

How long will this bacon last in a sealed container in the fridge?

I never tried to keep any in the fridge longer than a week, but my small packs are usually gone in less than 5 days.

Bear