BERKSHIRE HOG BELLY BACON

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Awesome job Al!!
It was a lot of work but your set for awhile. Impressed with the size of that pork belly.
Point worthy for sure...
 
Fantastic looking bacon Al. It looks well worth the extra cost, and the sammie is making my mouth water. Point for sure.

Chris
 
Nice looking bacon,with that new hip are you slowed enough I could steal some?
 
Thanks for the kind words guys!
Al


Great looking bacon Al - we’ll done!

Was wondering what inturnal temperatures you were maintaining during your 12 hour smoke process.

Can’t wait to try my first batch of cold smoked bacon - thanks

Cheers Mario
 
Great looking bacon Al - we’ll done!

Was wondering what inturnal temperatures you were maintaining during your 12 hour smoke process.

Can’t wait to try my first batch of cold smoked bacon - thanks

Cheers Mario

If you are talking about the smoker temp. I kept it between 60-90 degrees. I turned on the MES a few times to get the chamber a little warm, but never let it get above 90 degrees. Putting a little heat in there helped keep the smoke circulating through & out the exhaust.
Good luck on your first bacon attempt.
But I have to tell you that once you make your own bacon, you will never be able to eat store bought bacon again.
Al
 
1 thumbs up.jpg
 
If you are talking about the smoker temp. I kept it between 60-90 degrees. I turned on the MES a few times to get the chamber a little warm, but never let it get above 90 degrees. Putting a little heat in there helped keep the smoke circulating through & out the exhaust.
Good luck on your first bacon attempt.
But I have to tell you that once you make your own bacon, you will never be able to eat store bought bacon again.
Al


Thanks Al - great information

Now I just have to find myself some pork belly and experiment a little.
Just curious - have you ever tried double cold smoking your bacon? meaning instead of applying smoke for 12 hours have you tried applying smoke to it for 24 - 30 hours with resting/drying breaks in between smoke applications

When cold smoking my salmon I usually apply a total of 32 hours or so of smoke and include evening resting/drying periods and it turns out amazing. My cold smoke salmon process usually takes 3-4 days I don’t see why I couldn’t use the same method for cold smoking bacon. What to you think?

Thanks Cheers Mario
 
Cold Smoking
Cold smoking at 52-71° F (12-22° C), from 1-14 days, applying thin smoke with occasional breaks in between, is one of the oldest preservation methods.
 
As Dave said it has been used for years. I have tried that method & for our taste it puts too much smoke flavor on the meat. My max for bacon is 12 hours cold smoke & my max for lox is 4 hours cold smoke. But that is just our preference. I would give your method a try & see which one you like the best.
Either way, good luck!
Al
 
As Dave said it has been used for years. I have tried that method & for our taste it puts too much smoke flavor on the meat. My max for bacon is 12 hours cold smoke & my max for lox is 4 hours cold smoke. But that is just our preference. I would give your method a try & see which one you like the best.
Either way, good luck!
Al

Will do thank you gentlemen
 
Great thread and great looking bacon AL. We have some bellies from berk/lacombe cross to do when I have time next month I am thinking. I like the process. We raise a few for the family every year. A friend of mine started raising berks a couple yrs ago and that is where we will be getting our piglets from now on. Great meat pigs.
 
Great thread and great looking bacon AL. We have some bellies from berk/lacombe cross to do when I have time next month I am thinking. I like the process. We raise a few for the family every year. A friend of mine started raising berks a couple yrs ago and that is where we will be getting our piglets from now on. Great meat pigs.

You are a very lucky guy to be able to source your pork locally. There are a lot of farms around where I live & I'm going to have to do some research to see if anybody is raising heritage hogs. So far I have not seen any cattle or hogs, they are growing veggies & strawberries. It sure would be nice to get some locally grown Berkshire hog products. I would be in hog heaven!! :)
Al
 
You are a very lucky guy to be able to source your pork locally. There are a lot of farms around where I live & I'm going to have to do some research to see if anybody is raising heritage hogs. So far I have not seen any cattle or hogs, they are growing veggies & strawberries. It sure would be nice to get some locally grown Berkshire hog products. I would be in hog heaven!! :)
Al
Al maybe a good place to ask would be a farmers market.
A lot of them people seem to have local connections.
 
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