Cold Smoking Bacon Fail

[mr_whipple]

So... I finally decided to cold smoke bacon and oh boy did it turn out bad. I had a off shaped piece of Duroc belly that I cured and Monday was the 14 day mark, but didn't do it until Tuesday. Set up the fan and the Auber, lit the maze with some cherry dust and off we go. The temp was about 40 when I started so I set the Auber to 50. Everything was working just fine, thin smoke coming from the maze and the fan was keeping airflow moving on a very low setting. At some point and I'm guessing it was somewhere around the two hour mark, I noticed the window on the MES was "fogged up" on the inside a bit or in other words condensation had formed. I only had about three hours to do it that day anyway so I pulled it and let it set before putting it in the fridge for the night. I could tell it was bad as soon as I set it on the kitchen counter. It smelled like an extinguished campfire. Now my understanding of dew point, relative humidity and temperature tell me this shouldn't have happened considering the values below for the time frame I was smoking. I put it on about 5 PM (after dark.. gottta luv DST) and pulled it a bit after 9 PM. Am I missing something here or am I just misunderstanding the relationship of the values?




Daily Observations

Time	Temperature	Dew Point	Humidity	Wind	Wind Speed	Wind Gust	Pressure	Precip.	Condition
12:51 AM	36 °F	20 °F	52 %	CALM	0 mph	0 mph	30.26 in	0.0 in	Fair
1:51 AM	36 °F	23 °F	59 %	NW	3 mph	0 mph	30.27 in	0.0 in	Fair
2:51 AM	37 °F	23 °F	57 %	NNW	5 mph	0 mph	30.27 in	0.0 in	Fair
3:51 AM	38 °F	23 °F	55 %	NNW	6 mph	0 mph	30.26 in	0.0 in	Fair
4:51 AM	36 °F	26 °F	67 %	NNW	8 mph	0 mph	30.27 in	0.0 in	Partly Cloudy
5:51 AM	36 °F	26 °F	67 %	NNW	6 mph	0 mph	30.29 in	0.0 in	Mostly Cloudy
6:51 AM	34 °F	25 °F	70 %	NNW	8 mph	0 mph	30.31 in	0.0 in	Fair
7:51 AM	35 °F	25 °F	67 %	NNW	6 mph	0 mph	30.33 in	0.0 in	Fair
8:51 AM	37 °F	23 °F	57 %	NNW	7 mph	0 mph	30.35 in	0.0 in	Fair
9:51 AM	38 °F	21 °F	51 %	N	8 mph	0 mph	30.35 in	0.0 in	Fair
10:51 AM	40 °F	21 °F	47 %	N	8 mph	16 mph	30.35 in	0.0 in	Fair
11:51 AM	42 °F	18 °F	38 %	N	9 mph	0 mph	30.33 in	0.0 in	Fair
12:51 PM	43 °F	17 °F	35 %	N	9 mph	0 mph	30.31 in	0.0 in	Fair
1:51 PM	43 °F	19 °F	38 %	N	10 mph	0 mph	30.30 in	0.0 in	Fair
2:51 PM	43 °F	20 °F	40 %	N	9 mph	0 mph	30.30 in	0.0 in	Fair
3:51 PM	43 °F	19 °F	38 %	VAR	6 mph	0 mph	30.31 in	0.0 in	Fair
4:51 PM	41 °F	18 °F	40 %	NNW	7 mph	0 mph	30.32 in	0.0 in	Fair
5:51 PM	40 °F	17 °F	40 %	NW	5 mph	0 mph	30.33 in	0.0 in	Fair
6:51 PM	40 °F	18 °F	41 %	VAR	3 mph	0 mph	30.34 in	0.0 in	Fair
7:51 PM	39 °F	19 °F	45 %	NW	3 mph	0 mph	30.35 in	0.0 in	Fair
8:51 PM	38 °F	19 °F	47 %	CALM	0 mph	0 mph	30.35 in	0.0 in	Fair
9:51 PM	37 °F	20 °F	50 %	CALM	0 mph	0 mph	30.36 in	0.0 in	Fair
10:51 PM	37 °F	22 °F	54 %	CALM	0 mph	0 mph	30.36 in	0.0 in	Fair
11:51 PM	36 °F	24 °F	62 %	WNW	3 mph	0 mph	30.35 in	0.0 in	Fair

 

[chopsaw]

Maybe the maze flared up .

 

[SmokinEdge]

Everything looks like it should have been ok. What was the temp of the meat when you started? Straight out of the fridge?

 

[mr_whipple]

Maybe the maze flared up .

I don't think it did. The ash profile looked normal and I was keeping an eye on things pretty frequently.

Everything looks like it should have been ok. What was the temp of the meat when you started? Straight out of the fridge?

I had it on the counter for maybe 30 minutes before tossing it in the smoker. Took me a bit to set every thing up. I even hit it with a paper towel before. I'm stumped, but there has to be a simple explanation.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Seems to me that introducing heat, turning on the smoker even set to 50 is ultimately the culprit. You had fine outside ambient temps. So all you needed was enough air flow inside the smoker to keep the maze lit.

 

[Coreymacc]

Did you let the slab sit in the fridge uncovered over night to dry and tack up?

Corey

 

[mr_whipple]

Seems to me that introducing heat, turning on the smoker even set to 50 is ultimately the culprit. You had fine outside ambient temps. So all you needed was enough air flow inside the smoker to keep the maze lit.

I'll have to agree. I just wanted to be certain the smoker was drafting. I didn't want to believe that but the more I think about it, it's the most reasonable explanation. Also, depends on my mood but I may try a dry run tonight minus the heat.

Did you let the slab sit in the fridge uncovered over night to dry and tack up?

Corey

Yep. All day and some in the beer fridge in the garage.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I'll have to agree. I just wanted to be certain the smoker was drafting. I didn't want to believe that but the more I think about it, it's the most reasonable explanation. Also, depends on my mood but I may try a dry run tonight minus the heat.

Yep. All day and some in the beer fridge in the garage.

Can you just turn on the fan and not the heat?

 

[Coreymacc]

i have had moisture in my smoker happen when Im smoking at below freezing temps. I add just enough heat in to get above freezing so it drafts. I don't measure dewpoint or anything near as detailed as you but its definitely pulling water out of the air..It does make the slab pretty pungent but i just wipe it off, bag it up and freeze it. After a few days frozen, thaw it out and the smoke smell.and taste have tamed right down.

corey

 

[mr_whipple]

Can you just turn on the fan and not the heat?

Yep. The fan rig is separate from the Auber. It's pretty windy tonight so that might have to wait.

i have had moisture in my smoker happen when Im smoking at below freezing temps. I add just enough heat in to get above freezing so it drafts. I don't measure dewpoint or anything near as detailed as you but its definitely pulling water out of the air..It does make the slab pretty pungent but i just wipe it off, bag it up and freeze it. After a few days frozen, thaw it out and the smoke smell.and taste have tamed right down.

corey

I got the weather data from the web... I don't don't measure it at all
I'm going to fry up a piece in a bit just to see.... its been sitting back in the fridge uncovered since. I'm going to weigh it also to see if I lost any appreciable weight.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Yep. The fan rig is separate from the Auber. It's pretty windy tonight so that might have to wait.

I got the weather data from the web... I don't don't measure it at all
I'm going to fry up a piece in a bit just to see.... its been sitting back in the fridge uncovered since. I'm going to weigh it also to see if I lost any appreciable weight.

Most generally if you didn’t see black suit on the surface of the meat and the meat wasn’t wet after done smoking, the meat just needs to rest a couple days to balance the smoke. My wife hates cold smoke because it’s more pronounced, but I try to explain that it will mellow, still a hard no, so I just hot smoke which is actually easier for me to do anyway.

 

[mr_whipple]

Most generally if you didn’t see black suit on the surface of the meat and the meat wasn’t wet after done smoking, the meat just needs to rest a couple days to balance the smoke. My wife hates cold smoke because it’s more pronounced, but I try to explain that it will mellow, still a hard no, so I just hot smoke which is actually easier for me to do anyway.

No soot or moisture, but I'm starting to think that I don't care for the smokier end of the spectrum. Now, what I would like to try is someone else's version of their cold smoked anything. I don't like what I don't like but I'd just like to see what passes as good. All said, I'm gonna let it sit in the fridge a few more days, but I already sliced off one end and going to fry it up on the stove to see.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Keep the very outside piece separate, it's usually a little more smokey tasting than the inner parts. I'm thinking it will turn out OK for you.

Ryan

 

[mr_whipple]

Keep the very outside piece separate, it's usually a little more smokey tasting than the inner parts. I'm thinking it will turn out OK for you.

Ryan

Surprisingly enough, as bad as it smelled once it hit the frying pan you would never have known. And I used the end piece. Tasted like bacon to me, and not smoky at all. Who knew? I'll try again without cheap pork loin. I'm not ready to quit on it quite yet.

 

[chopsaw]

Just me I guess , but my opinion is cherry buy itself can be strong and doesn't burn as clean .
I always mix it in with other pellets or dust . Usually oak . I use the cherry for color .

 

[mr_whipple]

Just me I guess , but my opinion is cherry buy itself can be strong and doesn't burn as clean .
I always mix it in with other pellets or dust . Usually oak . I use the cherry for color .

I've never found it too strong, but as you said could be just you. Everyone's taste is different.

 

[Watson]

I have followed Bears recipe for a few years now. The best trick I have added is I wrap the smoked bellies in plastic wrap and leave them on the fridge for a week before I slice and freeze.

That week-long rest completely changes the smoke profile in the final product.

YMMV of course, but my very first batch back in the day was cooked right out of the smoker and it tasted a little like an ashtray.