Cold Smoking vs Hot Smoking vs Smoking

[Delibar]

Hello, all. I'm ready to smoke my dry cured bacon and the temps will be in the mid 80's tomorrow. Guessing too warm for cold smoking so do I have to Hot Smoke the bacon until a 145 degree temp is reached in the bacon? Could I just place my amps rack with dust and let the temps get to where they end up?

I don't plan to eat the bacon raw so I will be cooking all of it in a pan when eating.

Thanks in advance.

 

[pineywoods]

Short answer is no you don't have to take it to any set temperature since it is cured.
You can certainly put the amps in and let the temps be what the temps will be. I think I would try to move the smoker into the shade if it isn't already.
You will hear different temps for cold smoking, warm smoking, and regular smoking.

 

[hondabbq]

I always cold smoke my bacon. Under 90f is considered cold smoking. I never quite understood hot smoking bacon.
Do you cook your steak, then reheat it in the pan before eating it? Is the way it was explained to me. LOL.

 

[Torch&Tone]

"Cold" or "hot" smoking are purely relative terms. You might have a bottom threshold for the amount of heat, if you are smoking *and* cooking something, or you might have an upper limit, if what you are smoking might melt (cheese) or burn (sugar glaze), or there might be concerns about microbial growth (shouldn't be a problem in this case, with cured bacon) or humidity, but there are no actual hard-&-fast boundaries between the two (that aren't specific to the food or technique).

Do you cook your steak, then reheat it in the pan before eating it?

Sometimes, yes, for logistical reasons. I know I can sous-vide a steak well in advance, pull it out and have it wait (while I perhaps sous-vide other items at a different temperature), and then, later, unseal the steak and throw it onto hot cast iron to sear/reheat right before serving. Not the most energy-efficient practice but it might free me up to do more things in sequence than I can do in parallel.