Dual smoke or not ?

[t-bone tim]

Okay guys n gals...I'm set to cold smoke some side bacon this coming Sun.....I was thinking since the smoker was going to be going anyways ,why waste all that heat and smoke ,since it's gonna be a long smoke thought I might throw on a boston butt or picnic for some pulled pork ? my question....will the steam from cooking the pork below in the smoker have an unwanted effect on the bacon above in the cold smoker ?? I am worried about the steam or will it not be enough to hurt the bacons progress,thanks in advance for any and all advice and or experiences.

 

[deejaydebi]

Tim -

Shouldn't be a problem. The heat will rise and steam does too - very little will get into the box.

 

[t-bone tim]

Debi ..the bacon is a dry cure...directions say after curing and salt eqilibration to dry in front of a fan 1 hour after removing from the fridge to form a pellicle or sheen on the meats surface to give the smoke a better surface to adhere to,just wondering if the steam will ruin this?? hmmmmmmmmm ...maybe I should just let the heat and smoke go alone for this first round ??

 

[dacdots]

T-bone, Id watch for moisture on your bacons.Smoke will not penetrate the moisture,Even if the smoke gets through,your bacon might finish with a splotchy uneven color.What you said about drying the outside of the bacon first is a must to get even smoke penetration and a overall good color.I put my bacon in the smoker for about an hour before adding smoke.This allows the outside of the meat to dry completely so it will take smoke good.Dont let the internal temp of the meat to get above 127 degrees.they say the keeping quality will diminish if you do.I never have to worry about this though as the bacon doesnt last long enough here to worry about keeping times,David

 

[navionjim]

I cold smoke both bacon and jerky after drying both products overnight in front of a fan. I have problems controlling the heat in my vertical smoker so I have gone to a gas burner and a pan of wood chips instead of a true fire in the box. Even so it can get warmer than I like so I've been adding a block of ice to the bottom of the smoke chamber which the smoke from the firebox must get past before it encounters the meat. This keeps the temp down but also increases the humidity in the smoke chamber. It has never caused any problems with the color of the finished product that I can detect. I also make jerky, sausage and bacon in the same smoke chamber, I've never seen the moisture from one effect the other in a negative way (providing the weren't actually touching each other). But maybe I'm just lucky. I'd go for it if I were you.

 

[deejaydebi]

If you've got any old computers laying around the old computer fans work great for moving the air around in the box and keeping it cooler. Works for cheese.