Help! Bacon On Smoker 4 Hours Without Smoke

[TheReluctantCraftstronaut]

I recently cured two bellies and have them on my pellet smoker now. I just got a break in my work day and went to check on them. Sadly, the pellets burned out and they've been sitting on the smoker for 4 hours without any smoke.

I cured them with 2% salt, 0.25% cure # 1, 1.5% sugar. I did this in a vacuum sealed bag for each individual belly for 2 weeks. I let them dry out in the fridge overnight to form the pellicle and then threw them on the smoker at 10am this morning. I'm using a pellet smoker as my vessel and an A Maze N smoker tube which I lit with a torch per usual. I let them burn for a minute, blew out the flame, embers looked good and were producing smoke, but shortly after I left, they must have burned out.

I'm assuming they are salvageable, but are there extra precautions I need to take? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I would just get them back into smoke as long as they didn’t start to render from ambient temps, if so refrigerate and smoke again after they cool down.

 

[TheReluctantCraftstronaut]

I would just get them back into smoke as long as they didn’t start to render from ambient temps, if so refrigerate and smoke again after they cool down.

Thank you. I'll relit the pellets, so I'll let them go for an hour, then bring them in to cool down for a bit and try again!

 

[BigW.]

What's the temp outside? I think it would've been fully cooked with today's temp here.

 

[TheReluctantCraftstronaut]

What's the temp outside? I think it would've been fully cooked with today's temp here.

It's 90 today, but I'm not using the pellet smoker for heat, just for a smoking vessel. The A Maze N tube is the only heat source other than the sun. I put the bacon in the fridge to cool off and try again in a few hours, which was a bit of a shame, because the A Maze N tube is putting out great smoke now!

 

[BigW.]

You may want to wait until the morning, or at least make sure smoker is in the shade. Some folks smoke at night when it's this warm. A black smoker in the sun is going to be pretty toasty. I'm waiting for temps to cool this fall for more cold smoked bacon.

 

[TheReluctantCraftstronaut]

You may want to wait until the morning, or at least make sure smoker is in the shade. Some folks smoke at night when it's this warm. A black smoker in the sun is going to be pretty toasty. I'm waiting for temps to cool this fall for more cold smoked bacon.

I went ahead and did a smoke this evening after the bacon had time to chill in the fridge for a few hours. This round went much better! It's back in the fridge for the night and I'll do another round or two of smoke tomorrow.

I am learning I need to time my cold smoking better for the fall/winter. Thanknyou for the advice!

 

[hoity toit]

I recently cured two bellies and have them on my pellet smoker now. I just got a break in my work day and went to check on them. Sadly, the pellets burned out and they've been sitting on the smoker for 4 hours without any smoke.

I cured them with 2% salt, 0.25% cure # 1, 1.5% sugar. I did this in a vacuum sealed bag for each individual belly for 2 weeks. I let them dry out in the fridge overnight to form the pellicle and then threw them on the smoker at 10am this morning. I'm using a pellet smoker as my vessel and an A Maze N smoker tube which I lit with a torch per usual. I let them burn for a minute, blew out the flame, embers looked good and were producing smoke, but shortly after I left, they must have burned out.

I'm assuming they are salvageable, but are there extra precautions I need to take? Any advice is appreciated.

you are good,,, pour the smoke to them again,,they will be fine.,probably better since they are room temp, thats why we use cure.

HT

 

[hoity toit]

It's 90 today, but I'm not using the pellet smoker for heat, just for a smoking vessel. The A Maze N tube is the only heat source other than the sun. I put the bacon in the fridge to cool off and try again in a few hours, which was a bit of a shame, because the A Maze N tube is putting out great smoke now!

i sometiimes use 2 tubes at a time,,putting the second one in an hour or 2 after the first fo a longer smoke.

 

[mneeley490]

I usually do 40 lbs or more every November when it's cool outside. That way I'm set for a while. But I can't blame you for jumping the gun. It's hard to resist the siren song of bacon.

 

[TheReluctantCraftstronaut]

Well the bacon turned out great! One was "regular" with just salt, sugar, and cure. The other had the addition of chipotle powder to the mix and it was just a bit of heat on the back end of each bite.

I ended up doing 3 rounds of smoking and cooling before the final chill before slicing. I paid a local butcher $5 to slice and vacuum seal 12 lbs of bacon, which I thought was a killer deal considering the time savings for me.

The manager said "we don't like to use liquid smoke on our bacon, but I could sure smell it when I opened up your packages. But I understand you have to do what you have to do..." She was taken back and, I think, a bit embarrassed when I told her I just smoked the bacon using pellets and absolutely no liquid smoke was involved. I wasn't sure if I should be offended or not, but the bacon tastes great and I guess that's all that matters.

 

[indaswamp]

I would just get them back into smoke as long as they didn’t start to render from ambient temps, if so refrigerate and smoke again after they cool down.

^^^^^This.

 

[Fueling Around]

If you are happy with the flavor all is well.
I tried cold smoked my last batch of slab bacon using just the cool evening temps and a pellet tube.
Not overly impressed with the smoke flavor. It had that acrid taste of liquid smoke.
I've got 2 in the cure and hoping the temps cool down enough to try using corn cob dust mixed with a bit of hickory dust.

 

[indaswamp]

If you are happy with the flavor all is well.
I tried cold smoked my last batch of slab bacon using just the cool evening temps and a pellet tube.
Not overly impressed with the smoke flavor. It had that acrid taste of liquid smoke.
I've got 2 in the cure and hoping the temps cool down enough to try using corn cob dust mixed with a bit of hickory dust.

I prefer saw dust or pellet dust when cold smoking using a pellet tube. The smoke is thinner and cleaner. Does not give that strong acrid taste IMO...
You have to pack it in tight though. This slows the burn rate and gives a clean burn.

 

[cptnding]

If you are happy with the flavor all is well.
I tried cold smoked my last batch of slab bacon using just the cool evening temps and a pellet tube.
Not overly impressed with the smoke flavor. It had that acrid taste of liquid smoke.
I've got 2 in the cure and hoping the temps cool down enough to try using corn cob dust mixed with a bit of hickory dust.

I much prefer cold smoking bacon and learned the hard way you need good airflow. If the cold smoke is just lingering around it will give you a nasty taste.