I want to pull on this thread. Like
D
daspyknows
, I hot smoke my bacon "too hot". I struggle to control my offset (ok joe highland) art anything below 250. I typically smoke bacon (back, belly and buck board) between 250 and 300. It gets plenty of smoke flavor for our taste.
I concede some fat renders and it dries out a little bit. But I nearly always fry it or bake it at 350. So it was going to get above 170 no matter what and dried out as well. Why the hang up about fat rendering?
My bacon is hands down better than can be bought, imo. But if it could be better, I could be motivated to try out a different method.
I understand where you are coming from. Let’s lay down some definitions of process so we can keep this conversation on track.
SMOKING:
This process is accomplished at temperatures from 50-170F. There are different procedures and different product produced with this method.
1) Cold Smoking: This process is done in temperature from 50-80F. The purpose of this process is to slightly dry the product by about 10% to increase shelf life and slightly concentrate flavors as well as to add a deep smoke flavor and color. This process can be done for days or up to a couple weeks, even longer for hams. The product is raw and must be cooked before eating.
2) Hot Smoking: This process is done in temperature from 100-170F. Starting low and slowly working up to an internal temperature of between 145-155F depending on the product. In this process we are drying the product slightly up to 5% which concentrates flavor slightly and adding smoke flavor and color. The finished product is ready to eat as is. With bacon this can be helpful when pan frying as a lower temperature can be used so as not to burn sugars. I like to slice thick and flash fry for a nice crispy surface with a soft juicy center.
BBQ:
This process is done in temperature from 180-300F.
The purpose for this method of cooking is to break down collagen for juicy tender meat and render fats as well as add a smoke flavor.
Again this process has a temperature range that produces different products.
1) Take brisket or pork butt for example.
These meats cooked at 180-225 for 20-24 hours is a much different product than the same meats cooked at 275-300 for 10 hours. Both are brisket or pork, but they have much different texture and flavor.
Most of what has been posted about “hot smoking“ at 170 plus degrees is really not smoking at all but is BBQing. That is cooking with smoke and produces a different product than smoking. There is a reason folks go to the trouble of building smokehouse or pits to control low temp smoke.
There is no problem with cooking pork belly at bbq temperature if that’s what you like, but this produces a different product than traditional smoked belly bacon.
Bacon laying on a ham.
Sliced belly
Buckboard bacon.