Jerky fan, pellicle and A-Maze-N

[trmbtpd]

I am going to smoke a couple homemade bacon slabs. Here in Michigan, the weather is nice and cold, so my plan is to put the cured slabs in the smoker, before smoking, to form the pellicle on the meat. I will monitor the temperatures so as to keep the meat from freezing in our 20º F weather!

Then I thought... since a jerky fan attachment sits over the vent hole on top of my SmokinTex1400, I wonder if the increased airflow from the jerky fan will cause a pellicle to form quicker and better?

Then that got me to thinking about my small A-Maze-N pellet holder not getting enough combustion air when I used it last time in my 1400. It never stayed lit and went out after a few minutes. I tried to use that for cold smoking cheese once, but was unsuccessful!

So, now I wonder if the jerky fan will pull enough combustion air through the bottom drain hole of the 1400 to keep the pellets burning in the A-Maze-N pellet burner without drawing the smoke out too quickly?

I've read where others have cut a second ventilation hole in the bottom of their 1400 after enlarging the drain hole, but I absolutely refuse to do that!

So... has anyone tried using the jerky fan to dry and form a pellicle on bacon slabs during very cold weather?

Has anyone tried using the jerky fan to keep a small pellet burner ignited on the bottom of the 1400?

I do use a cold plate accessory for cold smoking, but thought it would be nice to put in a small A-Maze-N pellet burner and not have to worry about turning the smoker element on and off, and having longer smoke times.

Well, what do you think?

 

[forktender]

Sorry so late, yes, using a fan directed at the meat will greatly reduce the time it takes to form a nice glossy/sticky pellicle. As will leaving it uncovered on a cooling rack in the refer for a day or two, I normally use the refer method due to our warmer temps out here in CA. although I've done it both way with great success.
If you're going to add coarse black pepper do it while the meat is still wet, as the pellicle is forming, it will act like a glue, so the pepper or whichever spices you choose to use stick to the meat much better.

Good luck.
Dan.

 

[zwiller]

Big fan of the fan (intended) for pellicle but do not think it would be a good idea to run it the whole smoke. 30m is all you need for a good pellicle. From here, I would suggest using dust instead of pellets and see if that stays lit but not a SmokinTex owner.