Just took my 1st Canadian Bacon out of the curing bucket...

[SherryT]

OK...it's done! My 1st smoked Canadian bacon is resting comfortably in my kitchen!

Ended up making/installing 2 weber-like vents...the bucket, the vents, sealing the door, and adding a gasket to the lid made a WORLD of difference! Temp increased much slower, I choked off the bottom vents to 50% at just a bit above 200 deg and after about 30 minutes (might have been a bit less), it stabilized around 245.

The ONLY mishap I had was when I went to lift the body off the bucket to add more hickory chunks...the bucket stuck to the body (I assume because the metals expanded as they heated) and I ended up dumping ALL the coals! Quickly did a cleanup, started another pan of coals, and was back in biz after about 35-40 minutes or so.

I am soooooooo going to order the AMPTS next week...NUTS to THAT hassle!

Will post final pics of the CB and the mod tomorrow.

THANKS TO YOU ALL for your help!

Big cyber hug!

Sherry

ETA...

A couple of hours later, I sliced off a thin piece to taste...it's WAY too smokey for my tastes! Hubs said it was great, but I can barely eat it!

Will the intensity "lessen" somewhat over time?

Like I said above, I'm ordering the AMNPTS next week FOR SURE!!!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Yes, it mellows and if you ate the first slice, it will be extra smokey. Try Fruit wood next time. Apple is a lot mellower than hickory. Hickory is second only to Mesquite in intensity and nobody said you have to make smoke the entire cook. Try a couple of hours of smoke then use just heat or wrap in foil to the finished IT...JJ

 

[SherryT]

a couple of hours later

Yes, it mellows and if you ate the first slice, it will be extra smokey. Try Fruit wood next time. Apple is a lot mellower than hickory. Hickory is second only to Mesquite in intensity and nobody said you have to make smoke the entire cook. Try a couple of hours of smoke then use just heat or wrap in foil to the finished IT...JJ

Well then, looks like I could have avoided the coal spill if I hadn't been trying to add more wood, huh!

Next go 'round, I'll trust my gut (didn't think I "needed" to add more wood, but I did it anyway!).

Thanks for the info, cj.

 

[tallbm]

If I go 100% hickory I find about 5 hours on something like bacon is my max threshold using the AMNPS. With a 70% Apple and 30% Hickory blend I can go the entire cook applying that smoke with no problem.
Feel free to try the 5 hr 100% hickory on bacon approach next time and see if you agree. Best of luck with it all! :)

 

[pops6927]

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/pops6927s-curing-brines-regular-and-lo-salt

After my 5 strokes, I celebrate EVERY birthday, Believe me! lol! It has been scientifically proven that the more birthdays you have, the longer you live! 66 now, coming up to 67 in March.