when is it to cold to cold smoke bacon

[mattyoc20]

Just put about 10 pounds of belly in the WSM. I'm looking to smoke til about noon tomorrow. Its going to get down to around 28 in my neck of the woods tonight. Is that going to be an issue? The only think I'm using is the amazen pellet tray lit at 1 end

 

[dave17a]

Takes longer the colder. Good color.

 

[daveomak]

Add some heat to keep the temp above 50 if the AMNPS doesn't..... It should if you have a small insulated smoker... Throw a blanket over the WSM if it needs it...

 

[dave17a]

Good Mahogany color is what you need I should say. Got 36#,s curing now untill next Thursday or so. Good Luck. Dave

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• dave17a
• Mar 4, 2013

Little blury

 

[mattyoc20]

Why does it have to be above 50 it shouldn't hurt anything being colder right. Just may take a bit longer? Or so I thought

 

[shoneyboy]

I'm not trying to :hijack: this thread, but I was always lead to believe that the colder the better.... I just want to see where this goes...... ShoneyBoy

 

[daveomak]

Why does it have to be above 50 it shouldn't hurt anything being colder right. Just may take a bit longer? Or so I thought

Below is how Marianski describes what cold smoking is and does...

What was the temp ?? Did the AMNPS keep the temp up ??

Cold Smoking

Cold smoking at 52-71° F (12-22° C), from 1-14 days, applying thin smoke with occasional breaks in between, is one of the oldest preservation methods. We cannot produce cold smoke if the outside temperature is 90° F (32° C), unless we can cool it down, which is what some industrial smokers do. Cold smoking is a drying process whose purpose is to remove moisture thus preserving a product.

You will find that different sources provide different temperatures for cold smoking. In European countries where most of the cold smoking is done, the upper temperature is accepted as 86° F (30° C). The majority of Russian, Polish and German meat technology books call for 71° F (22° C), some books ask for 77° F (25° C). Fish starts to cook at 85° F (29.4° C) and if you want to make delicious cold smoked salmon that is smoked for a long time, obviously you can not exceed 86° F (30° C). Cold smoking assures us of total smoke penetration inside of the meat. The loss of moisture also is uniform in all areas and the total weight loss falls within 5-20% depending largely on the smoking time. Cold smoking is not a continuous process, it is stopped (no smoke) a few times to allow fresh air into the smoker.

 

[mattyoc20]

Below is how Marianski describes what cold smoking is and does...

What was the temp ?? Did the AMNPS keep the temp up ??

Cold Smoking

Cold smoking at 52-71° F (12-22° C), from 1-14 days, applying thin smoke with occasional breaks in between, is one of the oldest preservation methods. We cannot produce cold smoke if the outside temperature is 90° F (32° C), unless we can cool it down, which is what some industrial smokers do. Cold smoking is a drying process whose purpose is to remove moisture thus preserving a product.

You will find that different sources provide different temperatures for cold smoking. In European countries where most of the cold smoking is done, the upper temperature is accepted as 86° F (30° C). The majority of Russian, Polish and German meat technology books call for 71° F (22° C), some books ask for 77° F (25° C). Fish starts to cook at 85° F (29.4° C) and if you want to make delicious cold smoked salmon that is smoked for a long time, obviously you can not exceed 86° F (30° C). Cold smoking assures us of total smoke penetration inside of the meat. The loss of moisture also is uniform in all areas and the total weight loss falls within 5-20% depending largely on the smoking time. Cold smoking is not a continuous process, it is stopped (no smoke) a few times to allow fresh air into the smoker.

Thanks for the info.  I smoked my last bacon when it was about 50 degrees outside and it was awesome.  I smoked it for 22 hours with maple.  Due to time constraints I can not smoke, stop, then continue smoking.  I put the bacon in last night at 5pm and plan on taking off today at 2ish.  I guess I will see what the differences is between the two.  Like they say there is no bad bacon, just good bacon and better bacon.  Thanks everyone for the input.

 

[daveomak]

Did you notice what the temp was in the smoker... Maybe the AMNPS kept the temp up.... they do put out a fair amount of heat....

 

[mattyoc20]

I didn't even bother checking.  I wasn't going to throw coals in and fight the smoker to keep temp for 22 hours so i figured it is what it is.regardless of temp, not proper note taking but ah well.

 

[mattyoc20]

I don't really have the color i want and I'm getting ready to leave for the weekend. Would it be a problem if I take it off now and throw it back in the smoker Sunday night?

 

[daveomak]

No problem at all.... They recommend breaks in smoking.... I think that was so the fire didn't have to be tended all night... Dave

 

[mattyoc20]

Just pulled the bacon after 22 hours of cold smoke and I have these black spots in them. Anyone know what they are? Is my bacon ruined?

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• mattyoc20
• Jan 17, 2014

 

[mneeley490]

Looks like soot has dropped down from the top or lid of your smoker. I have found that happens more often when cold smoking. You need to wipe down the inside of your smoker before using again.

I doubt the bacon is ruined. Just wipe off as much as you can with a wet paper towel, and then dry off the bacon again.

 

[mattyoc20]

These spots were on the bottom of the bacon and I actually wiped down the smoker before putting in the bacon

 

[daveomak]

Were the vents wide open on the smoker.... Is your smoker clean......

 

[mattyoc20]

Smoker is clean and I did have the vents wide open.

 

[daveomak]

The spots look like creosote drops..... maybe something from the food grate ??? Rinse and dry the slabs.. add additional smoke if you feel they need it... see it the spots come off... Hard to tell from here what is going on.....

Dave

 

[centex99]

What temperature is too HOT?  I thought as long as the fat doesn't start melting out, you'll be ok... I'm smoking a batch of bacon today (likely one tomorrow too as I'm using two different woods on this belly)... this one is PMC and going to go about 8 hours (pop's brine, some plain, a bit with garlic, and a bit with garlic+pepper)...

Smoker has been about 100 most of the day... should be fine, no?  After my 8 hours I'm going to rest in the fridge another day or two and then partially freeze to slice up/package...

 

[daveomak]

Pig fat melting temps.....

Melting point
backfat: 30–40 °C (86–104 °F)
leaf fat: 43–48 °C (109–118 °F)
mixed fat: 36–45 °C (97–113 °F)