BACON (Extra Smoky)

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Awesome Bear! I like the smoke flavor and don't mind EXTRA smoky at all buy my wife, and my dad don't care for it. So I try to keep the smoke level enough to give it good flavor but not any more than that. 

I really like BBB but I wouldn't mind trying some belly. I may call around and see if I can find some.

Thanks for another excellent thread! The pics are awesome! 
 
Thanks Al !!!

See Below,

Bear



Thanks Todd !!

I have smoked Belly Bacon just about every way, except for cold smoking for longer than 12 hours.

They are ALL good, but IMO colder smoking had the least amount of flavor & color, probably because it takes a lot longer to get the smoke to adhere to a cold clammy piece of meat. It is my guess that if you cold smoke long enough, you can get the best smoked Bacon there could possibly be, but I'm not into smoking things for days.

I talked to some butchers in my area, and they agree that a little heat allows the meat to be able to accept smoke more readily, and as long as you keep the temp down, it won't have any adverse effects. I had my heat set at 120˚ (a little higher than the temperature in Arizona right now) for almost all of the smoke, so the lowest it went was about 116˚, and the highest it spiked would have been about 140˚ (only for a few minutes). Most of the time it was between 120˚ and 126˚.

I watched this one really closely, and if it would have started dripping any fat, I was prepared to cut the heat quickly, but it did not.

Your AMNS and/or AMNPS made it so much easier than trying to get consistent smoke any other way, especially at such low temps!

Thanks Todd,

Bear
 
just did some BBB and my inside smoker temp was around 120 and outside surface temp was around 140...................

btw- ya had me at bacon.........xtra smokie was like whip cream on a sundae!

 
 
Thanks for the reply. I  have been reading what I can find on curing and have ordered some books Through ABE books which should arrive soon. I signed up for Jeffs 5 day course and am up to day 3.  I am buying The meat from local farmers. I have not been happy with the quality of the meat at the local supermarkets for quite a while. Especially The Pork. Luckily We have a good Butcher shop here and local fish monger is excellent.. + The farmers markets. More expensive than the Super markets but the quality is better. As to your tendency to give detailed explanations, I I love information and have similar tendencies. which some find excessive..

George
 
just did some BBB and my inside smoker temp was around 120 and outside surface temp was around 140...................

btw- ya had me at bacon.........xtra smokie was like whip cream on a sundae!
LOL---I always try to please you, especially if there are any loose knives lying around!!!

So far we're only running highs of 96˚ to 98˚ around here.

Don't know how people can stand ambient temps of 115˚ and higher!!!

Bear
 
Nice job my friend. I assume my shipment is on it's way
 
Thanks for the reply. I  have been reading what I can find on curing and have ordered some books Through ABE books which should arrive soon. I signed up for Jeffs 5 day course and am up to day 3.  I am buying The meat from local farmers. I have not been happy with the quality of the meat at the local supermarkets for quite a while. Especially The Pork. Luckily We have a good Butcher shop here and local fish monger is excellent.. + The farmers markets. More expensive than the Super markets but the quality is better. As to your tendency to give detailed explanations, I I love information and have similar tendencies. which some find excessive..

George
Hang in there George---You'll be smoking Great Bacon before you know it.

Excessive info---You & Me???  People who want to learn, love details.   

You can't learn anything from directions without details.

Keep up the good work,

Bear
 
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Thanks, I am pleased to meet another info freak. I posted a Q on another thread on smoking bacon. It seems that folks like Marianski. as a reference. Great I will buy. But there are 4 titles. The smoking meats and smoke house sounds like something I would like to have. but the The "home production of Quality meats and Sausages" sounds like the one. ??
 
Thanks, I am pleased to meet another info freak. I posted a Q on another thread on smoking bacon. It seems that folks like Marianski. as a reference. Great I will buy. But there are 4 titles. The smoking meats and smoke house sounds like something I would like to have. but the The "home production of Quality meats and Sausages" sounds like the one. ??
If I had to pick one Marianski, that would be it.

If I could afford it, I'd get them all.

I have the newest "Rytek Kutas". 

I like that one more, but that's me.

Bear
 
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Thanks for the reply. I have ordered the Marianski, Home production Of.. and  plan on buying the Kutas. I thought I had already posted this but in as much as I don't see it here I will post it again. I smoked a king Salmon on Friday but as it only read 104*  after 7 hours I decided to finish it in the oven for a few minutes. oops. to hot and too long and it got a little to dry. I  used a hotplate in the bottom of a Charcoal smoker but It won't get hot enough to do a 220* boost. 160 to 180* max. Also I turned it down to go to the Theater to see my wifes newest play.   I will try using a little electric "Bar B Q" pot with a Variac. I am able to do a hot smoke using Charcoal and wood but it can be an all day project with a lot of fiddling.
 
Much appreciated info, this thread is why I went and picked up some pork bellies and decided to try my own bacon.  I can definitely confirm that you need a little heat to get a good color on the bacon.  I'm using a Bradley electric smoker, with the heater turned off, the hot plate alone can get it up to about 100-125, no cold smoking adapter.  The bacon looked very pale for the first six hours until I closed the vent and let the temp get up to 125.  I didn't take any pictures of the bacon mid-cure, but I'll definitely be taking pictures once it's out of the smoker, even though these weren't the best bellies.
 
Much appreciated info, this thread is why I went and picked up some pork bellies and decided to try my own bacon.  I can definitely confirm that you need a little heat to get a good color on the bacon.  I'm using a Bradley electric smoker, with the heater turned off, the hot plate alone can get it up to about 100-125, no cold smoking adapter.  The bacon looked very pale for the first six hours until I closed the vent and let the temp get up to 125.  I didn't take any pictures of the bacon mid-cure, but I'll definitely be taking pictures once it's out of the smoker, even though these weren't the best bellies.
That's Great DG !!

I love it when somebody is happy with their first Bacon. The stuff is Awesome!

Glad I could help,

Bear
 
Ahhh, bacon failure!  I totally oversmoked it (12 hours, I think the bradley puts out too much smoke for this), it smells (and tastes) like when my house burnt down.  I gave a piece to my friend after it was cured, he smoked it himself and said it was delicious. 
th_crybaby2.gif
Ah well, just an excuse to go buy better pork bellies.  I'll be using your recipe again though.
 
That's Great DG !!

I love it when somebody is happy with their first Bacon. The stuff is Awesome!

Glad I could help,

Bear
 
Sorry to hear that, was that the exhaust you closed? You want to let the smoke out, containing it will create creosote. 
 
Ahhh, bacon failure!  I totally oversmoked it (12 hours, I think the bradley puts out too much smoke for this), it smells (and tastes) like when my house burnt down.  I gave a piece to my friend after it was cured, he smoked it himself and said it was delicious. 
th_crybaby2.gif
Ah well, just an excuse to go buy better pork bellies.  I'll be using your recipe again though.
Oh no!!! That stinks!!!

I don't know much about Bradleys, but you need light (Thin Blue Smoke) smoke, and you don't want to trap it in there. Gotta let it move right on through, like Meateater said.

The next one will be perfect!!!   You'll see!

Bear
 
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Yeah, the Bradley tends to be a pretty thick smoke, closing the vent partway is probably what made most of this mess.  Maybe I'll put in a fan to help the smoke exhaust faster. I love it for pork butts, but aside from smoking some fish for my brother, I've never done anything else.  Part of the problem might just be the sheer amount of wood I'm using.  12 hours of smoking is a pound and a half of the little pucks vs. 6 ounces or so of dust for the AMNS for 10 hours or so.  So 3.3x as much wood per hour. 
Oh no!!! That stinks!!!

I don't know much about Bradleys, but you need light (Thin Blue Smoke) smoke, and you don't want to trap it in there. Gotta let it move right on through, like Meateater said.

The next one will be perfect!!!   You'll see!

Bear
 
Yeah, the Bradley tends to be a pretty thick smoke, closing the vent partway is probably what made most of this mess.  Maybe I'll put in a fan to help the smoke exhaust faster. I love it for pork butts, but aside from smoking some fish for my brother, I've never done anything else.  Part of the problem might just be the sheer amount of wood I'm using.  12 hours of smoking is a pound and a half of the little pucks vs. 6 ounces or so of dust for the AMNS for 10 hours or so.  So 3.3x as much wood per hour. 
Can't you tell that Puck thing to take a break on the next Bacon, and let your AMNS do the job?

I had the same problem with that Big Kahuna I mistakenly bought.

If it wasn't for the AMNS & the AMNPS, my step by steps would be a lot more confusing.

Bear

Bear
 
Can't you tell that Puck thing to take a break on the next Bacon, and let your AMNS do the job?

I had the same problem with that Big Kahuna I mistakenly bought.

If it wasn't for the AMNS & the AMNPS, my step by steps would be a lot more confusing.

Bear

Bear


I don't know if I can embrace the pellet smoker, considering those pellets are sold around here for animal bedding. Does it work as well as the dust versions?
 
I don't know if I can embrace the pellet smoker, considering those pellets are sold around here for animal bedding. Does it work as well as the dust versions?
The AMNPS is the only one that you don't have to worry about having a problem at high heat.

The AMNS is Great for 180˚ and below, and sometimes higher.

It is also good at high heat, if you partially load it, so it doesn't have any dust in the next lane to jump through to.

But you can load the AMNPS completely (with pellets), light one end, put it in a very hot smoker (even at 275˚), and not worry about it at all from morning until evening.

I love them both!

Bear
 
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