Bacon from cold smoker with sooty deposits?

[webebigdog]

I have a home built cold smoker/hot smoker, when I cold smoke my bacon I am getting a black sooty appearance. The temp in smoker never goes over 90 nor goes under 80. I use apple wood to smoke my bacon. I have used purchased wood and wood from my own trees! Why am I getting a sooty residue?  Last time I had to rinse off all the bacon. If not had a bitter smokey taste... What happened and why. I have 60 pounds in brine to smoke in 2 weeks.

 

[alblancher]

Is your bacon dry with a formed pellicle  before you  smoke it?  Where is the fire in relation to the hanging bacon?     Do you have real good venting of the smoke chamber so the smoke just passes over the bacon instead of hanging around?