belly in pops brine

[lpv77]

I brined some belly in pops for 11 days. I smoked it today and it doesn't quite look right. I followed his recipe. The fridge was 35_38* so I would imagine it's still safe but is this normal?

KIMG0321.jpg

• lpv77
• Apr 13, 2015

 

[lpv77]

This was a different recipe.

KIMG0319.jpg

• lpv77
• Apr 13, 2015

 

[smokerjim]

it's hard tell what i'm looking at from your picture,but i use pops brine all the time and if you followed his recipe i would bet it's safe,not sure how long you smoked it for but maybe some of the pro's will be along to help you out.

 

[lpv77]

It just doesn't have that pink look t through out. It is a slightly taller piece though.

 

[tropics]

What temp did you smoke it at and what was the IT when done?

 

[lpv77]

200 225 150* internal

 

[smokerjim]

don't want to sound stupid but did you use the correct amount of cure in the brine, 1 tbsp per gallon

 

[lpv77]

I weighed out 1 oz

 

[lpv77]

So after a day in the fridge it looks like bacon... is that a normal occurrence?

KIMG0324.jpg

• lpv77
• Apr 14, 2015

 

[daveomak]

You used 1 oz. of cure #1..... or did you use 1 oz. Morton's Tender Quick.... Just curious.... Dave

 

[lpv77]

1oz #1

 

[tropics]

What smoker did u use? 

 

[lpv77]

Primo xl

 

[gary s]

Do you usually smoke your bacon at that temp,  Seems high to me wouldn't take long at that temp to reach an IT of 150 ?

Gary

 

[lpv77]

First attempt at bacon. I just followed most recipes for hot smoking.

 

[rgautheir20420]

First attempt at bacon. I just followed most recipes for hot smoking.

That's far to hot to be smoking bacon. You'll get fat out that way and that' why you see some juices on top of your slab of bacon. The color change your seeing is because you took a cut and picture of the slab when it was hot. When it's cooled down, the fat is a brighter white color and the pink is more apparent. 

FWIW, I like to smoke my bacon at 100 for as long as I feel like it. Glad it ended up turning out how you wanted though!

 

[lpv77]

Thanks guys, I read a lot about hot and cold smoking bacon. I'll try cold next time. I read a couple places saying that cold is unsafe to do at home. I went with hot first

 

[daveomak]

Thanks guys, I read a lot about hot and cold smoking bacon. I'll try cold next time. I read a couple places saying that cold is unsafe to do at home. I went with hot first

If you have added the proper amount of ingredients... salt, sugar and cure #1, (sodium nitrite)... and it has been allowed to infuse into the meat the adequate amount of time, there is no reason to think cold smoking is unsafe.... I have cold smoked bacon for 6 days below 70 deg. F... others have cold smoked meats for longer periods.... At colder temps, nitrite stays viable in controlling or killing food borne pathogens.... Smoke does it's part in controlling or killing food borne pathogens, and the salt does the same....
Cold smoking meats using nitrite, salt etc. is one of the oldest forms of preserving food...

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.