Cold Smoked Bacon Newbie

[chefbruz]

So I'm building a cold smoke generator as a project. I'm using an external smoke generator and a weber kettle as the smokehouse.

I live in a Country area of Australia and I was only able to get a cure with difficulty. It's called "Pineapple Cure"

contents are:

Dextrose (Tapioca or Maize)

Mineral Salts (451, 500)

Preservative (250)

Antioxidant (316)

Flavour (Pineapple 1%)

Canola Oil.

Underneath the ingredients, the label says : "WARNING: CONTAINS SODIUM NITRITE 6.4%

it's the only cure I could obtain.

Instructions are to use 45l water, 4.5kg salt & 500g cure mix.

I'm going to use 1/10th of this mix to cure a 2kg belly, air dry in front of a fan for a day, then cold smoke during the currently freezing outdoor winter temps.

Can anyone help me out with info as to soaking time and smoking time?

I was going to add some maple syrup to the brining / curing liquid, but since there is dextrose in the cure mix, is this going to make my bacon too sweet?

All thoughts appreciated as this is my first smoke...

 

[chefbruz]

Well, since I've had a few views but no reply I'll commence the brine.

I used the pineapple cure as directed. It really smells of Pineapple! (considering it's only 1%)

I'll cure it for a week, if you think I should extend the time or reduce it, please speak up!

There is SO much info on the site I'm having trouble distilling it down, hence the request for help.

 

[tropics]

I am not sure what 451 water means

Here is a good link for wet bring The thickness of the meat tells how long it should cure

Richie

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/110799/pops6927s-wet-curing-brine

 

[chefbruz]

THX Tropics... 2 weeks it is... 45 litres... (we're metric here in the land down under....)

 

[tropics]

 
THX Tropics... 2 weeks it is... 45 litres... (we're metric here in the land down under....)

Chef that should be about average time I go 2 weeks even if it is a little thinner.

Remember to slice a piece after curing and fry it,that way if it is salty you can soak it,post some pics from down their 

Richie

 

[tropics]

 

[daveomak]

Bruz, morning....  The "Pineapple Cure" is basically cure #1 with added stuff....  

Because it is 6.4% sodium nitrite, it can be used just like cure #1....

Consider doing a dry rub on the belly you have....  Do a flavor / technique test using approx. 1# of belly...

When using a dry rub on bacon belly, it is OK to use up to 200 Ppm nitrite ..(USDA regs.)...  Soooo, I would add ~ 1.5 grams of the cure mix to ~450 grams of belly..  I would add the 1.5 grams to 9 grams (2%) of Kosher salt and thoroughly mix...  then apply uniformly to the belly and bag it...  put in the refer for 10-14 days at 2 deg. C....  38 F.....  I'm not sure about the dextrose...  I usually add 1% white sugar to the mix...  

After the 14 days, rinse thoroughly and dry with paper towels...  then cold smoke, below 21 C for ~2-6 hours depends on how much smoke your generator puts out...  I'd start with 2 hours for the first batch....    wrap with butcher paper and place in the refer for 5 days or so...  slice, cook and enjoy...   

Adjust your flavor profiles based on this test batch...   

Dave

 

[chefbruz]

Many thanks gentlemen...

I've already started the cure and the belly is less than 2" thick.

I'll post pics of the process for y'all in a couple weeks.

 

[chefbruz]

Two weeks in the brine and I pulled out the belly and cut some slices for tasting, as well as being incredibly salty, I don't think the cure has penetrated into the thicker sections of the belly. I am referring to the red bits rather than the pink  bits.

What's happening with this as it's only 2" thick at the most and the slices were less than 1/4"?????

22007601_10155616252201067_454308902225697591_n.jp

• chefbruz
• Sep 23, 2017

22045664_10155616252266067_3267426155753548662_n.j

• chefbruz
• Sep 23, 2017

 

[chefbruz]

A week in the bar fridge and then into the smoker for 12 or so hours...

Home made Venturi Cold Smoke generator into a Weber
(Ignore the Water Pump Project in the background)

Smoke generator and aquarium pump

Seems to work OK sometimes...

12 hours of smoke of the belly

Wrapped and in the refrigerator again to let the smoke penetrate.
if this works out I'll get a vac pac machine.

I am thinking of giving the pork another 12 hours of smoke on the next cold night.

The generator gives about five hours on a full charge, but is a bit temperamental.

 

[chefbruz]

Results: Dry Cured Cold Smoked and Hand Sliced

The 12 hour cold smoked was way too much smoke.... start of my bacon with some water in the pan, get it up to a boil, flip it and then toss the water out to sort it out....

I wouldn't do the Hillbilly bacon again, I like the fat of the streaky...

The Dry Cure 5 hour was superior to the 12 hour wet cure.

Wrapping the bacon in paper and leaving it in the fridge for a week before slicing allowed it to harden up.

THanks for the help, I now have three months worth of smoked bacon to eat!

 

[daveomak]

then cold smoke, below 21 C for ~2-6 hours depends on how much smoke your generator puts out... I'd start with 2 hours for the first batch....

 

[chefbruz]

being a home made generator it is hard to calibrate exactly how much smoke is produced, but here's a pic with the cover removed:

 

[Braz]

Bacon looks lovely to me. That little smoke generator sure seems to make a lot of smoke. How does it work?

 

[pc farmer]

That looks like great bacon.

 

[chefbruz]

i was really happy with the dry cured bacon.

The generator is a venturi type generator. An acquarium pump blows air into a pipe leading out of the generator to the vessel, it picks up smoke from the chips inside the fence post that is blue square tube in the pics. Small pipe leads into large pipe. here is the link I used to make the generator:

https://forums.overclockers.com.au/threads/cold-smoke-generator-pic-intensive.1035271/

 

[daveomak]

Good job !!

 

[chefbruz]

Many thanks for the dry cure tip!