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Wash it with vinegar maybe, but the longer you can leave it open-aired in the reefer it will continue to mellow that smoke flavor. Always leave any cured meat that has been smoked uncovered in the reefer for up to a week. Sure it tastes like an ashtray at first, but it will mellow into a good flavor, or it will mellow anyway. LOL Good luck.
In the begining I threw out stuff I can only wish I had allowed to mellow first, jerky to nuts.
I over smoked some last year really BAD, I put it in a cooler just enough water to cover and then added about 20 lbs of ice. Let it soak, and drain the water every 12hrs for 2 days and it almost had zero smoke. It save a pile of bacon from the bean pot.
I smoked 48hrs in a smoke house with stale smoke. Some of the guys here have me a hand in figuring out that my smoke wasn’t moving fast enough and pointed me in the right direction to fix my problem. Now I still shoot for 48hr but the smoke rolls over and the taste is awesome.
Its the process not the duration. Its a time/temperature ratio. If you are cold smoking I guess you could hang it forever. If you've got heat its the amount of heat, which is determined normally by how much wood is used. Too much wood is determined by the amount of venting you are using. Sorry I just can't stand myself sometimes.
What I do is multiple smokes. I usually average 6 to 8 hours in a warm smokers not exceeding 120 degrees IT (Internal temp of the meat). I find over 120 you take the chance of rendering or cooking the meat thereby changing the meats texture/density. I will smoke it once, allow it to sit uncovered overnight, then do it again. then give it a couple a days uncovered and do it again if I feel the need. You can do this till the cows come home .
Too much smoke generally occurs when you try to apply too much smoke too fast, or you are smoking without any ventilation. You can smoke with no ventilation but its a different animal to master.
Thanks foamheart, I’ll have to post another one of it this evening. The shed has a little wood in it the I’ve got the SH strung up with hot peppers. Going to make chipotle or hot paprika.