The Bacon Trifecta "That's a wrap"

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It was chilly!!! That's effecting the color too, I'm not getting the normal color. I am going to fire up the gas and finish the Canadian first tonight and put in some cast iron to hopefully hold a bit of the heat and then run the rest of the bacon with just the AMNTS. I'm used to cold smoking @ temps around 60-67! With that said the garage fridge smelled good and smokey this morning when I went to check on it, so the bacon's still getting good flavor.
 
Back into the smoke. It's cold here!!! Ambient outside temp is currently 22*  ! I put the CB into the smoker and have applied the heat running 160-170 in the smoke chamber IT. Had some issues getting the AMNTS to do true blue at the cold temp. Once the smoker hit the 160 zone all was well.



Its taking a bunch of babysitting tonight as the ambient temp drops.. IT of the CB is currently at 119, going for 145 IT. Outside ambient just dropped to 19... NOW that's COLD SMOKIN!!!!
 
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Canadian Bacon is done!!!


Accidentally let it go to IT of 155!!!


Mmmmm!!! Took a little piece off the end, it's AWESOME!!!!
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May not make it into our gift crates!!!
 
I need help!  First of all - love the "trifecta" idea (next time).  A recipe from a trusted source has me doing pork belly in a dry rub for 8-10 days and then hot smoking it so the end product will be cooked to IT 150 but you still can fry it.  Disappointed.  I will try 1/2 my belly that way since it is a trusted source but want to brine the other half and cold smoke.  Will then have a taste-off to see what my friends and family prefer.  I need instructions for smoking (temps, times) and also how long to brine.  thanks and HAPPY SMOKING
 
I need help!  First of all - love the "trifecta" idea (next time).  A recipe from a trusted source has me doing pork belly in a dry rub for 8-10 days and then hot smoking it so the end product will be cooked to IT 150 but you still can fry it.  Disappointed.  I will try 1/2 my belly that way since it is a trusted source but want to brine the other half and cold smoke.  Will then have a taste-off to see what my friends and family prefer.  I need instructions for smoking (temps, times) and also how long to brine.  thanks and HAPPY SMOKING
Smoking D I had always used a dry cure until this. I have to tell you that I probably will be doing wet cure from now on.

The method that I used is Pop's wet Cure:

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

The only modifications I made was to put whole pepper corns in the brine. I used the lower amount of salt (1/3 cup)/gallon. We don't like our bacon to salty or too sweet. I am doing a true cold smoke on the BBB and the belly. 6-8 hours of smoke with no heat over three days. For a total of 18-20 hrs of smoke. The Canadian bacon was cold smoked for 6.5 hrs with the rest of the bacon. Then last night I smoked it again with heat 170-180 until the IT was 145 (I actually goofed and let it go to 155.) Since this is for gifts I wanted it to be fully cooked. It turned out great, but a bit on the dry side. Wished I'd got it out at 145. I did inject the loins with brine since they were over 2" thick. I brined all the bacon at the same time. The BBB and Belly bacon still need more time on the cold smoke, which they will get tonight. This bacon will need to be cooked prior to eating. I am trying to keep the internal temp of the smoker at 65, but that's hard with a propane smoker when its 17* outside! For smoke I am using the 18" AMNTS. Love that thing, thanks Todd!
 
Put the BBB and belly bacon into the smoker for round two, might as well throw some cheese in there. Getting lots of requests for pepper jack, two loafs of Tillamook quartered and in the smoke too!




Been in the smoke for 2.5. Temp in the smoke chamber is 48*. I heated the smoker up to 300*, then let it drop. I added the bacon when the temp was 110*. Added the cheese when it hit 80*. Outside ambient is 26* BRRRRRR!!!!!
 
Smoking D I had always used a dry cure until this. I have to tell you that I probably will be doing wet cure from now on.

The method that I used is Pop's wet Cure:

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

The only modifications I made was to put whole pepper corns in the brine. I used the lower amount of salt (1/3 cup)/gallon. We don't like our bacon to salty or too sweet. I am doing a true cold smoke on the BBB and the belly. 6-8 hours of smoke with no heat over three days. For a total of 18-20 hrs of smoke. The Canadian bacon was cold smoked for 6.5 hrs with the rest of the bacon. Then last night I smoked it again with heat 170-180 until the IT was 145 (I actually goofed and let it go to 155.) Since this is for gifts I wanted it to be fully cooked. It turned out great, but a bit on the dry side. Wished I'd got it out at 145. I did inject the loins with brine since they were over 2" thick. I brined all the bacon at the same time. The BBB and Belly bacon still need more time on the cold smoke, which they will get tonight. This bacon will need to be cooked prior to eating. I am trying to keep the internal temp of the smoker at 65, but that's hard with a propane smoker when its 17* outside! For smoke I am using the 18" AMNTS. Love that thing, thanks Todd!
Hey dirtsailor,

I've also only just smoked + oven baked my bacon to internal temp of 150 deg. But I just received my new dust a-maze-n smoker yesterday so am planning to cold smoke my next belly section based on all the rave reviews on this forum about cold smoke vs. hot smoke on bacon.  So let me get this straight.....you cold smoke your bacon for 6-8 hours at a time, then put it in the refrigerator between cold smoking sessions??    And then after finishing the last cold smoke on your bacon, is the bacon ready to slice and freeze (or slice and cook) right away, or does it need additional time hanging in a chamber to keep drying out more??

Thanks for any clarification! 
 
Hey dirtsailor,

I've also only just smoked + oven baked my bacon to internal temp of 150 deg. But I just received my new dust a-maze-n smoker yesterday so am planning to cold smoke my next belly section based on all the rave reviews on this forum about cold smoke vs. hot smoke on bacon.  So let me get this straight.....you cold smoke your bacon for 6-8 hours at a time, then put it in the refrigerator between cold smoking sessions??    And then after finishing the last cold smoke on your bacon, is the bacon ready to slice and freeze (or slice and cook) right away, or does it need additional time hanging in a chamber to keep drying out more??

Thanks for any clarification! 
Yes that is correct. I did three 6-8 hour sessions. Rest in the fridge in between. Then I let it rest in the fridge for a couple days. Then I partially freeze (makes it easier to slice) it and slice. Then vac-pac and freeze. Tonight I will slice it I think. It has been resting in the fridge for two days.
 
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I didn't like the color of the buckboard bacon so I decided to do one more round of smoke. It's looking great and I'll be pulling it out soon and putting in Wasabi soy almonds
 
Well I sliced up almost all of the bacon tonight. I just ran out of time before kids bedtime and the no vacuum packer noise rule! So here we go, last Q-VIEW for this project.

My over cooked Canadian, fries up nice and moist with a table spoon or two of water in the pan:


Pepper crusted CB

Sorry for the poor quality photo, had some lighting issues tonight!



The Belly:



And The Buck Board:



And that is the Bacon Trifecta!!!
 
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Well done sir! Those are some nice thick slices - gonna be some happy taste buds in your neck of the woods! 
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Thanks!! I owe a great amount of the Success to Pop's and his wonderful brine, don't know that I'll go back to dry cure bacon! I also have to thank Todd and his Amazin Smokers! With the cold and windy weather I don't think I could have done it without the AMNTS!!! It was blowing 30-40 and raining sideways last night and the AMNTS kept pushing TBS out of the GOSM no problems at all!
 
The BBB and belly both look great Case. It's pretty challenging smoking around here in the winter. We have about 8 inches of snow here in La Pine!

Clay
 
Thanks!! I owe a great amount of the Success to Pop's and his wonderful brine, don't know that I'll go back to dry cure bacon! I also have to thank Todd and his Amazin Smokers! With the cold and windy weather I don't think I could have done it without the AMNTS!!! It was blowing 30-40 and raining sideways last night and the AMNTS kept pushing TBS out of the GOSM no problems at all!
Hey dirtsailor,

Quick question. Can you explain why you liked your bacon better using Pop's brine instead of dry cure?  Is it saltiness, flavor, texture, ease of curing?  Just wondering. Thanks!
 
The BBB and belly both look great Case. It's pretty challenging smoking around here in the winter. We have about 8 inches of snow here in La Pine!

Clay
That's why I like having my propane smoker, when it gets really cold I can still smoke! The worst was the wind and rain the other night. Fortunately the smoker is  partially protected from the wind and rain in the boat shed! I think the buck board is my favorite!
 
Hey dirtsailor,

Quick question. Can you explain why you liked your bacon better using Pop's brine instead of dry cure?  Is it saltiness, flavor, texture, ease of curing?  Just wondering. Thanks!
Yes, yes, yes, and yes on all accounts! The only draw back I can see is the refrigerator space required. I have a spare fridge that is used only for smoked goods and beer! I use 22qt food grade buckets with lids for brining.
 
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