# I dont know how to SMOKE BACON???



## schneidu

I just want to smoke some bacon in the morning for breakfast!!  Its just a regular pack of bacon from the store.... How would any of you go about this ????


----------



## eman

Hate to say it but i wouldn't bother.

bacon needs to be smoked in whole un sliced form.


----------



## genek

I agree that bacon should be smoked whole. But also It is used in the fatties that some like. It is sausage wrapped in bacon and smoked. The slices are too thin by themselves as well as they would render out a lot of the fat..

Just search for fatties and you'll find a lot of ideas.

GeneK


----------



## ak1

schneidu said:


> I just want to smoke some bacon in the morning for breakfast!!  Its just a regular pack of bacon from the store.... How would any of you go about this ????


Really? Are you just shittin' us?????


----------



## schneidu

Yes.... Really. I'm new to this ... Don't be a dick. Point taken


----------



## chef jimmyj

If you have the time there is no reason why you can't Smoke your store bought sliced Bacon. Your options...

1) Lay the slices out on sheet pans and Cold Smoke it, any temp < 200°F, for 1 to 2 hours then fry it to the desired crispness. 

2) Lay it out on pans that will hold the rendering fat and Hot Smoke it at 225°F or hotter to the desired crispness. This will take about 2-3 hours or less as the temp goes up.

3) Lay the sliced slabs intact, several makes it worth the effort, and Cold Smoke it, <100°F, for up to 10 hours then Vac-Pac or wrap well and

    Freeze it.

Yes home made is great and can be customized with flavors to your taste but I have yet to find anything the walks, swims or flies that you can't put some Smoke on...JJ


----------



## tjohnson

Hmmmmm...??????

I've cold smoked kielbasa from the store, but never tried to smoke store bought bacon

Jimmy has some good ideas

Maybe try hanging the slices from a kabob skewer inside your smoker

Cold smoke would be best

Todd


----------



## schneidu

Thanks everyone I ended up not doing it. I thought it would be something quick and easy for a morning breakfast.


----------



## tjohnson

Have you ever Grilled Bacon?

It's pretty darn good


----------



## brycraft

It takes about 3-4 hours at 225... This was my first try and I probably could have done it faster at a higher temp... EXCELLENT RESULTS..

Seen some inquires about smoking store bought packaged bacon, the non pre-smoked bacon.

I went ahead and smoked some bacon today to just see how it would turn out..

Product: I used Hormel Black Label Thick Cut Bacon.

Smoker: I have a Masterbuilt 30" Electric Smoker with the A-MAZE-N Pellet Smoker Tray set up in a mailbox with duct work to my smoker as my setup. Best purchase ever..

Smoker set to: 225 deg.

Time: 3-4 hrs

Pellets Used: Apple and Maple combined. Filled one row of the smoker tray.

Accessories: Eco-Foil Broiler pans measuring 8 1/2 X 11 1/2 X 1 1/8, these fit perfectly on the shelves of my smoker and come in a 4 pack for about $3. They have ribs in the bottom of the trays so the bacon did not sit in its own grease as the ribs keep the bacon elevated.. Really pleased at how this worked..

Being this is a 30" smoker and has 4 trays, I didn't want a mess of grease so I placed the bacon in the Aluminum disposable trays. I had to cut the bacon in half and was able to fit about 7 pieces or half pieces of bacon in each tray. 5 pieces side by side and 2 across the top..

I had 3 total trays and wanted to experiment so  

Tray 1 I placed plain bacon nothing added..

Tray 2 bacon with brown sugar

Tray 3 bacon rubbed with brown sugar and bbq rub mixed together..

I rubbed a fair amount to each piece and each side of bacon, whatever would stick basically..

Tray 1 was placed at the 2nd level of the smoker.

Tray 2 was placed at the 3rd level of the smoker

Tray 3 was placed at the 4th level of the smoker

The top shelf was left empty.

After about 1 1/2 -2 hours I flipped each piece of bacon.

The bacon with the brown sugar and brown sugar and bbq rub were essentially done at the 3 hour mark.

The plain bacon I let cook for an additional hour because it wasn't quite done which I contribute to being higher in the smoker and thus temp might be slightly cooler, or the sugar causes the bacon to cook faster. Will reverse the order next time to see if that is true..

Conclusion: FANTASTIC. Being its thick bacon it is more chewier then it was crispy, the bacon with sugar with or without the bbq rub was like candy, almost had a carmel taste to it. The plain bacon was closer to being crispy..My neighbor said it was the best tasting bacon he ever had, suggested I stand out at my mailbox and sell it..lol   

I put a bunch of string cheese in my mailbox set up to take advantage of the smoke, can't put in with the bacon as it would melt. So normally I put my pellets in the mailbox and put the cheese in the smoker and leave the smoker off.. I never have to worry about too much heat and the cheese melting..

 I was able to shut off the smoker and smoke the cheese for an additional hour. Each row of pellets in the smoker tray gives roughly 4 hours of smoke time...

The pic of my smoker had a bacon wrapped meatloaf in it., Just not to confuse anyone..













IMG_0789.jpg



__ brycraft
__ Apr 9, 2014


















IMG_0832.jpg



__ brycraft
__ Apr 10, 2014






                                               8 1/2 X 11 1/2 X 1 1/8 Disposable aluminum tray













IMG_0826.jpg



__ brycraft
__ Apr 9, 2014






Plain on the left, Brown Sugar middle, Brown Sugar BBQ Rub Right..


----------



## diamondmarco

Schneidu (Deutscher vielleicht?)

don't get discouraged. Before I made my own bacon (you gotta try it) I wanted to see if I could improve the flavor of my store bought bacon. I smoked it till it got the color I was looking for and cooked it up. It was excellent. Was it worth it? Absolutely.  I got a good addition to my meal, experience smoking something, and the encouragement to pursue smoking more seriously. It's all part of the journey.


----------



## tjkoko

schneidu said:


> I just want to smoke some bacon in the morning for breakfast!!  Its just a regular pack of bacon from the store.... How would any of you go about this ????


Smoking sliced bacon would make it taste like jerky, with smoke flavor covering the whole slice (jerky) as opposed to the periphery (bacon).

Perhaps I use different standards. 

Cold smoking =  < 110F give or take
Hot smoking  =   <145F give or take


----------



## daveomak

I have cooked and re-smoked bacon on my BBQ grill....    I put the whole package in a SS colander....  added chips to a foil pouch and turned on the flame...   be sure to have a pie tin under the colander...  It's a slow process...  takes hours....  then you can fry it or put it on a wire rack on a tray and finish in the BBQ at 350 ish for 20-30 minutes....


----------



## Bearcarver

TJKoko said:


> Smoking sliced bacon would make it taste like jerky, with smoke flavor covering the whole slice (jerky) as opposed to the periphery (bacon).
> 
> Perhaps I use different standards.
> 
> Cold smoking =  < 110F give or take
> Hot smoking  =   <145F give or take


I think you mean:

Hot Smoking =  >145*

However I would personally call it (But this may be just me):

Cold Smoking =   <100*

Warm Smoking = 100* to 140*

Hot Smoking =     >140*

Bear


----------



## tjkoko

Bearcarver said:


> I think you mean:
> 
> Hot Smoking =  >145*
> 
> However I would personally call it (But this may be just me):
> 
> Cold Smoking =   <100*
> 
> Warm Smoking = 100* to 140*
> 
> Hot Smoking =     >140*
> 
> Bear


YES!  THX for the correction.  Cobwebs getting in the crevasses of my memory!


----------



## smokin502

I have an MES 30 and I draped thick cut bacon over the rungs of the top rack (so the rung was at the mid-point of the bacon strip).  I removed the next rack down and put an aluminum pan on the third.  Put it at 225 and smoked it with apple wood chips for about 45 min to an hour.  The flavor was AMAZING.


----------



## tjkoko

I use the 18 inch WSM.  I usually purchase two sides of pork aka two bellies, each weighing 12# approx..  Both bellies are scored skinside parallel with their long axis and then cut into thirds perpendicular to their long axis.  Cured for two weeks and smoked in the WSM for as low and as long as possible but ultimately the temperature has to be raised in order for the charcoal to burn properly.  Four or five hours later the smoker reaches 155 - 175F with the IT at 145 - 155F when they're removed and allowed to air-dry for 24 hours.

All smoked with applewood and a touch of hickory.


----------



## ak1

schneidu said:


> Yes.... Really. I'm new to this ... Don't be a dick. Point taken


Haven't seen this thread in a while. Didn't mean to be a dick. Sorry if it came across that way. It just struck me as odd that someone would want to smoke storebought bacon which is already smoked. I just always smoke a belly & then slice it for making bacon and fry or bake it when I want to eat some.

Again, my apologies.


----------



## rlk438

My wife did a bacon weave like for a fatty then cut it in 4 squares. I smoked them and she puts them on hamburgers. She loves them. If momma is happy, everyone can be happy. 

I want to try some bbb. But it is good to learn as you go. Wondering what a fatty would be like with that.


----------



## bbqwillie

jerryskid89 said:


> Boy you are a supreme d-bag...your life must be miserable:a42:


Easy there, captain. AK1 apologized. We all have bad days, he got called on it and made nice. No need to rekindle the flame of a 2 year old thread.


----------



## bbqwillie

jerryskid89 said:


> Boy you are a supreme d-bag...your life must be miserable:a42:


duplicate post...Sorry.


----------

