# First time curing / cold smoking. Am I safe?



## blilly (Feb 25, 2017)

Hi all,

Long time fan, first time caller ... I decided that it was time for me to give bacon a try. I followed the directions at amazingribs for curing the bacon. Did the calculations for 150ppm of nitrites, accounted for thickness, and waited the 5 days it told me. Actually, I got caught up and waited 6 days. This seems like a short period of time compared to what I'm seeing on here, and I want to make sure I'm good to go.

I had a 12 pound belly, cut it into 3 4lb chunks, and used prague #1 for the cure. I got an A-MAZE-N pellet smoker to do the cold smoking for me. In any case, I cut the pre-smoked product in half to get a look at it, and would like the opinion of some of the more experienced folk here. 

Also, if anyone has some tips for getting some seriously smoky stuff (6-12 on, 18hr rest, repeat x 3 days is my current plan), I'd be open to hearing ideas.

Thanks for the help!

-Brad













IMG_20170225_115632.jpg



__ blilly
__ Feb 25, 2017


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## daveomak (Feb 27, 2017)

I cure bellies for 14 days...   works for me...


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## crankybuzzard (Feb 27, 2017)

Like Dave said, 14 days works well for bacon.  

Your smoke plan sounds good.


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