# Wood for Bacon



## ternan (Dec 11, 2016)

Second time making bacon, Ive read through many of the threads here and learned a lot of the pitfall to watch out for, specifically letting the belly dry after curing before smoking. I have 10 lbs of belly cut into 3 manageable chunks in the fridge, I coated it in honey and covered it in a mixture of kosher salt brown sugar and a little nitrite salt for safety, its been 3 days and while I don't have a ton of liquid drawn out it is firming up nicely. My plan is let it go another 8 days, rinse it, put it on the smoker racks to* let it dry*, cold smoke it for 6 hours at 90 to 110, I am considering using hickory for a more traditional flavor, but am considering apple or cherry, any suggestions or comments?


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## SmokinAl (Dec 11, 2016)

First of all when you say you used a little nitrite salt to be safe.

How much did you use?

Here is a calculator so you can get the amounts right.

http://diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html

Not enough, you kill yourself!

Too much, you kill yourself!

Hope you got it right!

As for the wood I like apple for bacon.

Al


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## dirtsailor2003 (Dec 12, 2016)

Like Al said, make sure you got the cure correct. The calculator Al posted is a great tool to use.

For wood I like apple or cherry on Bacon. They will give you a subtle smoke flavor, not as strong as hickory. My current favorite for bacon is cob. Very unique old school flavor.


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## ternan (Dec 12, 2016)

SmokinAl said:


> First of all when you say you used a little nitrite salt to be safe.
> How much did you use?
> Here is a calculator so you can get the amounts right.
> http://diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html
> ...


I used  





SmokinAl said:


> First of all when you say you used a little nitrite salt to be safe.
> How much did you use?
> Here is a calculator so you can get the amounts right.
> http://diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html
> ...


 I used half of teaspoon of pink salt per 3-pound package


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## cdn offroader (Dec 12, 2016)

I almost always do a 50/50 mix of either pecan or hickory with a fruit wood like apple or cherry. Cherry adds a nice rich color.


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## ternan (Dec 12, 2016)

Oh that sounds nice thank you


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## ternan (Dec 15, 2016)

Ok 7 days did a test fry, nice caramelized bits in the pan, slightly salty but it was the end. I starting drying process. 













20161215_153859.jpg



__ ternan
__ Dec 15, 2016


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