# How long is belly OK to leave in the danger zone once cured?



## bwinter714 (Aug 29, 2012)

I ask because last night, after the pellicle formed after the soak, I put everything into my smoker. Outside Temp ~68 degrees. I lit the AMNS, and it had a good cherry on it, like a lit cigar. I put it into the smoker, saw my thin blue smoke, and went inside.

In the morning, I went out, and saw that only about 3/4 of one row was burned, and only about 1/2 of the chips were really burned in that row as well.

So, after reading about other peoples issues with the AMNS, I believe that i sized my air-intake ball valve incorrectly. I should've went with a 3" NPT intake, rather than the 1-1/2" NPT, and therefore I think it was starved for oxygen.

Rather than cutting it out and welding in a new one (pain in the ass), I just built a blower on a variable speed drive to force air through a tube connected to the ball valve during a cold smoke. The hot-smoking works just fine with the 1-1/2", because that amount of heat really drew in the air. Anyway, off topic.

My bacon looked and smelled fine in the morning, outside temp 57 degrees (I know that food can still be dangerous looking/smelling fine), and it had a good cure, firm texture, solid pink/red bacon color throughout, but a solid 7 hours on the low end of the danger zone. I pulled it out of the smoker and back into the fridge until I ensure that this blower will keep the AMNS lit.

How long can bacon sit out in a smoker? I am under the impression that proscuitto (my spelling sucks), a cured country ham spends months, years, in a barn of sorts, and you can hang sausages for weeks, etc. I just want to make sure I'm not going to make myself sick when I resmoke them (even though I understand that there are variables at work that no one can account for), because I'm trying all of them first, before I let anyone else eat it (so they don't get sick if it is bad). I am just looking for a consensus.

Thanks!

-Brian


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## biteme7951 (Aug 29, 2012)

Danger zone does not apply to cured meats. Some bacon is cold smoked for days


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## chef jimmyj (Aug 29, 2012)

Yep...No worries. If it was Cured with Nitrite you are good for a couple of days...JJ


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## bwinter714 (Aug 29, 2012)

Thanks you two, I just don't take any chances with food safety! I wanted to make sure.....

-Brian


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## biteme7951 (Aug 29, 2012)

The only chance I take with food is will it fit in my stomach...........


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