# First Cold Smoked Bacon



## xray (Mar 5, 2020)

Got to try my hand at cold smoking bacon for the first time. I got a new slicer for Christmas, so I was out of excuses. Once again many thanks to the knowledgeable members here at SMF that make this possible. I read over posts by 

 daveomak


 disco
 and 

 dirtsailor2003
 for guidance. Thank you again guys, it is very much appreciated. 

Two bellies were weighed for the proper amount of Cure#1, salt and sugar using diggingdogfarms cure calculator.


Bellies were dry cured for 14 days. I flipped and massaged the bellies each day. After the two weeks, I rinsed the outside off, dried off with paper towels and added black pepper, onion and garlic powder to one and brown sugar, onion and garlic powder to another.







The bellies were placed uncovered on a wire rack in the fridge for two days. Then they were smoked for 7 hours with a mixture of Hickory and Maple. My highest temperature in the smoke chamber was 80F. I used my a-maze-n tube to generate the smoke.






Here they are after 7 hours. They went back in the fridge overnight for a second smoke session the next day.






The second day, I smoked for approximately 6 hours. My highest recorded chamber temp was 89F.  So in total, these were smoked for 13 hours split between 2 days.











Next, the pork bellies were placed back in the fridge for 3 days until it was time to slice. Boy these came out awesome!!!! I need to make more ASAP! It's a bummer that I only did 5lbs, but I wanted to test the waters before buying a larger amount of meat.  

Some sliced pics. Definitely a good meat to fat ratio on these slices!











I had a small sampling, I got a late start this morning so I only made a few pieces of bacon (mostly the irregular slices) and some toast. I cubed up the bacon ends for future meals. I'll add some to beans and I really want to make the pasta carbonara ala 

 indaswamp







Also, I used some of the leftover bacon grease to finish coating a CI pan. My mom dropped a rusty one off that she wanted me to fix up for her. Did about 6 coats of seasoning and then wiped with some bacon grease and into the oven.

Sanded down to bare metal.






Here it is ready to go. Once she starts cooking on it and taking care of it, it will darken more. 






Thanks for looking,

Joe


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## TNJAKE (Mar 5, 2020)

Very nice bacon. Meaty too. I'm gonna give this a try. What's the max temp for cold smoking bacon? We are running out of cool days here


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## Murray (Mar 5, 2020)

I’ve inadvertently let mine get to 100F for a short time, other than deeper than normal rack marks I didn’t notice any difference in taste or texture.


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## bill ace 350 (Mar 5, 2020)

Looks great!

I dry cure and use Pops Brine.

Pops Brine gives Excellent results too!


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## xray (Mar 5, 2020)

TNJAKE said:


> Very nice bacon. Meaty too. I'm gonna give this a try. What's the max temp for cold smoking bacon? We are running out of cool days here



Thanks Jake, I appreciate it.  I wouldn't want to smoke this past 95-100F because I would worry about the fat starting to render. 

If it gets much hotter than that, I would just hot smoke it and take the bacon to a safe internal temperature of 145F. I want to try this method too in the Spring. This batch I made needs to be cooked before consuming. 

But yeah, I don't have many cool days left here in PA, especially with the mild winter we had, so I'm going to do another batch soon. It's getting to the point where my smoker hits 100F in ambient temperatures just being outside in the sun.

Definitely give it a go if you can, there is no comparison to store bought.


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## xray (Mar 5, 2020)

bill ace 350 said:


> Looks great!
> 
> I dry cure and use Pops Brine.
> 
> Pops Brine gives Excellent results too!



Thanks Bill! I've used Pops Brine to make Canadian Bacon with good results. I read that the dry cure method gives a crispier product that's why I tried the dry cure.  I definitely have to give the wet brine a go.


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## smokerjim (Mar 5, 2020)

that stuff looks great Joe, I use pop's brine the most,  I do have some loins curing using bearcarvers method (dry brine) , i'll have the results next week.


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## gary s (Mar 5, 2020)

Taking Orders !!!   Looks Fantastic   Nice Job

Gary


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## Bearcarver (Mar 5, 2020)

Looks Perfect from Here, Joe!!
Nice Job!
Like.
Now you're set, and you can always make more!!

Bear


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## Sowsage (Mar 5, 2020)

Joe, thats some good looking bacon! I need to do some before the weather breaks. Hard for me to find bellies that are nice like the ones you have. We didnt have hogs to butcher this year so I'm gonna have to figure something out.


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## Inkbirdbbq (Mar 5, 2020)

Looks real tasty!!


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## jcam222 (Mar 5, 2020)

Man that is picture perfect premium bacon!! Those bellies are very meaty!! I’m going to have to try cold smoking mine sooner or later. Congrats on the ride!


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## bworthy (Mar 5, 2020)

Outstanding!


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## daveomak (Mar 5, 2020)

I Like the intense bacon flavor you get from the dry cure method...   Also the bacon doesn't absorb water..   
Here's what Marianski  says about cold smoking...

Cold smoke and penetration
To match these values we have to apply cold smoke that falls more or less in the same temperature range < 72° F, 22° C. It is a known fact that smoke possesses antibacterial properties and smoking meats was one of the earliest preservation methods. Prolonged cold smoking is the most effective of all smoking methods as it thoroughly penetrates meat.

Marianski, Stanley. Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages (Kindle Locations 9144-9147). Bookmagic LLC. Kindle Edition.


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## fullborebbq (Mar 6, 2020)

Awesome looking bacon. You must have a really nice slicer. My 10" has trouble with the size of a whole pork belly.


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## fished (Mar 6, 2020)

That's a real meaty looking bacon.  I've got two slabs curing now, one will get smoked tomorrow and the other next weekend.  Mine are not nearly that meaty, but will still eat good!


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## sawhorseray (Mar 6, 2020)

Wow, you did a beautiful job and got some great color on those bellys, Like! I just hot-smoked a batch so I'll have to wait 9-10 months to give cold-smoking a shot. RAY


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## xray (Mar 6, 2020)

smokerjim said:


> that stuff looks great Joe, I use pop's brine the most,  I do have some loins curing using bearcarvers method (dry brine) , i'll have the results next week.



Thanks Jim! The TQ method with pork loins is some good stuff. I’ve done that before. Post the results when you finish it.




gary s said:


> Taking Orders !!!   Looks Fantastic   Nice Job
> 
> Gary



Thanks Gary! I don’t see this lasting long.




Bearcarver said:


> Looks Perfect from Here, Joe!!
> Nice Job!
> Like.
> Now you're set, and you can always make more!!
> ...



Thanks John! I was really happy with how it came out. I need to make more soon.


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## tx smoker (Mar 6, 2020)

Damn Joe!! I've made a lot of bacon and seen tons of bacon made by other people but I gotta tell you, that's about the best looking bacon I've ever seen!! It is beautiful!! I've always smoked mine at low temp for 8 hours or so but you have me thinking cold smoking may be the way to go. Excellent job my friend.

Robert


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## xray (Mar 6, 2020)

Sowsage said:


> Joe, thats some good looking bacon! I need to do some before the weather breaks. Hard for me to find bellies that are nice like the ones you have. We didnt have hogs to butcher this year so I'm gonna have to figure something out.



Thanks Travis! These bellies came as is, skin removed and about 2.5lbs a piece. So I grabbed two of them and took a shot. I’m used to seeing everyone buy the full belly and cut it. I’ll have to go back for more.



Inkbirdbbq said:


> Looks real tasty!!



Thank you!




jcam222 said:


> Man that is picture perfect premium bacon!! Those bellies are very meaty!! I’m going to have to try cold smoking mine sooner or later. Congrats on the ride!



Thanks Jeff! They didn’t look like much when I bought them. They were frozen lifeless blocks. But they came out really good, much better than store bought. Seems like some bacon is all fat these days and just falls apart when peeling them out of the package.




bworthy said:


> Outstanding!



Thanks!


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## SmokinVOLfan (Mar 6, 2020)

Beautiful bacon Joe! A couple of the best looking slabs I have ever seen. I prefer mine cold smoked too you pretty much did exactly what I do aside from the cure 1 and TQ methods. Congrats on the ride my friend very well deserved!


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## xray (Mar 6, 2020)

fullborebbq said:


> Awesome looking bacon. You must have a really nice slicer. My 10" has trouble with the size of a whole pork belly.



Thanks fullbore!

I have the Chefs Choice 615A. It was one a member posted here during the holidays. It came with an extra non-serrated blade. $89 if I remember correctly.




fished said:


> That's a real meaty looking bacon.  I've got two slabs curing now, one will get smoked tomorrow and the other next weekend.  Mine are not nearly that meaty, but will still eat good!



Thanks Fished! Make sure to post them up. I’m sure they’ll be excellent.




sawhorseray said:


> Wow, you did a beautiful job and got some great color on those bellys, Like! I just hot-smoked a batch so I'll have to wait 9-10 months to give cold-smoking a shot. RAY



Thanks Ray! Your bacon looked absolutely phenomenal! I’ll probably try hot smoking later when Spring is here.


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## xray (Mar 6, 2020)

tx smoker said:


> Damn Joe!! I've made a lot of bacon and seen tons of bacon made by other people but I gotta tell you, that's about the best looking bacon I've ever seen!! It is beautiful!! I've always smoked mine at low temp for 8 hours or so but you have me thinking cold smoking may be the way to go. Excellent job my friend.
> 
> Robert





SmokinVOLfan said:


> Beautiful bacon Joe! A couple of the best looking slabs I have ever seen. I prefer mine cold smoked too you pretty much did exactly what I do aside from the cure 1 and TQ methods. Congrats on the ride my friend very well deserved!



Thanks guys! It does look good but I don’t know about best looking. That’s a pretty strong compliment. There’s tons of guys here that have posted killer looking bacon. Wouldn’t be possible without them.

Robert, I’ll definitely try cold smoking again. The days are getting longer and warmer, so that window of opportunity is shrinking. I have no shade where I smoke so my smoker easily gets 100-110 degrees without adding heat or smoke.

John, I’ll have to try TQ. I have a big bag of it sitting in the cabinet.


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## hoity toit (Mar 6, 2020)

You have a nice golden color. I know they are good and smokey. Congrats.

HT


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## smokeymose (Mar 6, 2020)

xray said:


> Got to try my hand at cold smoking bacon for the first time. I got a new slicer for Christmas, so I was out of excuses. Once again many thanks to the knowledgeable members here at SMF that make this possible. I read over posts by @daveomak
> 
> disco
> and @dirtsailor2003 for guidance. Thank you again guys, it is very much appreciated.
> ...


VERY nice, Joe! I have a problem getting nice slices like that, even if do it with the meat almost frozen (cheap slicer?), but like you said the irregular slices can be used in many things as well as beans (A couple of days ago I made a batch of Haluska using some of my "offcuts").
I've never done more than 7 hrs smoke. I may try more with the batch I have in brine right now.
Again, VERY nice!
Dan


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## tander28 (Mar 6, 2020)

Beautiful bacon with a great breakdown, thanks for sharing!


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## xray (Mar 6, 2020)

hoity toit said:


> You have a nice golden color. I know they are good and smokey. Congrats.
> 
> HT



Thanks HT!


smokeymose said:


> VERY nice, Joe! I have a problem getting nice slices like that, even if do it with the meat almost frozen (cheap slicer?), but like you said the irregular slices can be used in many things as well as beans (A couple of days ago I made a batch of Haluska using some of my "offcuts").
> I've never done more than 7 hrs smoke. I may try more with the batch I have in brine right now.
> Again, VERY nice!
> Dan



Thanks for the kind words Dan. The bellies were pretty squared from the butcher so maybe that helped some. I used a cheap chefs choice 615 slicer. I had maybe an inch towards the end where the bacon wouldn’t sit flush when I used the guard on the tray. I enjoy my fingers, so I called it a day and finely cubed the rest.

I liked breaking the smoke up in two days, made for an easier day.




tander28 said:


> Beautiful bacon with a great breakdown, thanks for sharing!



Thanks tander, I’ll be doing more real soon.


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## 73saint (Mar 6, 2020)

Beautiful bacon!  That's almost exactly like I do mine...So good!  Like!!


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## chopsaw (Mar 6, 2020)

My goodness . That is some of the best looking bacon I've ever seen . Fantastic !!


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## civilsmoker (Mar 6, 2020)

Nice Work xray!  BACON!!!! Love it.

Like the CI refinish.  I have a couple of "put in the garbage" CI pans that I've been happy to take of peoples hands only to turn them in to highly prized polished CI pans!  Can you believe folks get 200-300 for a polish CI pan.....


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## johnnyb54 (Mar 7, 2020)

xray said:


> Got to try my hand at cold smoking bacon for the first time. I got a new slicer for Christmas, so I was out of excuses. Once again many thanks to the knowledgeable members here at SMF that make this possible. I read over posts by @daveomak
> 
> disco
> and @dirtsailor2003 for guidance. Thank you again guys, it is very much appreciated.
> ...


Beautiful looking bacon and nice presentation on your process. Also points on the cast iron pan refurb.
Quick question on the bacon, I’ve only hot smoked bacon with really good results. What is the difference or benefits from cold smoking the bacon? Does cold smoking improve the taste or texture?


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## Smokin' in AZ (Mar 7, 2020)

WOW Jeff that bacon is to die for!

Looks fantastic....Big Like.

Congrats on the ride.

John


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## disco (Mar 7, 2020)

Brilliant bacon, Bro! Big like!


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## smokeymose (Mar 7, 2020)

johnnyb54 said:


> Beautiful looking bacon and nice presentation on your process. Also points on the cast iron pan refurb.
> Quick question on the bacon, I’ve only hot smoked bacon with really good results. What is the difference or benefits from cold smoking the bacon? Does cold smoking improve the taste or texture?


Not sure about the difference, johnny. I've only cold smoked. If you hot smoke, does that mean it's pre-cooked? Do you still fry it?


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## tx smoker (Mar 7, 2020)

smokeymose said:


> Not sure about the difference, johnny. I've only cold smoked. If you hot smoke, does that mean it's pre-cooked? Do you still fry it?



I've never cold smoked, only "hot" smoked. Temps running about 165 to 170. I let it run for 7 to 8 hours, just till the fat cap starts to turn the color of wheat. The IT of the slabs seems to be around 125 to 130 at that point. It's not fully cooked so it does need to be fried/grilled/baked to temp. The smoker temp is not high enough to melt the fat in any way so the bacon retains it's integrity. A couple years ago a friend of mine tried smoking bacon on his BGE and it didn't come out well. You can't maintain temps low enough, the fat started to render, and it was a God awful mess trying to slice it. I've read where folks will smoke the bacon to temp for being fully cooked and have what they called "bacon lunch meat", so it has and can be done. I've never really given any thought to cold smoking...until I saw this thread. That is some great looking bacon!! I just finished up about 30# that's in the freezer but when that's gone I am very likely to try cold smoking. This looks like a possible game changer for me.

Robert


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## smokeymose (Mar 7, 2020)

tx smoker said:


> I've never cold smoked, only "hot" smoked. Temps running about 165 to 170. I let it run for 7 to 8 hours, just till the fat cap starts to turn the color of wheat. The IT of the slabs seems to be around 125 to 130 at that point. It's not fully cooked so it does need to be fried/grilled/baked to temp. The smoker temp is not high enough to melt the fat in any way so the bacon retains it's integrity. A couple years ago a friend of mine tried smoking bacon on his BGE and it didn't come out well. You can't maintain temps low enough, the fat started to render, and it was a God awful mess trying to slice it. I've read where folks will smoke the bacon to temp for being fully cooked and have what they called "bacon lunch meat", so it has and can be done. I've never really given any thought to cold smoking...until I saw this thread. That is some great looking bacon!! I just finished up about 30# that's in the freezer but when that's gone I am very likely to try cold smoking. This looks like a possible game changer for me.
> 
> Robert


Thanks Robert. I've always wondered about that.
No way I can get those temps with my smoker. I believe those temps fall in the realm of "warm smoking".
If you want to cold smoke in Texas, you'd better get crackin! Pretty soon it'll be too hot (unless you smoke at night maybe).

Dan


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## tx smoker (Mar 7, 2020)

smokeymose said:


> If you want to cold smoke in Texas, you'd better get crackin!



Actually you can cold smoke meat in warmer temps because even in the TX heat, you're not gonna see 165 degrees in your smoker. What you cannot smoke is cheese. It'll melt into a coagulated mess real fast. I just wrapped up about 30# of assorted smoked cheese not too long ago which will hopefully get me through. Please don't tell Tracy this but last Summer I was getting low on smoked cheddar. She left town for a business trip and was gonna be gone for a few days. I brought my 20# sausage smoker in the house, put it in the fireplace, and commenced to smoke a bunch of cheese in the family room.

Shhhh....
Robert


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## xray (Mar 7, 2020)

73saint said:


> Beautiful bacon!  That's almost exactly like I do mine...So good!  Like!!



Thanks Saint, It came out awesome!



chopsaw said:


> My goodness . That is some of the best looking bacon I've ever seen . Fantastic !!



Thanks Chop! That's a pretty high compliment, I appreciate it.



civilsmoker said:


> Nice Work xray!  BACON!!!! Love it.
> 
> Like the CI refinish.  I have a couple of "put in the garbage" CI pans that I've been happy to take of peoples hands only to turn them in to highly prized polished CI pans!  Can you believe folks get 200-300 for a polish CI pan.....



Thanks CS!

People pay $200-300 for a CI Pan that's crazy!? I have a matching one just like this and another Lodge pan. I definitely like the smoother finish of the older pains. I would love to find and old Griswold or Wagner pan.


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## xray (Mar 7, 2020)

johnnyb54 said:


> Beautiful looking bacon and nice presentation on your process. Also points on the cast iron pan refurb.
> Quick question on the bacon, I’ve only hot smoked bacon with really good results. What is the difference or benefits from cold smoking the bacon? Does cold smoking improve the taste or texture?



Thank you Johnny. If you hot smoke bacon to a safe temp of 145F, it is essentially cooked and you could eat it as is.  I've never made hot smoked bacon so I can't give you a side by side comparison. People have all different ways of making it: less smoke, more smoke, hot smoke, cold smoke etc etc.

The bacon I made is what "my" idea of what bacon is. It's all preference, do what suits your taste the best. 

I see Robert got you on the right track.



Smokin' in AZ said:


> WOW Jeff that bacon is to die for!
> 
> Looks fantastic....Big Like.
> 
> ...





disco said:


> Brilliant bacon, Bro! Big like!



Thanks guys! It was some good stuff.


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## Bob Sanders (Mar 8, 2020)

Nice job on the bacon!
Not to highjack the thread, but what about cold smoking other meats prior to hot smoking? Steak for example. Can you cold smoke a nice thick tbone for ten hours or before you throw it on the traeger? Would it make a difference?


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## xray (Mar 8, 2020)

Bob Sanders said:


> Nice job on the bacon!
> Not to highjack the thread, but what about cold smoking other meats prior to hot smoking? Steak for example. Can you cold smoke a nice thick tbone for ten hours or before you throw it on the traeger? Would it make a difference?



Thanks Bob! No issue with the hijack.

You could smoke a steak before grilling. That’s what is known as a reverse sear BUT it is done at normal smoking temperatures. Usually 1-2hours until your internal temperature of the meat is 10-20 degrees below your desired doneness of the steak.

Say you like your steaks at 135F. Smoke them until they hit 120-125 and then sear them to 135F to finish them off.

I wouldn’t recommend cold smoking a T-bone for 10 hours because there’s no cure involved. Only way you could do it is if you kept the meat below 40F.

After 40F, you enter the danger zone where bacteria multiplies rapidly.


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## smokeymose (Mar 8, 2020)

Bob Sanders said:


> Nice job on the bacon!
> Not to highjack the thread, but what about cold smoking other meats prior to hot smoking? Steak for example. Can you cold smoke a nice thick tbone for ten hours or before you throw it on the traeger? Would it make a difference?


If you cured it first I suppose you could cold smoke anything.
Why would you want to smoke a perfectly good T-Bone?


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## briggy (Mar 8, 2020)

Incredible looking bacon, I need to do a belly again for sure.  Like!


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## jmusser (Mar 9, 2020)

Great looking bacon there! Beautiful meatiness. Nice work there sir.


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## xray (Mar 9, 2020)

briggy said:


> Incredible looking bacon, I need to do a belly again for sure.  Like!





jmusser said:


> Great looking bacon there! Beautiful meatiness. Nice work there sir.



Thanks guys! I appreciate it. I’m gonna see if I could pick up more bellies tomorrow.


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## tropics (Mar 10, 2020)

Joe That is some really nice meaty Bacon,mine are always to thin an bony. Likes
Richie
Excuse my late post been working on a she shed for my wife.


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## saltysandman (Mar 10, 2020)

xray said:


> Thanks Jake, I appreciate it.  I wouldn't want to smoke this past 95-100F because I would worry about the fat starting to render.
> 
> If it gets much hotter than that, I would just hot smoke it and take the bacon to a safe internal temperature of 145F. I want to try this method too in the Spring. This batch I made needs to be cooked before consuming.
> 
> ...



i block of ice, not cubes, over a tray to catch dripping water helps keep the temps down too.


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## daveomak (Mar 12, 2020)

If you use dust and a mailbox mod, there is NO heat build up in the smoker.....


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## deuce (Mar 14, 2020)

Amazing looking bacon! Awesome Job! You will find that store brought will never be good enough again. I just started dry brine on another 20# today. Some people are stocking up on TP with this coronavirus, I can live without that, but no way can I live without bacon!


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## fullborebbq (Mar 16, 2020)

Great bacon! cold smoking steaks for 1-2 hours at temps below 60 degrees has worked well for me. Not hard to do in Buffalo, NY...Lol.


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## xray (Mar 18, 2020)

tropics said:


> Joe That is some really nice meaty Bacon,mine are always to thin an bony. Likes
> Richie
> Excuse my late post been working on a she shed for my wife.



Hey Richie thanks for the like I appreciate it! Sorry for the late reply here. I made some Kapusniak yesterday with some bacon ends.


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## xray (Mar 18, 2020)

saltysandman said:


> i block of ice, not cubes, over a tray to catch dripping water helps keep the temps down too.



When smoking cheese, I will use 2L bottles filled with water and frozen to help regulate temps if needed. But I try to smoke when the weather cooperates.




deuce said:


> Amazing looking bacon! Awesome Job! You will find that store brought will never be good enough again. I just started dry brine on another 20# today. Some people are stocking up on TP with this coronavirus, I can live without that, but no way can I live without bacon!



Thanks deuce! Yeah it is so much better, easy to see why people get spoiled on homemade.




fullborebbq said:


> Great bacon! cold smoking steaks for 1-2 hours at temps below 60 degrees has worked well for me. Not hard to do in Buffalo, NY...Lol.



Thanks fullbore! Bet those steaks are awesome! I try to get some smoke on mine before searing if time allows.


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