# Bacon Rookie Mistake



## smokinsteve (Apr 22, 2011)

I am cold smoking some bellies.  I just took them out of the cure last night, rinsed well with cold water, patted dry, wrapped in paper towels and newspaper and let sit overnight.

This morning I got my cold smoking setup all together, unwrapped the bellies, stuck them in my MES and let fly!

I just now realized that I didn't let them dry for the hour before starting the smoke!  HELP!  Hopefully you smokers who are wise in the ways of belly bacon can put my mind at ease.

How will this affect the finished product?  The bellies have been smoking (hickory) for a little over 2 hours.


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## Bearcarver (Apr 22, 2011)

#1   I don't know how much smoke you put on them already.

If it isn't much, I'd put about 130˚ worth of heat on them for an hour (without smoke) to dry them.

Then if you still want to basically "cold-smoke" them, kill the heat & proceed.

#2   If you already put a lot of smoke on, I would remove the bellies from the smoker, rinse them, pat them dry, and put them back in. Then I would do what I told you in #1.

#3   You could just continue, and hope for the best. Good chance it didn't hurt anything.

I'm sure somebody will have other ideas, if you don't like mine.

Bear


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## smokinsteve (Apr 22, 2011)

Thanks Bear!

I went with #1.  I am sure it will come out fine :-)


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## fife (Apr 22, 2011)

I have not done any of them so GOOD LUCK


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## fpnmf (Apr 22, 2011)

I have forgotten the dry off once..not a big deal.

Should be dry after sitting in the fridge all nite.

The last cold smoke I did on bacon I used no heat at all,just the AMAZEN...best bacon yet.

I didn't see the part where you did a test fry.

And most of all:::: WHERE"S THE PICTURES??????????

Have a great day!!!

  Craig


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## bluebombersfan (Apr 22, 2011)




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## smokinsteve (Apr 22, 2011)

LOL...I knew I was going to get banged for that....

I have a few of the cold smoking setup.  I will post more when the bacon finished smoking :-)


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## fpnmf (Apr 22, 2011)

Thank you!!

 Craig


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## eman (Apr 22, 2011)

I use the same set up except i just set the can inside the MES. Or at least i did . I am the proud owner of an AMNS now.


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## shellbellc (Apr 22, 2011)

I've only ever done cold smoking, so I wouldn't have worried about that...I use zero heat so I don't have the hour to dry...


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## Bearcarver (Apr 22, 2011)

Shellbellc said:


> I've only ever done cold smoking, so I wouldn't have worried about that...I use zero heat so I don't have the hour to dry...


Shell,

I would guess you air dry over night, or for an hour or two with a fan before smoking?

Steve forgot to do either before his "Cold-Smoke".

It's not that you only have to worry about having a pellicle with a hot smoke. It's just easier to get it quickly with heat, which is why I told Steve to fix it that way.

I don't think he would have wanted to take it out of the smoker, and put it back in the fridge overnight, or take it out & put it in front of a fan for a couple hours.

I just gave him a "quick-fix" with a little heat.

Bear


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## smokinsteve (Apr 25, 2011)

Bear,

Very true!  I was, in fact, looking for a "quick fix" and you came through.  I will post some pictures of the finished product on Tuesday.  it cam out fantastic!


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## tjohnson (Apr 25, 2011)

Practice Makes Perfect!

TJ


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## Bearcarver (Apr 25, 2011)

SmokinSteve said:


> Bear,
> 
> Very true!  I was, in fact, looking for a "quick fix" and you came through.  I will post some pictures of the finished product on Tuesday.  it cam out fantastic!




That's Great----Nothing like making your own Bacon!

I have yet to hear anyone who just made his/her own Bacon, say "I'm never making Bacon again!"

You'll be "hooked" like the rest of us!--------Repeat after me------>>>"Hello, My name is Steve, and I have a problem".   
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## beer-b-q (Apr 25, 2011)

Good Luck ...


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## smokinsteve (Apr 26, 2011)

Ok...here is the rest of the Q-view, as promised :-)







Fresh off the smoker.  Total time....6 Hours "Cold smoke" (plus 1 hour of dry time in the middle) and another 2.5 hours of smoke at 140 F (Hickory)







After an overnight in the fridge...starting to slice (using my new Chef's Choice 610)







All sliced and stacked (stacking courtesy of Mrs.)  The little stack in the bottom left got fried up right after the picture (YUM!), half of the bag was used for baked beans on Easter, and the rest was vacuum-packed and frozen.

"My name is Steve...and I have a problem."


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## Bearcarver (Apr 26, 2011)

That looks perfect!

And a great problem it is to have!

Bear


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## beer-b-q (Apr 26, 2011)

Looks Great, Glad everything worked out...


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## SmokinAl (Apr 27, 2011)

Bacon looks great!


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## boykjo (Apr 27, 2011)

Great job and Nice looking bacon.............. next on my list...............


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## alelover (Apr 28, 2011)

Looks perfect. Why is drying before smoking it so important?


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## Bearcarver (Apr 28, 2011)

alelover said:


> Looks perfect. Why is drying before smoking it so important?


It forms a pellicle for the smoke to stick to, instead of the smoke mixing with moisture on the surface, and forming a bad tasting scum.

At least that is my view of it.

Bear


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## alelover (Apr 28, 2011)

That sounds pretty important. Bad tasting scum on bacon would suck.


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## alelover (Apr 28, 2011)

I found this at http://www.3men.com/bacon_making.htm. Your view would appear to be correct Bear.

Preparation for Smoking

Rinse the pork bellies with fresh water, and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Before you smoke the bellies, you must further dry them so that a pellicle forms on the outside of the meat. A pellicle forms as a result of the cure pulling water soluble proteins up to the surface of the meat. When these proteins dry, they form a shiny, sticky coating over the meat, which will absorb the smoke much better. The meat will not take smoke until the surface is dry. If the meat is smoked when still damp, it will be smudgy, not rich in color and not taste as good.


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## roller (Apr 28, 2011)

That looks perfect !!!!!


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## Bearcarver (Apr 28, 2011)

alelover said:


> That sounds pretty important. Bad tasting scum on bacon would suck.


LOL---I probably used a poor choice of words there, but the better words were in the back of my head, and I was in too much of a hurry to roam around back there.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Just sometimes can't take the country out of the boy.

Bear


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## alelover (Apr 29, 2011)

It was very descriptive. I think scum would describe it better than smudgy.


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## chefrob (Apr 29, 2011)

good lookin bacon and nice job with the assist bear...........


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## smokinsteve (May 5, 2011)

Thanks all, for the help and the encouragement :-)  Gotta love SMF!!!


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