First time bacon success

[Brewdiver82]

Followed bearcarver's "BACON (Extra Smoky)" recipe and it came out great. I cured for 7 days, soaked for 1 hour in ice water and then smoked for 12 hours with hickory starting at 90 degrees and ending at 100 degrees. Out of a 9 pound belly, I got about 7.5 pounds of bacon, 6 pounds of which I vacuum sealed and put in the freezer. I do have an idea now on where I want to go from here on my next batch. Thanks bearcarver.

 

[Brewdiver82]

I did let it sit for 24 hours after the smoke to form the pellicle as well, and let rest in the fridge for 48 hours after smoking before slicing to allow the smoke to work its way into the meat.

 

[McCann519]

Looks great! Another success thanks to Bearcarvers very helpful tutorials. I have some belly coming out of Pop's wet brine tonight and I am smoking Saturday morning. Going to be a little warmer since I do not have the AMNPS yet in my MES. Cant wait to try the finished result.

 

[SmokinAl]

Good looking bacon!
Al

 

[Brewdiver82]

Thanks! I see everyone posting about that AMNPS in their MES. I have a MES 30" and I got the cold smoker side attachment that masterbuilt makes for it and it's always worked out pretty well for me. Has anyone else used it or used both for comparison?

 

[GaryHibbert]

That's a great job on the bacon. You'll be enjoying that for quite a while.
Gary

 

[Bearcarver]

Your Bacon looks Perfect ! :)
Bet you're enjoying that, and now you're hooked.
I Like it !!

I've been using my Amazings for 8 years, since Todd invented them & I love them.
I can't think of anyone who has both, but I think I remember one saying he has both & prefers the AMNPS.
However some guys who have the Masterbuilt cold smoker seem to like it, but some say they get jammed up.
I have only seen pictures.

Don't eat all that Bacon at once---That was smart to freeze some!!

Bear

 

[Brewdiver82]

The Masterbuilt cold smoker does get jammed up sometimes as the chips stick to the sides of the chimney after it's burned a few times and coated itself with gunk. I just keep a metal yard stick next to it to clear it out every now and then. I was thinking about buying the AMNPS but nowhere around here that I've seen carries sawdust forms of wood for smoking so I don't know how practical that wold be for me.

 

[Bearcarver]

The Masterbuilt cold smoker does get jammed up sometimes as the chips stick to the sides of the chimney after it's burned a few times and coated itself with gunk. I just keep a metal yard stick next to it to clear it out every now and then. I was thinking about buying the AMNPS but nowhere around here that I've seen carries sawdust forms of wood for smoking so I don't know how practical that wold be for me.

Some "Ace" and "Do It Best" stores carry it, and if you get enough stuff at once you get Free Shipping from Amazing Smoker Web Site. (I think it's anything over $40--Free Shipping).
So if you get the AMNPS from Todd, get a bunch of Pellets & Dust and all that shipping is Free.

Bear

 

[captainjosh]

Thanks! I see everyone posting about that AMNPS in their MES. I have a MES 30" and I got the cold smoker side attachment that masterbuilt makes for it and it's always worked out pretty well for me. Has anyone else used it or used both for comparison?

I have the MES 30 and the Masterbuilt smoke generator attachment, I haven’t yet bought an AMNPS, but I am satisfied with my setup for cold smoking. I didn’t directly attach them, instead mine are linked via a 24” piece of 3” dryer vent. My chips/pellets occasionally will jam up and not want to fall down onto the burner, like you mentioned, but I alleviate this issue by using an 18” flathead screwdriver to poke down into the chip tube and make sure they aren’t sticking. Also I have found that pellets jam up more frequently than chips,but seem to have a longer burn time, so I tend to pour in a layer of pellets then a layer of chips then another layer of pellets...and so on.

 

[captainjosh]

 

[captainjosh]

This is how I originally set mine up, with the thought that this would cool and clean the smoke a little. I now have it on a stainless table on wheels so I can move it out of my garage when it’s in use and back in when it’s not (until I build my outdoor kitchen!). The table has a wire rack below where I can store my pellets and chips etc.