Made Bacon - 1st time

[dfkoon]

I've been toying with this for a while now. Looking good on your end.

I've bought the HEB trimmed pork bellies to smoke for snacks during BBQ cooks. They're great and ready to cook.

I've read a little about it and it seems most hot smoke.

Any idea why most prefer hot smoke?

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Fear of botulism. Hope I spelled that right. The cure helps but it's not 100%. I've been making sausage for a long time so I felt comfortable with it. If I'm still making bacon as the weather warms, I'll do some hot smoke too.

[ShoootLow]

Cold smoke makes much better bacon, but it’s hard to time the right weather to pull it off. You need <40’F for 4-12 hours and really need low humidity...which doesn’t happen often here, and you need to plan it 7-10 days in advance. That’s why most people hit smoke. I’ve done both, prefer cold smoke, but usually have to settle for hot smoke bacon. Both are better than store bought, though.

[Mike D]

I’ve not tried cold smoke yet. I hot smoke
Mine to 125° internal and pull. Put in fridge for 24 hours, cut in 1/2 and slice. It definitely slices better when cold.


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[Red_RaiderHTC]

That looks amazing. May have to attempt that soon

[Rick]

I made bacon once. It really turned out great, and is neat to say i have done it. But for me the amount of work and the cost, its just not worth it to me to do on a regular basis. yours looks great!

[Slick8]

Fear of botulism. Hope I spelled that right. The cure helps but it's not 100%. I've been making sausage for a long time so I felt comfortable with it. If I'm still making bacon as the weather warms, I'll do some hot smoke too.

Good to know. I cold smoke my sausage and jerky. The cure and smoke are there to protect. Just can't let it go too long as morning temps aren't very cold for the next couple of weeks.

Going to try some this weekend.

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[dfkoon]

So this is pics of the last cold smoke. It was in the 40s outside. Inside temperature didn't come close to 80. Used 2 pellet tubes in the firebox, a 20# bag of ice in the horizontal chamber and of course bacon hanging in the vertical box. I did crack the bag of ice and it lasted the 5 hours of smoke I did.

[EliteDriver]

That's what I'm talking about!!!!

[Tight]

Looks like you did a great job!