Hi Everyone,
pooling the vast knowledge base here for some opinions and advise. I made another slab of bacon over easter weekend and the the outer 16th of an inch is a little tougher than I would like. I used a salt/nitrite/sugar and Maple syrup dry cure for a week which has always worked well before. The difference was this time I cold smoked it overnight and then brought up the temperature real slow over the day on Sunday about 18 hours total to an internal temp of 140 degrees. The quality of the bacon is the best I've done so far with the exception of the bark which is a little tough. Has anyone ever used foil with bacon? I was thinking similar to what some people do with a brisket to keep it from drying out. I'm not a big fan of foil with the smoker but I'm on a quest for the ultimate bacon....
try this, hot smoke the bacon in the smoker, when it is done, wrap it in foil with some maple syrup or even your favorite for an hour, then rinse it off and back in the fridge to cool then slice
If you haven't sliced it yet, tightly wrap the bacon in plastic wrap, refrigerate, and let it rest for a couple of days. That may soften up the outer layer.
Rethinking this; even if you did slice it up. The outer layer still should reconstitute itself in a few days.
Thanks guys, I wrapped it in 2 layers of heavy foil and after a couple days in the fridge it seemed to help a little. The next one I will try the syrup and plastic wrap. I am still on the quest for the perfect slab of bacon...
Does sound like a dehydration problem- I'd think that storing it tightly wrapped for a few days would equilibrate the moisture.
hot smoke at 120 for at least 4 hours IT must be at 150
a true UK double smoke is a basic cold smoke after the hot so it doesn't cook the meat