Well bought the smoker about 10 days ago and knew my first attempt at smoking was going to be bacon.
I used the Bradley maple cure recipe. Cured for about 7 days and it seemed ready to go. I dried it for 1.5 hours and then did a cooler smoke of about 110 to 120 smoke for about 2 and a quarter hours. It now has been about 1 hour at 150 as per the directions. I am using a mix of maple and mesquite pucks to give it a really smoky flavour. The color is starting to change and look good. I done some rotations so all the meat gets in all the different locations in the smoker. I should add I did 12 bellies of about 2.5 to 3 pounds each.
I was wondering what internal temperature I should take them out at. I plan to fry the bacon before eating it. I am planning on slicing it and freezing it tomorrow after it has set up over night in the fridge.
Any insight any one has would be great.
Thanks
Water
I would take it to 145-150F IT.
So after 2 to 3 hours of smoking at 150 degrees if the IT is not in that ranger would I leave the smoke of and just continue to cook it slowly at that tempature
I generally will increase the temperature to 160°F after applying the smoke. With your load, I would go up to 170°F, but continue to rotate the racks.
I'll give that a go. Right now there at about 117 degrees and look and smell great. I expect about another couple of hours to go before I get to pull them. A couple are a little thicker so I may leave them in a little longer.
Thanks
Don't forget we like pictures!
Another option; which many members do is to take them out at an internal temperature of 140°F.
I will do my best to find the camera and upload some pictures.
So I'm right to turn the smoke off after 3 hours of 150 degree smoke on top of the 2 plus hours of 115 degree smoke and just finish them with heat.
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OK how do you add pictures, I clicked on insert image but got no options
Here are some pictures I hope
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa359/Water196/IMG_2964.jpg)
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa359/Water196/IMG_2965.jpg)
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa359/Water196/IMG_2966.jpg)
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa359/Water196/IMG_2967.jpg)
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa359/Water196/IMG_2968.jpg)
Water
That is one heck of a load of pork belly's you got there. Looking good so far.
I had a small thin piece I cut off of one of the bellies to make them all around the same size and I just sampled it as it was very thin, Taste is really good, very smoky. Will the smokiness increase or decrease in the fridge over night.
Wow you sure went all out for your first attempt! Looks great. I personally think it mellows out some, and distributes thru it nicely.
Pictures of the finished product before the rest and then the slice.
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa359/Water196/IMG_2970.jpg)
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa359/Water196/IMG_2969.jpg)
Water
Crazy , did I say crazy! Way to go.
SamuelG
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nice. I'd eat it!
That looks really good. Nice job! I can almost taste it.
The bacon turned out really well. The flavor is a little strong from a smoke stand point. I think next time I'll use Hickory and maple instead of Mesquite or just maple or apple something a little lighter in flavor. I think this bacon wold be great for baked beans or wrapped around a Fillet steak. The cure was great, nice amount of salt.
Water
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa359/Water196/IMG_2972.jpg)
(http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa359/Water196/IMG_2971.jpg)
Beautiful looking bacon! Mesquite is a strong wood.(for bacon or pork products) My preference is Hickory, apple maple.
Looks awesome. When I did my bacon I used 3 hours of Maple and found it to light on the smoke flavor but I like lots of smoke flavor. You might find it will mellow over time just like cheese does.
Wow, you've tipped me right over the edge. I'll be makin' bacon soon. That's an ambitious project for the first time. Looks great!
The bacon looks great! My personal choice of wood is hickory, apple, maple. The hickory is good in general and for savory bacon. I like the apple or maple for sweeter bacon.
Thanks, I like the Strong smoke flavor but the better half likes it a little more mild so I'll keep this batch for me and make another one soon using the same recipe just use maple or apple or even hickory. Thanks for all the input.
Good looking stuff senior Joe!! How long was the extension cord you were using for the cook?
Nice looking bacon.