Smoking belly for bacon generates lots of water

[PrairieSailor]

Hey,

Not too much traffic on here anymore, but hoping someone pops in to provide a comment.  I smoked about 15 lbs of belly for bacon, and I noticed that while smoking a lot of moisture (or maybe fat) is generated on top of each slab.  It poured off when I removed them.  Is it benefial to remove this throughout the smoke?  Pat it down or something? 

[cathouse willy]

Keep the vent wide open???

[oldsmoker]

Is your vent opened all the way?

[Habanero Smoker]

Also what temperature were you smoking at? If you are using too high of a temperature, and the fat is rendering, that is not ideal. Were you having a problem keeping the smoker at your set temperature?

It is best to try to prevent this problem. The more moisture the more smoke particles will absorb/adhere to the meat. This may cause a much stronger, more acrid smoke then desired. It may not be a major problem for the Bradley, since the burning of the bisquettes provide a much cleaner smoke. If you can't prevent this by widening the vent opening or adjusting your temperature, and it is a lot of buildup to the point you have to pour it off, at the end of the smoke; than blotting the areas with a paper towels, once or twice during the smoke could helpful.