Bacon: Cold smoke or not?

KosherSmokin · September 30, 2005, 06:21:37 AM

This board is really a wonderful resource to all of us newbies. Thank you for your service!
Well, I've been hot-smoking chickens and salmon in my electric water smoker for a couple of years now and decided it's high time to start cold-smoking and barbequing in a new Bradley!

Before I do my first bacon though, I'm afraid I'm suffering from a bit of newbie confusion:
1. Mallard Wacker (above) says smoke at 150, then 200deg to an internal 140deg.
2. 3Men (above) says cold smoke at 80-100deg.
3. HoneyCuredBacon (above) says smoke at 130, then 170deg to an internal 130deg.
4. Alton Brown's
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_17624,00.html
scrap iron chef bacon says cold smoke (and only brine 3 days).

I've always imagined that bacon is cold-smoked.
Which is more traditional? Which tastes better in your opinion?
I guess I'll just have to try both! [:p]

BTW, I'll be smokin my "bacon" from veal breasts (like commercial "veal bacon") cuz I can't get near a pig. If you have any suggestions please lemme know.

Thanks again and can't wait for my first bite of real homemade bacon and barbeque!

Sam
San Diego, CA

EDIT: Sorry, I meant to post this as a continuation of a previous Bacon topic. Thanks for your help!

calatexmex · September 30, 2005, 09:13:35 AM

I would start with the buck board bacon kit from High Mountain Jerky. I just made some last week end and boy was it simple and honestly the best bacon that ever passed through my lips. Don't complicate it too much at first get a good feel for it and the the sky is the limit. By the way I just followed the curing and smoking intructions that come with each kit and it turned out great. When you get good then try your own touches. AS far as veal brests go, they must be pretty lean. They will work just fine. Kind of like Canadian Bacon. Sounds good to me. Post your results. I have read that brisket flats make good bacon too.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Mike C

KosherSmokin · December 19, 2005, 08:11:43 AM

Hey all,
The bacon's finally done!

I used the buckboard bacon recipe on the recipe site as a base.
1/2 c. tenderquick
1 c. maple syrup
veal breast
I didn't see that on the recipe it says half the syrup is for glazing after the smoke. It still came out fine.
Cured for 7 days at 38F. Didn't pour out liquid at day 3. Did turn over.
Smoked with maple at 200 until internal hit 140. Actually 137 cuz I had to leave. Back to the freezer. Nice color (just like previous photo), and sliced very nicely.

Taste was right on. And yes, I do know what REAL bacon tastes like![}:)]

You see, as sins go in the Jewish world, there's murder, then comes adultery, and then the next one's gotta be bacon. It's considered one of the antitheses of Judaism. God says right there in our bible, Don't eat pigs! OR ELSE! Bacon's irresistable rich and smoky flavor just makes it the perfect symbol of what's not kosher.
I still remember when I was no older than 6, before I turned kosher, my grandmother sneaked my out to Denny's, and I convinced myself it was OK because I was just having "just a little bit of bacon!" That's how deeply engrained the prohibition is on us Jewbies.

My rabbi friend (also not raised originally religious) agreed, it really brings back memories of our childhood. He's already contemplating the fastest way to market it.

My kosher smokin machine worked like a charm!
Had both the ET-73's smoker probe and the ColdFusion probe and took the average (+/- 5F, not bad for me).
Just put the food temp alarm on the ET-73's receiver and I'm good to Lazy-Q Heaven.

YES I'll get a top for my ColdFusion when I have time to remount it.
Like Tom, I experienced very little heat from the relay because I'm using a high-rated 25A one.

I also made some veal ribs with Obie-Cue's sweet rub. (Pictured FTC'd)
http://www.obiecue.com/details.cfm?&product_id=32
Really GOOD barbecue! Bar-none the best kosher ribs I've ever had.[:p][:p][:p]
Some of my first try at smoked sausage was just in there for kicks. It had some shrinkage which was expected.

Not bad for a first try I think.
The bacon really brought me back my childhood![:D]
Thanks Chez and Bradley!
-Sam AKA KosherSmokin

JJC · December 21, 2005, 05:24:30 AM

Looks fabulous, Sam! What's smokin' for Chanukah?

John
Newton MA

MallardWacker · January 04, 2006, 09:21:30 PM

KS,

The reason I put such a high internal (I stated 155 deg, not 140) was do to the fact you will not have to cook it again, that is why I like loin-cut and eat it. The two step process in cooking temp is from BuckBoard Bacon-to me this lends itself to better smoke flavor. BBB is a good starting point, but for me pesonally-two things-loin works better and the cures I get from Butcher-Packer does taste better and they lend themselves to experimentation with other flavors.

Man, I my method that I use with loin would work great veal-. Oh-No just may have to add a piece with my next batch.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

JJC · January 05, 2006, 03:18:50 AM

MW, great to see you around again! Did you have a good fall hunting season? I hope the holidays were smokin', too!

John
Newton MA

MallardWacker · January 06, 2006, 06:01:58 PM

Hey John,

Still have 4 more weeknds and I am looking foward to each one of them. It is extremely dry here, when there is no water, then there is a whole lot less duck action. Even at that we have not been skunked one day. Thanks for asking...Hows everything around your neck of the woods? Good to hear from you.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

iceman · January 06, 2006, 07:36:32 PM

Wonderful looking bacon Sam![:p] I'm still trying to find out how to make it. If you get a moment could you PLEASE e-mail me and give me a few hints? I can't stop thinking about it now.[^]

Big or small you can smoke'm all!!!

JJC · January 08, 2006, 03:25:06 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by MallardWacker
 Hey John,

Still have 4 more weeknds and I am looking foward to each one of them. It is extremely dry here, when there is no water, then there is a whole lot less duck action. Even at that we have not been skunked one day. Thanks for asking...Hows everything around your neck of the woods? Good to hear from you.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Busy, but a good kind of busy. Had a great Christmas with all the kids around. Makin' some lox this weekend . . .

John
Newton MA

KosherSmokin · January 16, 2006, 09:43:24 PM

How did the lox turn out, John?
Can you post pictures/method you used?

iceman,
About the bacon, it turned out to pretty simple and tasty.
For the cure I used a recipe I found on the bradley forum, I just replaced the brown sugar with maple syrup:
1/2 cup tenderquick
1 cup REAL maple syrup (I like grade B if possible, grade A is fine)
This should be enough for a 4-5 lb piece of meat. It's sorta like a cross between a dry and wet cure.

1. Apply cure to the meat, rubbing thoroughly. Shake off excess and seal in a ziplock bag, pushing out the air before sealing. I like to place this sealed bag in another ziplock bag as a spill-backup.
2. Cure for 7-10 (or more) days at 36F-40F. I've been told the temperature is pretty important so that and meat doesn't get too cold and not cure while at the same time not spoil. The recipe says to turn at least once during the cure. The recipe says drain the liquid after 3 days, I didn't do that.
3. Before smoking, I fried a bit up and found it very salty, so I Soaked it for about 20 min. I'd recommend frying a bit and tasting yours before soaking.
4. Pat dry and put on rack to dry before smoking. Dry in a cool place (refrigerator is safest) for about 1 hour.
5. Smoke at 200F until meat reaches internal 140F, about 3 1/2 - 4 hours. I like to smoke with maple for double-maple flavor, or with hickory/apple for a more traditional flavor. If you want to smoke with hickory it might be better to cure with brown sugar for a cleaner flavor.
Another idea I heard is to baste with maple syrup 1 hour prior to finish.
Keep the vent open for at least the first 2 hours of the smoke. After that you can experiment if you like, but I had the vent open the entire time and it still turned out moist.

After smoking, I still consider the bacon RAW, so it must be fried up or try baking at 400F before serving. MallardWacker mentioned a different smoking method that yields a cooked product. I'll probably wanna try his method out too.
http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=451

Here's one question for you folks.
I calculated the concentration of nitrate in this recipe:
4g/tsp * 24 tsp/recipe * .6% nitrate = .576g of nitrate, or about 317ppm for 4lbs of meat.
I understand that this amount will be before excess is shakin off, then MAY be reduced down to 10% of its total after curing, smoking and cooking.
How do you feel about this possible concentration?
Put another way, the tenderquick bag says: use 1Tbsp/lb of meat for a dry cure (24 hour cure). This is double that amount, but for 7 or more days. How do you people think about these nitrite levels?

My next project is cured and smoked turkey legs and turkey ham!
Found a commercial formulation so I'm gonna try it, I'll post pictures!

Thanks!
Sam