My Bacon is Tough!

[carlmal]

I picked up two ready to smoke pork bellies.  One was brined, the other pumped-and-tumbled.

Both resulted in very tough bacon, like, break a tooth tough.  I think I smoked it too hot (220 for 3 hours).

I've done many bellies on my Bradley counter-top smoker with great results, but this was my 1st attempt with my new Bradley Digital.

Looking at some of the other posts, my guess is that too high a temperature made it tough.  Would that do it?

Any tips appreciated.

[Grouperman941]

What internal temp did you smoke them to? Did you use a second thermometer to monitor the temp in the cabinet?

[rexster]

Sounds like you wound up with bacon jerky. What was the cabinet temp set to?

[carlmal]

It was a while ago, but I believe internal temp was below 160F.  I just use the digital readout for cabinet temp.

Could the actual ambient cabinet temp be higher than what the display shows?

And yes, it is like jerky after we fry it.

What would the ideal temps be?  <200F for cabinet and around 150F for internal?  From what I recall, that should about do it.

I have a few of these KeeWifi Nano temp probes coming, one for me and a bunch for my fellow smokers.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/28646

[Habanero Smoker]

First were these flavored brined fresh pork bellies, or cured brined into bacon (either only salt cured or with salt and nitrites). Still I'm not sure why they would be tough, unless it's due to the meat itself. I will grill or roast fresh bellies at high temperatures and they do not come out tough.

If it has already been air dried, and a pellicle has formed; I like to smoke/cook in stages. I like to keep my cabinet temperature at about 120°F - 140°F while applying the smoke (2 hours), then raise the cabinet temperature to 160°F, and continue to cook until the bacon reaches an internal temperature of 140°F; or at times I will bring the bacon to 132°F.

If it hasn't been air dried prior to placing it in the Bradley, I will air dry it in the Bradley for about 1 hour at 120°F; prior to applying the smoke.

[carlmal]

One was brined, one pumped and tumbled.  Not a meat issue, two different butchers, two different pigs.  Ambient temperature is 48F today with calm winds.  I set the temp to 190F, but will lower it after it comes up to temp (I just added two racks of pork and a rack of beef plate ribs).

I will target around 160F for 3 hours, then remove the pork and up the temp to finish off the beef and report back.

Cheers everybody and thanks for the hot tips.

[Habanero Smoker]

With an internal temperature around 160°F, the high temperature it was cooked at would not cause it to be tough. I would guess the internal temperature was much higher than 160°F.

I hope your next cook comes out a success.

[RRL]

I cant help you with why it happened.

But  for the few times ive used my bradley digital...  the SG temp read out was always within -10F of my maverick probe (SG seems to read a little lower)  Now what will make a big difference and from what ive learned for the few times i smoked....  where you place the cuts makes a difference and i'd def alternate the racks after a few hours as the lower the rack the more concentrated the heat is on the portion of the cut facing the element.