Smokin-It User Forum!
Recipes => Bacon! => Topic started by: Aspenextreme on August 27, 2017, 04:50:07 PM
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Have my first belly curing for the next 6 days and wondering what the differences are between cold smoking and hot when it comes to bacon? Is there a big difference in taste/flavor? If one were to cold smoke it how long do you smoke it for and does it have to get to a certain temp before pulling?
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Following. I was curious too.
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For bacon, I do a combination of cold and hot smoking. I have a #1, so for cold smoking, I do an ON/OFF procedure with the cold smoke plate. If you have a D model, you could probably program the ON/OFF in. The cold smoke part is for infusing smoke, as much or as long as you desire, depending on how smoky you like your bacon. I like mine fairly smoky. And the hot smoke portion is to bring it up to it's final temperature of 150F.
Cold smoke phase:
Use 5-6 oz chips and/or split slivers of wood for fairly smoky bacon. Hickory, cherry, maple or any combination. Smoke using the cold smoke plate and a pan of ice for 5 hours (20 minutes full blast, 40 minutes off) keeping the ambient box temperature below 100 degrees.
Hot smoke phase:
After 5 hours, remove the cold smoke plate and pan of ice (water at this point). Dump out the water from the drip pan and slide it under the smoker (if you were using the drip pan that came with the SI for ice). Set smoker temp to 200, and continue to smoke to an internal temperature of 150 (will probably take about 2+ hours).
For more pronounced maple flavor, brush lightly with maple syrup immediately after removing finished bacon from smoker. Add a sprinkling of fresh cracked black pepper for maple/pepper bacon.
Cool 1 hour lightly tented with foil.
Chill for 24 hours or more, then slice to desired thickness.
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You should be using chips or pencil size slivers for cold smoking. I tend to load heavy typically about six ounces. Place your belly on the center of the top rack. Crank the heat to 250 with the door open so the smoker chamber does not heat up. When you see smoke start to produce immediately turn the temp down to 100 and close the door.
No ice, no messing with it no worries, let it go for several hours on a nice cool day. I generally check on the chips every three hours or so adding more as needed.
You can do multiple layers and sessions of cold smoke I have gone 24 hours on one belly but I like a smoky piece of bacon. I only cold smoke when the ambient air temp is 50's or below to help keep the box temp down.
Good luck