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Have done hot smoked bacon a couple of times before but wanted to try a cold smoked one. I used the brine recipe from amazingribs.com, but quadrupled it, since I had a 3.5lb piece of belly.

2 TBSP Morton's kosher salt
2 teaspoons Prague powder #1
2 TBSP ground black pepper
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup water

Link to original recipe.

Searching through the Interwebs, looked like people cold smoked for anywhere from 6-8 hours to 36-72 hours. Hmmm... Flip a coin, I decided to go for about 18 hours.

The original article says to brine it at least 7 days and to add a couple more days if the belly is thicker than 1 1/2 inches. I brined 11 days since I was waiting for the weekend to smoke it. Soaked it in some water for about an hour then gave it a coat of maple syrup and some additional pepper & garlic, then into the FEC. Lit up the 12 inch Amezen tube smoker and let er rip. Started on Saturday at 21 degrees. Had to open the door a few times to cool things down, actually hit 93 degrees. Re-filled the tube twice, Got just under 6 hours from each load of pellets.

The smoke from the amazen-tube smoker starts out very thin until it gets going, then it's a pretty consistent smoke, varying a little between a thin to medium smoke.

I think next time, I'll go for less time. A bit too smokey for me. But it's still some good tasting stuff.

Smokey...



After 18 hours...



Mmmmm...



Last edited {1}
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Andy, nice looking bacon, sure you will enjoy.

While it's still fresh in your mind, keep notes of the color and density of the smoke so others may adjust their smoking time and color with their equipment.

Examples of colors of smoke and density's:

Blue, Light Blue, Pale Blue, White, Pale Gray, Light Gray, Gray.

Heavy, Medium, Thin, Very thin.


If it's not too much trouble, would you please edit your original post to include the recipe of the brine and the recommended time in the brine?

Thanks for the fine post and pics.

Tom

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