Sorry I missed your first post. I do a lot of bacon in my SM160. I use equal parts of Kosher Salt, and brown sugar. I also us a small amount of pink salt(depends on how much bacon I am doing). I coat my belly meat on both sides in a large Zip-lock bag. I then put 1/4 cup of real maple syrup into each bag. I cure this in the fridge for 7 days, turning every day. I then rinse under cold water until all of the cure has been rinsed off, and pat dry. I let it air dry in the fridge for 24hrs. I then brush on a lite coat of the Maple Syrup. I will add pepper to some, and a cayenne mixture to others. It just depends on the flavor I am going for. It is then placed on the racks in my smoker, and set at 200 deg. for 4 hrs. I put a probe in the top piece, and shoot for 147 deg. I have never experienced the color that you did. I cook directly on my racks with no problem.
Hope this helps, and good luck.
Gary