After a number of miserable failures, I was finally able to make great bacon in the cookshack. I started with a 2 pound uncured pork belly from the butcher. I rubbed down with hi mountain bacon cure ( http://www.himountainjerky.com - $3.50 for a bag big enough for the commercial hog producer), and then let sit in the refrigerator for a week. After this cure, thourally wash the slab of bacon, or it will be very salty. I cold smoked the slab in the cookshack for about 36 hours. I have the cookshack cold smoking baffle, but keeping the temperature down is still a challenge. I set the cookshack at 100 degrees. If the bacon gets much above 90 degrees, it will start to cook, so every 6 hours or so I changed out a pan of ice above the baffle to keep the temperature of the bacon about 90 degrees. My cookshack does not produce continuous smoke when set at 100, because the thermostat keeps turning off the burner, and then the smoke stops. I found that much more wood is needed at these low temperatures to keep a reasonable amount of smoke coming, so I basically filled the woodbox with hickory. After 36 hours I took the bacon slab out and put in freezer for about an hour to make it easier to slice with a rotary deli slicer. I found that bacon that is not cold is torn to shreds if sliced, but an hour in the freezer enables you to nicely cut thin slices. Then I let the bacon sit in the refrigerator for another week. I found that it is important to let it age at least a week . . . the flavor definitely improves with a little aging. Definitely the best bacon I ever ate, and it cooks up nice and crispy.<br /><br />Now that I finaly have the basic recipe working, I will try different wood/seasoning combinations. I really want to try a little maple or honey flavoring. I also want to experiment to find an easier way to cold smoke in the cookshack. Changing the ice out is a hassle, and it is tough to keep the temperatures down. I am thinking about experimenting with a cardboard box over the top of the cookshack, so see if I can catch the smoke without all the heat. If such a set up worked, you could set the heat on the cookshack higher for a better flow of smoke.<br /><br />THINGS THAT DID NOT WORK:<br /><br />As I mentioned earlier, I had many failed attempts before finally getting great bacon. Initially I tried brining the pork belly, but could never get that to work. The bacon always came out tasting like an over-salted dried up pork chop. It never really had that rich bacon flavor. I also found that if you let the temperature of the bacon get high (>100 degrees) during smoking, it would start to cook the fat, and basically ruin the bacon.<br /><br />Another tricky thing is to get the bacon cured without it turning out too salty. To do this, really washing good after the cure is very important.<br /><br />Also, I found that it can be tricky to really get a good smoke flavor in the bacon. Less than 36 hours and a lot of hickory in the woodbox, and there is not really any smoke flavor.<br /><br />Hope someone finds this info useful. I would be interested in hearing from others that have tried cold smoking in the cookshack.<br /><br />Paul<br /><br /><br />[This message has been edited by Paul (edited March 25, 2001).]
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