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Cold smoke vs. hot smoked belly

2

Comments

  • billyray
    billyray Posts: 1,275
    @billyray the 40s  - absolutely.

    One thing to know with cold smoking - any meat you smoke for a long period of time needs to be cured.  Anytime you smoke between 40 to 130F you need to be aware these are incubation temps, so the food needs preservation - nitrites, salt, etc.  Cheese is inherently resistant (that's one of the first reasons why we turn milk into cheese).  Nothing to worry about, but be aware.
    Thanks for the reminder. I was getting so excited to start that I almost forgot about the cure.
    Felton, Ca. 2-LBGE, 1-Small, PBC, PK360, Genesis Summit, Camp Chef Flattop, Smokefire 24, Traeger Pro Series 22 Pellet with a Smoke Daddy insert, Gateway 55 Gal. drum, SNS Kettle w/acc.
  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
    edited December 2012

    Congrats on the new addition!  Definitely worth a short stay in the doghouse.  Cajones my friend.  

    Lookin' good  B-)

    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

  • billyray
    billyray Posts: 1,275
    Yeah, by the time I do the salmon in a few days, she'll be talking to me again. =))
    Felton, Ca. 2-LBGE, 1-Small, PBC, PK360, Genesis Summit, Camp Chef Flattop, Smokefire 24, Traeger Pro Series 22 Pellet with a Smoke Daddy insert, Gateway 55 Gal. drum, SNS Kettle w/acc.
  • I am cold smoking 3 different types of bacon as we speak. I bought some Traeger pellets, put them in a foil pouch, let them get going really good them snuffed out. It is smoking like a mother- I mean a ton of smoke. has been going strong for an hour or so. We'll see how it does. I didn't love the texture of hot smoked so I wanted to give it a try. So far, so good.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • still going strong after 3 hrs. lots of smoke, no heat
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    Sounds great, I don't have any time to play on the forum today, sadly because there are a lot of interesting threads, but I'll catch up later.  Post pics!
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • billyray......Nice setup.  I've got a mini so I think I'll give it a shot.  Did you just stuff the hose into the large?  How did you make that connection?
  • billyray
    billyray Posts: 1,275
    billyray......Nice setup.  I've got a mini so I think I'll give it a shot.  Did you just stuff the hose into the large?  How did you make that connection?
    I got a 3" coupling in the end of the vent pipe. Just squeezed it into and oval shape and metal taped in the bottom vent. Used a 3" 90 on top of the small, that the pipe connects to.
    Felton, Ca. 2-LBGE, 1-Small, PBC, PK360, Genesis Summit, Camp Chef Flattop, Smokefire 24, Traeger Pro Series 22 Pellet with a Smoke Daddy insert, Gateway 55 Gal. drum, SNS Kettle w/acc.
  • better that last time but still too firm for my taste. It ended up smoking for 5 hours and was plenty smoky. Temp rose to about 90 (it was 78 here today so only 12 degrees above ambient). Great flavor, just don't love the texture. Oh well, we'll keep at it......
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • billyray
    billyray Posts: 1,275
    better that last time but still too firm for my taste. It ended up smoking for 5 hours and was plenty smoky. Temp rose to about 90 (it was 78 here today so only 12 degrees above ambient). Great flavor, just don't love the texture. Oh well, we'll keep at it......

    If you cut down the cure time, do you think that would have an effect on the firmness?
    Felton, Ca. 2-LBGE, 1-Small, PBC, PK360, Genesis Summit, Camp Chef Flattop, Smokefire 24, Traeger Pro Series 22 Pellet with a Smoke Daddy insert, Gateway 55 Gal. drum, SNS Kettle w/acc.
  • billyray said:
    better that last time but still too firm for my taste. It ended up smoking for 5 hours and was plenty smoky. Temp rose to about 90 (it was 78 here today so only 12 degrees above ambient). Great flavor, just don't love the texture. Oh well, we'll keep at it......

    If you cut down the cure time, do you think that would have an effect on the firmness?

    I'm going to have to really dig around for some answers. I'm going to try cutting the cure and the smoke time down next time. Those pellets put off a ton of smoke so I'm thinking 2-hrs of smoke and I'll put some ice or something in there. It's so warm here that it was around 90 in the egg and that cooked it a little.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • billyray
    billyray Posts: 1,275
    My test run yesterday with the small egg and the LBGE was only 55 degrees in the large, 4 degrees above ambient. Your right about a ton of smoke from pellets. I opened the large to look and couldn't even see the high-q grate. I'm going to try and barely light the pellets in my tube today, so they don't burn so hot. I lit them for the 45 seconds and let the flame go for 10 min., like the instructions say, but it's to much smoke and to hot.
    Felton, Ca. 2-LBGE, 1-Small, PBC, PK360, Genesis Summit, Camp Chef Flattop, Smokefire 24, Traeger Pro Series 22 Pellet with a Smoke Daddy insert, Gateway 55 Gal. drum, SNS Kettle w/acc.
  • billyray
    billyray Posts: 1,275
    Third test run is the charm. The other day I put the 12" A-Maze-N tube directly in the large and lit it according to direction, light with a torch for 45 seconds, then let the flame burn for 10 minutes and blow out, bottom vent wide open and top off. Ambient temp. was 75 and inside the egg it got up to 130. Today ambient is 55, I filled the tube 1/2 full and only lit it for about 10 seconds, blew out the flame after about 30 seconds. The smoke seems cleaner and the egg temp. inside is 77. With less pellets lit, it doesn't burn as hot. Bottom vent is open about 3/4" and top off.  When the ambient gets above 75, I'll use the small and large egg set up I posted the other day, when it's colder I'll do it this way. Trial and error, but at least I haven't wasted any meat.
    Felton, Ca. 2-LBGE, 1-Small, PBC, PK360, Genesis Summit, Camp Chef Flattop, Smokefire 24, Traeger Pro Series 22 Pellet with a Smoke Daddy insert, Gateway 55 Gal. drum, SNS Kettle w/acc.
  • Did a new setup today and it was perfect. I put the pellet pouch in the ash bin, left a thin load of lump in and had the platesetter in. The smoke easily got through the lump but there was no noticeable increase in heat at the grid level. I didn't have anything on, just wanted to test the setup. Lots of smoke, no heat. I bought the Amaze N pellet smoker today just because I was tired of messing with the foil. Just got another belly (number 3) today so I hope 3rd time is the charm for me too. The middle of all the belly pieces I cut today were perfect. A little firm on the outsides but I'm getting much closer. Flavor was awesome and we wrecked a pound at breakfast (kids had a sleepover last night so we had some stragglers). Good times and can't wait to get this nailed down
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
    Good to see you guys are making progress. 

    I'll post my failures.  Had to chuck $30 of belly bought at the local, Hispanic grocer.  Had a slightly off smell before curing and decided to proceed with caution.  After 7 day cure, fried up a piece and took a bite.  Still had an off taste.    

    Friend led me to a processor in Buffalo Prairie, IL.  Placing an order this week.
    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

  • any thoughts on what temp the fridge should be for the curing period?

  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • thanks nola - very helpful. guess i feel like a bit of an ass. been curing since sat. morning at 48 degrees. wondering if i should pitch it...
  • jdgcrean said:
    thanks nola - very helpful. guess i feel like a bit of an @#!*% . been curing since sat. morning at 48 degrees. wondering if i should pitch it...
    yes. pitch that one....says the guy who pitches nothing. I wouldn't eat that for anything
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • better safe than sick i guess - thanks cen-tex.
  • Just my opinion but after the cure is applied I think you are good to go. It's been done for hundreds of years with no refrigeration at all.

     

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    The sodium nitrite and salt in that cure kills all the surface bacteria.  The inside is fine.  Go for it.  If it tastes off when you're done, chuck it, otherwise I'd consider it good until otherwise tasted and deemed bad.  LS is right, that's how it's been done for centuries.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • I'm with LS....that's the point of curing in the first place (or it was the point of curing before refrigeration, now we just like the taste).
  • not so fast: I recently (very) received it from higher authority and a person who is no stranger to rotting meats that you should be OK.


    Centex stands corrected


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • all right - i guess i'll continue with this experiment then. will i get sick from marginally-cold curing? will let you know in about 5 more days! sadly sounds like the wife is letting me take this journey on my own. 
  • I trust this person when it comes to rotting foods. He has not died and has only spent very limited time in hospitals. It was never proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be the meat that sent him there


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    First rule of "Cure Club"....we do not talk about Cure Club to SWMBO (unless they're lurkers or members).
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • I onece ate some pork sate that had been in a soy based marinade, sans nitrates/nitrites, after it was in a luggage storage for 32  hours. Raw, not cured

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    I once re-sucked the heads of about 10 pounds of crawfish after I got back at 4AM from a bar in uptown, and after they sat in a pile of newspapers on my balcony.  I was completely annihilated.  Not one of my proudest moments, but I'm still alive to talk about it.  Man was that therapeutic.  Not.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • Ew ew ew ew ew!

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON