All this Bacon talk....

Focker · February 6

Who wants to cold smoke in warmer weather?

If your ambient hovered around 20 and your fire went out multiple times, throw it back on today and use sawdust or grind your pellets. It won't hurt anything and actually this is how it was done in the old smokehouses. Next batch I plan on doing over two nights with a total smoke of 22-24 hours, 12 on, 12 off.

If your test piece turned gray and not red/pink then your slab was undercured.

If you feel the smoke taste is too harsh, then you should wait a few days and sample.

If its too salty, blanch and sample.

NDG · February 7

Chubbs . . think mine sample slice was unappealing for few reason, all "user errors" due to time constraints and poor execution. Overall I only burned 2" of pellets over 8 hours = FAIL. I was on travel for work so I still have only tried one slice, but here are a few reasons why I said it was unappealing: sample slice was too thick so still had soft/chewy interior, sample too salty (probably b/c end piece), sample tasted like fake smoke.

I am thinking fake some taste was b/c I got frustrated with the AMS around 11:00pm after 4 burn-outs, and lit the thing from 4 different places resulting in short "blast" of smoke rather than long soak.

Focker . . thanks for the push, I needed it. I am sure people are sick of hearing bacon woes, so I am going to smash my pellets and try again with this same slab tomorrow night.

Focker · February 7

10-4. The AMS failed, you didn't. With some slight modification, this can be corrected.

If you run into trouble, let us know.

Kempy · February 7

@NDG I put my loaded ams in a 400f oven for about 15 minutes before lighting it per some bodies suggestion. Worked great.

Chubbs · February 7

Kempy said:

@NDG I put my loaded ams in a 400f oven for about 15 minutes before lighting it per some bodies suggestion. Worked great.

Good tip. I will try this next time. Mine went out a few times too.

Chubbs · February 8

Contemplating my next batch. Anyone do a pepper batch?

500 · February 8

I have the cure mixed up, but now working on timing of the purchase, and estimated finish cure timing so I can smoke it, and timing of when I don't have a family commitment on the weekend to have time to smoke it. I've found three possible sources for belly. Not an easy thing to find locally in the Richmond area. It'll happen someday.

double · February 8

@ndg did you clean your a mazen first ? Supposed to burn off the oil at 275 for half an hour. I then heated the pellets in the oven at 200 for 20 minutes. It never went out burned the whole lot over 11 hrs. It's was wet windy and under 50. Degrees outside.

nolaegghead · February 8

500 said:

I have the cure mixed up, but now working on timing of the purchase, and estimated finish cure timing so I can smoke it, and timing of when I don't have a family commitment on the weekend to have time to smoke it. I've found three possible sources for belly. Not an easy thing to find locally in the Richmond area. It'll happen someday.

Measure out your cure to meet the minimum requirements of your pork belly. Distribute it evenly. You can go 7-14 days before rinsing off the cure and moving to the next step. At that point, you can go another few days before smoking, hot or cold. It's cured - preserved, and it's in yo fridge.

You can adjust stuff, everything goes slow with curing. You want to cure faster, add a little more cure, pull quicker. Don't go far over or under - stay within the salt-nitrite ratio and you'll be ok. If it's too salty, blanch it in fresh water. All the "add potatoes" info is really no better than changing the water...in fact, you really never need to change the water if you rinse it off....and use 3x or more weight in water than belly. Anyway, rambling here. Go for it. Don't wait for a star alignment.

500 · February 8

Thanks for the tips. I needed to do a bunch of research on this before jumping in. Food poisoning my family would make for an unhappy Valentine's Day. I've done my homework. Just need to jump in with the fresh belly order and go for it. Family commitments take precedence.

NDG · February 9

Mine is back smoking after a quick blanch . . So no pellicle this time I suppose? Just thought of that now. Anyway, I hit pellets with hammer then tried to grind pellets in my cusinart spice grinder, broke down somewhat but those puppies are hard. Then loaded up the AMS and put in oven at 250 for 25 mins. Been going now about 1 hr but smoke not visible from my house, when I go check I still see slight orange glow, so thinking I'm still ok. If this burns out, I'm thinking about using my DIGI-Q to better circulation . . . Thoughts? In hindsight, wish I would have bought sawdust instead of pellets . .

NDG · February 9

@double I burned oils off by throwing in egg during after a cook for entire cool down, then threw it in my dishwasher (it's stainless) . . .thanks.

NDG · February 9

Update: it's out again . . . wtf. This time I also cleaned egg completely and set directly on cast iron grate at bottom of firebox (can't think of name) . . I'm at a loss.

Kempy · February 9

NDG said:

Update: it's out again . . . wtf. This time I also cleaned egg completely and set directly on cast iron grate at bottom of firebox (can't think of name) . . I'm at a loss.

How long did you let it burn before blowing out the flame?

NDG · February 9

As in actual flames? Or just burn/smoke before putting in egg?

Kempy · February 9

NDG said:

As in actual flames? Or just burn/smoke before putting in egg?

Yes, actual flames. I hold the torch on the hole until it flames up good. I let the flames go for about 10 minutes and then blow them out. This will give a good start to the AMS. Maybe about two inches of burned pellets. Just becareful and try to not let the flames just the sidewall onto the next row.

NDG · February 9

Understood . .

Kempy · February 9

NDG said:

Understood . .

That looks perfect. Let that go for a while and then blow it out. I hope that takes care of your problems. Good luck and let us know how it worked.

Kempy · February 9

@NDG how did the rest of the smoking go? Stay lit for you finally?

JRWhitee · February 10

I just slice my pork belly and it is too salty, how do I blanch it to get rid of some of the salt? Boil for 3 minutes and put in ice water?

Kempy · February 10

JRWhitee said:

I just slice my pork belly and it is too salty, how do I blanch it to get rid of some of the salt? Boil for 3 minutes and put in ice water?

Try just soaking in water for an hour changing out the water once during the soak. I don't think you need to boil the water. I take it you already smoked it? I do not know if that makes a difference. Maybe one of the more experience bacon makers can help.

JRWhitee · February 10

I did a hot smoke today for 3 hours pulled at 150 IT. Just fried a piece and it is very salty.

Kempy · February 10

I wish I could help. I have no experience with hot smoking. If some of the more experienced egg'ers don't have an answer, I would cut off a small piece, soak it in water, fry it up and see if that helps. If it doesn't, find a friend who likes salty bacon and make an even better friend.

JRWhitee · February 10

Thanks Kempy I have it in water, I will fry up a piece in an hour and see what happens. I did a small pork belly since it was my first try. We will call this an experiment!

Kempy · February 10

JRWhitee said:

Thanks Kempy I have it in water, I will fry up a piece in an hour and see what happens. I did a small pork belly since it was my first try. We will call this an experiment!

Only way to learn. I just did my first one last week. I got lucky. It turned out good. I'm glad since I started out with 16 pounds of belly. I went all in because bellies are hard to come by around here.

U_tarded · February 10

post smoke if too salty get some water to almost a boil. drop it in 3-5 mins and then drop in ice water. the quick blanch should help. some people test fry before smoking to check salinity. i just soak for about and hour before it goes into the fridge to form the pellicle. i like salt a lot though.

JRWhitee · February 10

Thanks, I did soak for an hour prior to smoke. Blanching now.

CigarSmokinEgger · February 10

Great thread, I can't wait to try this out! Just to recap so I have the entire process down:

1. Cure with pink salt and desired spices, sealed in fridge for 7+ days.

2. Remove from bag, and keep in fridge (uncovered?) to form Pellicle, should be frim to touch.

3. Smoke as desired, slice and store.

Sound right? Thanks!

Kempy · February 10

CigarSmokinEgger said:

Great thread, I can't wait to try this out! Just to recap so I have the entire process down:
1. Cure with pink salt and desired spices, sealed in fridge for 7+ days.
2. Remove from bag, and keep in fridge (uncovered?) to form Pellicle, should be frim to touch.
3. Smoke as desired, slice and store.
Sound right? Thanks!

Thats about it. Don't forget the kosher salt, about 1/4 cup per 2 teaspoons pink salt. That should be about enough for a 5 pound belly. Don't forget to flip once daily. If the butcher hasn't removed the skin, make sure to do that somewhere in the process.

Chubbs · February 10

Also, you need to rinse the cure off really well after you remove it from the bag of cure. Then dry it off and put in fridge to form pellicle.

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