Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Makin Bacon Hot/Cold Smoking

There are a lot of great recipes out there for making bacon. Most of the finishing processes I've read hot smoke the bacon. What are the pros/cons of hot  versus cold smoking? Any suggestions or tips on cold smoking bacon?

Thanks in advance for your help!  

Comments

  • Ask Nola--- he will be here soon to chime in. He is the bacon king 
    Jacksonville, FL
  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
    Google the amazing ribs cold smoking article. It's detailed enough that I came away from it thinking I'll just hot smoke and not worry about it. 
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
    edited September 2015
    cold smoking does not cook the bacon, whereas hot smoking does. 

    cold smoking generally gives you a milder smoke and lighter color, but you usually go much longer (at least i do) to compensate.

    hot smoking can be a little sharper in smoke flavor if the smoke is very hot.  yo ucan get some particulates in the smoke too. 

    hot smoking is easier, and so i often go hot smoke (couple hours) when i don't have time to nurse the cold smoker all day (sometimes 6 to 8 hours, especially with hams).

    i cold smoke hams almost universally, because i don't want them to dry out by cooking (heating) twice.  but home cured bacon is firmer/drier anyway, and although hot smoking cooks it, when it's cooked again (in a skillet for ex.), we usually cook it more crispy anyway, so twice cooked is fine.




    [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    I've cold smoked then hot smoked. Hot smoked only, cold smoked only.   Since most people fry, saute or in some way cook the bejesus out of it anyway, in the end the difference is negligible.   Like Stike said.  

    Long cold smoking is my preferred method of adding smoke flavor.  When you have that option (cured meats).  It's more important to have good smoke regardless of what method you use.  

    Hot smoked is a bit easier to cut since it's lost more moisture.  Refrigerate over night before cutting.

    A little sugar in the rub post cure gives you a pretty black ring when you cook it.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • BearQ
    BearQ Posts: 174
    @nolaegghead , I have some bacon on the go now. You refer to using a rub after the cure and before the smoke? Would you comment on this and perhaps share you rub mix?
    Barrie,Ont.,Canada.
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    @BearQ After the cure you can be creative with rubs, or leave them off all together.  I used, the last couple of batches, a smidgen of salt, lots of pepper and some coconut raw sugar. I fresh water soaked my bacon so the salt gave it a bit of salt back on the outside of the belly, and the sugar can caramelize and give the cooked bacon a bit of (I think) pretty dark boarder.

    Nothing is going to have as big an impact as the quality of the belly and your cure, but you can put anything in a rub and give it some additional character. 
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • Wolfpack
    Wolfpack Posts: 3,551
    @Darby_Crenshaw @nolaegghead

    whats the the longest you cold smoked bacon? Just put 2 bellies on at 7pm and wondering if I can run 10-11 hrs and get them off in the morning.  I've done 5-6hrs in the past but thinking if I can skip getting up in the middle of the night...


    Greensboro, NC
  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
    Wolfpack said:
    @Darby_Crenshaw @nolaegghead

    whats the the longest you cold smoked bacon? Just put 2 bellies on at 7pm and wondering if I can run 10-11 hrs and get them off in the morning.  I've done 5-6hrs in the past but thinking if I can skip getting up in the middle of the night...


    I have done 10 hours and it was a little much. But then again I lit both ends Of a AMS. Now I do 6 hours while lighting both ends. Maybe that equates to 12 hours on one end??!?
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
    edited March 2016
    Wolfpack said:
    @Darby_Crenshaw @nolaegghead

    whats the the longest you cold smoked bacon? Just put 2 bellies on at 7pm and wondering if I can run 10-11 hrs and get them off in the morning.  I've done 5-6hrs in the past but thinking if I can skip getting up in the middle of the night...


    Yes, you can run all night.  Prefer doing two consecutive allnighters with a fully loaded Pro-Q, resting either in the egg or in the fridge(depending on ambient) during the day.  
    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

  • Wolfpack
    Wolfpack Posts: 3,551
    Thanks all
    Greensboro, NC
  • My tasters like cold smoked over hot smoked. I lite one end of my AMS and get about 8 hours from it. I only cold smoke when the outside temps do not get to 60f or above. Pretty simple, fill AMS with pre-dried pellets. Light one end let it burn about 2 inches and blow out the flame. After smoke stops put bellies in Ziploc bag and back into fridge overnight. Slice and package the next day. Always have to fry up a sample to taste the goodness.
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    Wolfpack said:
    @Darby_Crenshaw @nolaegghead

    whats the the longest you cold smoked bacon? Just put 2 bellies on at 7pm and wondering if I can run 10-11 hrs and get them off in the morning.  I've done 5-6hrs in the past but thinking if I can skip getting up in the middle of the night...


    @Wolfpack - There's no time limit for cold smoking.  You can go all night or a week or two if you want.  Provided your meat is properly cured.  You do not want your meat over 100F.  Fish should never go over 90F, and really lower is better because you can get texture changes.  This isn't a problem for bacon.

    The difference between using the AMS and a smokehouse is this:  The AMS generates smoke that is, when it hits the meat, warmer than the meat.  You have more condensation on the meat - this means you can get more of the nastier tasting bits of smoke.  

    In a smoke house, the air and meat are all the same temperature so the smoke has a more subtle, and slower, impact on the taste of the meat. 

    Obviously hot smoking is more like the AMS than the smoke house.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • hondabbq
    hondabbq Posts: 1,980
    I look at it this way. Do you cook a steak, leave it in the fridge over night and cook it again? Neither do I. 
  • stompbox
    stompbox Posts: 729
    hondabbq said:
    I look at it this way. Do you cook a steak, leave it in the fridge over night and cook it again? Neither do I. 

    Nope, But I will often smoke more than one butt at a time and then freeze the leftovers.  <shrug>  I think that is more comparable.
  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
    hondabbq said:
    I look at it this way. Do you cook a steak, leave it in the fridge over night and cook it again? Neither do I. 
    So who here double hot smokes bacon?
    That's far beyond an apples to oranges comparison my friend. 

    If you're gonna throw up a comparison, please understand the basic concepts of the discussion.  Thanks
    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

  • hondabbq
    hondabbq Posts: 1,980
    edited March 2016
    Focker said:
    hondabbq said:
    I look at it this way. Do you cook a steak, leave it in the fridge over night and cook it again? Neither do I. 
    So who here double hot smokes bacon?
    That's far beyond an apples to oranges comparison my friend. 

    If you're gonna throw up a comparison, please understand the basic concepts of the discussion.  Thanks

    LOL. I think I understand the concepts my friend, it is you who misunderstood the statement.

    I never said anything about hot smoking the bacon twice. It was in reference to hot smoking it and bringing it up to temp once, then cooling down, slicing and then recooking it in the pan for service.

    Is it that far from apples to oranges? in some respects I guess you could be right. But to me on the basis of cooking meat twice to eat it, its bang on.