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Bacon questions

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ARoehr11
ARoehr11 Posts: 41
in Pork
1) wondering the big difference between cold and hot smoking.  I find I have trouble keeping the egg under 200 and getting wood to smoke.  I had a good batch of bacon when smoking it around 250 up to 160 but wondering if I am missing something.  
2) how important is using curing salt if you're going to end up frying it up to crispy before you eat it?
-1 XL BGE
-1 Kamado Joe "Joe Jr"
-1 Traeger Scout 
-cast iron grate and pans
-pizza stone
-XL Adjustable Rig 2 Grid Combo from Ceramic Grill Store
-A-MAZE-N smoker pellet tray
-Teken Wireless 4 Probe Thermometer
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Comments

  • Woodchunk
    Woodchunk Posts: 911
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    1- adding smoke while cooking-hot
      -just adding smoke flavor-cold
    2- I only used salt/brown sugar and cold smoked. Turned out great for us
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  • ColtsFan
    ColtsFan Posts: 6,340
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    Amaze-N-Smoker if cold smoking. I do hot smoking just because I am a rookie and it's relatively "safer" 
    ~ John - https://www.instagram.com/hoosier_egger
    XL BGE, LG BGE, KJ Jr, PK Original, Ardore Pizza Oven, King Disc 
    Bloomington, IN - Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!

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  • ARoehr11
    ARoehr11 Posts: 41
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    I have an Amaze-n-smoker tray and use that to cold smoke cheese.  I guess my question is whats the big difference as far as bacon is concerned.  I see posts saying "I don't wanna cook then recook my bacon" but I'm not sure what the negative would be to doing that
    -1 XL BGE
    -1 Kamado Joe "Joe Jr"
    -1 Traeger Scout 
    -cast iron grate and pans
    -pizza stone
    -XL Adjustable Rig 2 Grid Combo from Ceramic Grill Store
    -A-MAZE-N smoker pellet tray
    -Teken Wireless 4 Probe Thermometer
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 10,761
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    Just my opinion, I cold smoke and I think you get a far better smoke penetration on cold meat over a long period , hard to hot smoke all day...just my opinion 


    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
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    lkapigian said:
    Just my opinion, I cold smoke and I think you get a far better smoke penetration on cold meat over a long period , hard to hot smoke all day...just my opinion 
    Agree 100%. It not just you’re opinion my friend, it’s an absolute fact. 

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

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  • Markarm4119
    Markarm4119 Posts: 526
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    You can cure bacon just using sea salt
    LBGE, and just enough knowledge and gadgets to be dangerous .
    Buford,Ga.
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  • Elijah
    Elijah Posts: 686
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    Cold smoke just makes a better product. It cooks up more like traditional bacon. I've never hot or cold smoked for more than three hours, but just because of time restraints. 
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  • HendersonTRKing
    HendersonTRKing Posts: 1,803
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    Keep temps under 90 degrees for cold smoking. Nothing beats it. Lots of ways to cool the smoke — Amazin smoker, ice bowl, do what makes you happy. 

    I’m cold smoking 8 lbs of salmon (Mailbox Lox) today. Have 6lbs of SRF pork belly curing and will cold smoke for bacon next weekend.  

    Sunday Funday!


    It's a 302 thing . . .
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  • BigGreenDon
    BigGreenDon Posts: 167
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    Hot versus cold?  I do something in between.

    I know the vent settings on my XLBGE for a 200 degree cruising temperature, so that is where I set the vents for the whole cook.  I start just a few coals in a chimney and place those coals on the charcoal bed (with some peach chunks) and start smoking my bacon immediately in the COLD egg.

    It takes a couple of hours for the XLBGE to come up to 200 degrees with the vents mostly closed off like that, but there is smoke the whole time the egg is coming up to temperature.

    I take the bacon off when its core temperature reaches 145F.  This usually occurs after about 5 hours.
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  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
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    without curing salt, or more specifically sodium nitrite, it ain't bacon.  pink salt #1 is what gives it the pink color, and the snappy flavor and texture.

    technically us amateurs are advised not to cold smoke, but realistically many of us do.  really the difference is that when you hot smoke you've got parcooked meat, and it cooks up a little differently when you fry. i prefer cold smoked but really just a personal preference.

    thank you for reminding me about bacon. my freezer door got left open last month and i lost all my bacon.  time to make more!
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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  • Woodchunk
    Woodchunk Posts: 911
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    No no curing salt, looks like bacon, and yes, taste like bacon and cold smoked. Just kosher salt and brown sugar. Added some course pepper and molasses, cured for 8 days.

    https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1216006/pork-on-top#latest
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