Smoking bellies to make Bacon

As long as you cure your bacon properly before you cold smoke it, it will be fine. You don't have to worry about a prolonged time period in the "danger zone" because the curing process has created an environment that is not conducive to the production of bacteria, molds, etc.

Your refrigerated bacon will keep for at least two weeks if it is properly cured (usually longer) and frozen bacon will keep very well for up to a year, especially if you don't slice it and leave it in whole pieces for slicing later.

I have done cold smoked and hot smoked bacon.

I think the hot smoke has a better texture to the meat.

I have always used TQ or Pink Salt for curing bellies

with bacon, you are looking to smoke the meat, not cook it. when you cold smoke you don't render out any of the fat. i smoke at sub 85* with a fruitwood. how much smoke you put on the meat is a personal taste. be sure you have your curing process down or things can get nasty. i use tq and salt, salt and brown sugar, salt, brown sugar and pepper, depends what kind of mood i'm in and what i have around. with salt/sugar i'm around 2/1.

I keep my heat low so the bacon never goes over 120 degrees but it stiffens the meat up and doesn't render any fat out.

dae06 said:

RichardF- So you don't bring yours up to the ~150 degrees? You cold smoke and are then done.

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when i'm done smoking i've got a raw belly that's been cured and flavored with smoke. depending on what i'm going to do with it i either slice or chunk and throw it in a frying pan to cook just like bacon from the store.

I find cold smoking works best done in bursts. I smoked my latest batch for 12 hours, rested uncovered in the fridge for 12 then gave it another 12 of smoke. Leaving it for a few days afterwards to rest and dry really helps the flavour penetrate the meat and the moisture loss makes slicing easier. The other benefit of cold smoking is that you don't lose any fat, but baking cold smoked bacon rather than frying is crucial IMHO, especially if it's thick cut

YetiDave said:

I find cold smoking works best done in bursts. I smoked my latest batch for 12 hours, rested uncovered in the fridge for 12 then gave it another 12 of smoke. Leaving it for a few days afterwards to rest and dry really helps the flavour penetrate the meat and the moisture loss makes slicing easier. The other benefit of cold smoking is that you don't lose any fat, but baking cold smoked bacon rather than frying is crucial IMHO, especially if it's thick cut

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I agree on the double smoke and cooling in between and having low moisture in the cured belly dry helps with the cold smoking process. after i've washed off the cure and before the cold smoke i dry the belly uncovered on a rack in the garage fridge until it develops a pellicle. baking or hot smoking before serving is one way to go, but it all comes down to personal taste.


if your reading this and thinking about doing a cure get good step-by-step instructions and follow them closely. any mistake in the process is an invitation to rapid bacteria growth and no, it's not the *good* bacteria.

dae06 said:

Legendaryhog- In your opinon, if I cure with Koshar salt (brown sugar and 100% maple- 1 part of each) for 7 days flipping everyday, Is this a thorough cure?

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Well, not to avoid your question, but I'd have to say I don't know based on your info. It will depend upon the size of your belly, the amount of salt will vary accordingly. As well, usually the amount of time (days) is based on feel. Some bellies take a little longer than others, but you are basically looking for the belly to feel firm, like a slab of bacon you would buy in the store. The curing process will turn the belly from a floppy piece of pork into a firm textured piece.

Also, full disclosure I'm not a food safety expert, but if you are going to cold smoke, you probably want to add some nitrites or nitrates to your cure. You don't need much, but again, the amount will depend on the size of your belly.

To add nitrites (and/or nitrates) you can use Morton's Tender Quick or Cure #1 (also called Prague Powder #1, you can order off the internet). Or, if you want to go totally "natural" you can use celery powder or some other ingredient that nitrites/nitrates occur in naturally. The risk of getting something like botulism from your cold smoked bacon is probably incredibly, incredibly, low...but why fark with it?

Using Kosher salt is fine, I do it myself, some folks prefer sea salt. Adding brown sugar and/or maple syrup is fine. If this is your first time I would try using the Ruhlman recipe or another well established home bacon recipe and then adapt your recipe for your personal taste.

RichardF said:

with bacon, you are looking to smoke the meat, not cook it. when you cold smoke you don't render out any of the fat. i smoke at sub 85* with a fruitwood. how much smoke you put on the meat is a personal taste. be sure you have your curing process down or things can get nasty. i use tq and salt, salt and brown sugar, salt, brown sugar and pepper, depends what kind of mood i'm in and what i have around. with salt/sugar i'm around 2/1.

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Don't confuse smoking, curing, and salting they are not the same. Smoke does not cure meat it flavors it. To cure you need nitrates, nitrites, and salt. The N's change structure of the meat and the salt draws out the moisture. Stay with the basics.

dae06 said:

Legendaryhog- In your opinon, if I cure with Koshar salt (brown sugar and 100% maple- 1 part of each) for 7 days flipping everyday, Is this a thorough cure?

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If you did not use pink salt (Prague powder #1) or tender quick, You shouldn't be cold smoking. The purpose of that curing salt is create an environment that bacteria can't survive in as you hold your meat in the "danger zone" between 40-140 for an extended period of time. Without using a little nitrite, cold smoked bacon could be a haven for botulism. You can still hot smoke though. I like the texture and flavor better from hot smoked anyway..

RichardF said:

with bacon, you are looking to smoke the meat, not cook it. when you cold smoke you don't render out any of the fat. i smoke at sub 85* with a fruitwood. how much smoke you put on the meat is a personal taste. be sure you have your curing process down or things can get nasty. i use tq and salt, salt and brown sugar, salt, brown sugar and pepper, depends what kind of mood i'm in and what i have around. with salt/sugar i'm around 2/1.

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RichardF said:

when i'm done smoking i've got a raw belly that's been cured and flavored with smoke. depending on what i'm going to do with it i either slice or chunk and throw it in a frying pan to cook just like bacon from the store.

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captndan said:

Don't confuse smoking, curing, and salting they are not the same. Smoke does not cure meat it flavors it. To cure you need nitrates, nitrites, and salt. The N's change structure of the meat and the salt draws out the moisture. Stay with the basics.

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Who’s confused? While many think nitrate is an essential part of the curing process, it is not. Nitrates in various forms are added to many curing recipes based on the intended use of the cured meat and as a safety precaution to protect people from themselves. You should probably add nitrate to your cure if you; (i) are uncomfortable in following directions, (ii) aren't 100% sure about the cleanliness of your environment, (iii) are planning on eating the raw cured meat or (iv) like your meat pink. And to avoid any other posible confussion, smoking is probobly the oldest method of curing meat, even if in this instance for bacon i'd cure with salt and sugar adding pepper and smoke for flavor.

I've posted this before, but I'll do it again - equilibrium curing is, IMHO, THE best way to cure. The formula is -

Meat - 100%
Salt - 3%
Sugar - 1%
Cure #1 - 2.5g/kg

So for 1kg of meat you want 30g of salt, 10g of sugar and 2.5g of cure #1. Mix it up, rub over the belly and leave to cure for 1 week to 10 days. You cannot over-salt with this formula so you can leave it in the cure for as long as you want - the salt level is calculated. It's as damned near foolproof as you'll get

Also just to throw in my 2 - just add the damned nitrites! It's a common myth that they're bad for us, and you'll ingest far more eating a portion of spinach or celery than you will bacon. Really it's a daft idea not adding them when it's so easy to do and helps prevent so much nastiness

I've made a lot of bacon both with pink salt and without. If you are going to cold smoke I would strongly suggest curing it with pink salt in your cure. If you're going to hot smoke you could skip the pink salt, but be sure to hit 150 it.

I like the texture of the hot smoked bacon. Another factor to consider is that hot smoked bacon seems to shrink less than cold smoked. Just my observation.