Quote:
Originally Posted by IamMadMan
I know many areas of Europe have unsmoked bacon (IE UK - Rashers, Germany - Bauchspeck, durchwachsener, Schinkenspeck) and is used for flavor in cooking.
After a recent trip to Europe, I realize your food purity laws are also something we could only wish for here in the US. It's a shame what we as American consumers have settled for. However the reason for the cure is two-fold...
1) Because of the extend time in refrigeration (7-10 days) cure #1 is used to prevent spoilage. Our store bought meats are trucked across country from processor, to warehouse, and then to store distribution, and our meat products are not as fresh as yours.
2) Because when smoking bacon, we usually smoke at a lower temperature gradually raising the smoker temperature over time to reach the finishing temperature of the bacon. The time in the smoker would allow the meat to be in the "danger zone" for 4 hours or more. I cold smoke my bacon for a minimum of 6 hours before applying heat, and many of us never exceed an IT of 125°.
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Thanks for this excellent info.
When I hot smoke bacon, I use my pellet grill on smoke until the IT is 150 F, usually done within 4 hours. I have yet to try cold smoking first but probably will have to give that a go VERY SOON!
