Henry Kloss
Well-Known Member
Got a smoker for Christmas, the first project is bacon. There is a meat packing plant near my work that sells to the public. I get a 15 Lb. belly and they have a machine that takes the skin off leaving a nice layer of fat. I take it home and cut my three 4 Lb. slabs and trim the edges. The slabs go into large ziplock bags with the curing salt, seasoning and maple syrup. Into the fridge for 7 days turning and massaging daily.
The slabs are rinsed under cold water and soaked for 2 hours in a large pot of fresh cold water. They are then dried and put on drying racks for a couple of hours at room temp. Then into the fridge overnight to continue drying.
I paint the slabs with maple syrup and cover them with course black pepper.
I use a warm smoke method, Temp. between 80 and 90 degrees F. so I smoke for 6 to 12 hours depending on when I start. This differs from a hot smoke, where the internal temp reaches 150 F. and smoking time is about 3 or 4 hours.
A few pics.
The slabs are rinsed under cold water and soaked for 2 hours in a large pot of fresh cold water. They are then dried and put on drying racks for a couple of hours at room temp. Then into the fridge overnight to continue drying.
I paint the slabs with maple syrup and cover them with course black pepper.
I use a warm smoke method, Temp. between 80 and 90 degrees F. so I smoke for 6 to 12 hours depending on when I start. This differs from a hot smoke, where the internal temp reaches 150 F. and smoking time is about 3 or 4 hours.
A few pics.