Help with Smoking

[Smokin in Korea]

I am hoping someone can help me with this question I have in regard to achieving a good smoke colour on my bacon.
I have been cold smoking my bacon in a Bradley smoker for 3 hours and have tried with the vents a 1/4 open and 1/2 open on different occasions and do not seem to be able to achieve the same colour as some of the bacon pictures I have seen on the forum. I am hanging my bacon vertically in the smoker and am wondering if I should try it horizontaly so as I get more surface area into contact with the smoke.
Am I on the right track or do I need to increase my smoke time?

[dougal]

I am hoping someone can help me ... in regard to achieving a good smoke colour on my bacon.
I have been cold smoking my bacon in a Bradley smoker for 3 hours ...

I don't have a Bradley. So I can't help with regard to the vents.
I only aspire to proper cold smoking.

But I've been studying it!
Hence, there are some (I hope) helpful noises I think I can make...

The Bradley is an American smoker. As such it needs help to do proper *cold* smoking. I've read of putting a chamber (like a cardboard box) and a length of ducting to give 'residence time' and cooling between the smoke generator and the chamber. And of someone else using a coolbox icepack in the smoke flow...
But then the American idea of "cold" smoking seems rather different to the British.

When the British talk about Cold Smoking, it means with the smoke at 30C or less. Thats less than 86F.
Its a l-o-n-g process. With thin smoke.
Specifically talking about smoking bacon, Keith Erlandson writes of 24 hours of *cold* (24-26C) smoking for a "very mild smoke flavour" and 7 days for a "stronger smoke cure".
So 3 hours of properly cold smoke isn't really going to do very much for bacon.

However, the American cousins would be likely to smoke hotter, with thicker smoke, and consequently for a much shorter time.
And they do that to their bacon.
For American bacon, Ruhlman & Polcyn suggest *"hot"* smoking (93C 200F) for 3 hours - the *same* time you say that you are *cold* smoking for - aiming for an internal temperature of 65C 150F. And that's exactly the sort of thing that the Bradley seems to be designed for.

Hence I wonder if your problem is a hot/cold smoking terminology, time and/or temperature confusion?


The other thing that occurred to me was the pellicle.
To get good smoke colour, the meat *has* to have a dry but ideally slightly tacky surface to 'take' the smoke.
Letting the bacon hang in the fridge for 12/24 hours to dry before smoking, should be much better than smoking it while still damp.

[DarrinG]

I have found it doesn't get the color you are looking for until about the 12 hour mark. I have a bradley style smoker but I have never used it for cold smoking.

When ever I smoke I worry more about the temps then how much smoke its getting. As long as its smoking its going to be getting color and flavor the whole time. It all depends on how dark you want it. Which also depends on the type of wood you are using. Fruit woods I have found give a subtle flavor & color where woods like hickory & mesquite give a stronger flavor & color.

I hope this helps. This is what I have learned over the years.

DarrinG

[Smokin in Korea]

Dougal / DarrinG,
Thanks for your comments
I will do a joint reply as both of your comments are inter related.

I have set my Bradley up with a seperated smoke chamber and also introduced a water cooled heat exchanger into the system and it seems to work very well, in addition I have also put frozen bottles of water into the smoke box and between the 2 concepts I am able to accurately control my temps anywhere from 22 - 26c, any colder and I get moisture build up which then dampens the meat.
Also I let my Bacon sit in the fridge for 24hrs after washing off the brine to allow the pellicle to form and also firm up the Bacon, so I think I have got some of those issues covered.
I am tending to lean towrds not enough smoke as the main issue although the smoke taste is very present after 3 hours.
I may look at building an additional smoke generator for when I do Bacon as burning the Bradley Bisquettes over a 1-7 day period will cost an arm and a leg.
I have a 5kg piece of belly pork in cure at the moment and I may try placing the meat horizontaly in the smoke box and increase the smoke by another hour or so this time round to see if I can get a bit more colour.
I shall keep you posted on the results and send some photo's if I can upload them.

Thanks for your help.

[dougal]

... I may look at building an additional smoke generator for when I do Bacon as burning the Bradley Bisquettes over a 1-7 day period will cost an arm and a leg. ...

It certainly sounds as though you have the temperature side sorted.

I have read of people getting Bradley blanks made up (reasonably cheaply) from Stainless (and I think someone did it with Aluminium - tho' not certain of that). Most folk seem to use such things as 'chasers' to get the last few pucks to feed smoothly.
However, by interspersing blanks with pucks, you (as at least someone else had realised, hence me knowing) can extend the time and reduce the intensity of the smoke - and its cost.
I think its time of exposure that most determines penetration (at the same temp). Erlandson talks of smoking hams 12 hours on, 12 hours off. Same idea.

Also, the only chap I've come across successfully using other than Bradley pucks, used slices from appropriately sized branches, bark and all. He gave them a few minutes in water before loading them. His observation was that thickness was more critical than diameter. So, if you have any appropriate wood within reach, that might be another track for you to investigate.

[Big Guy]

The main thing is to be sure your meat is dry before you smoke it. Hang it for a day bfore you smoke it if you can.
I didn't consider buying a Bradley when I got a smoker due to the use of the pucks. Too expensive and in 10 years are they still going to make them. I have a Smokey mountain smoker . I can use any form of wood from sawdust to chunks . I use chunks that I have split from my own sugar maple logs. Therefore at no cost other than my labour.
The colour depends on the amount of time and the volume of smoke the bacon is exposed to. I get good results at 8-10 hrs but I put out lots of smoke and keep the temps around 100F.

[lemonD]

One of my first attempts at reducing the temp in my hot smoker was as you did by using ice,

I have also put frozen bottles of water into the smoke box

This causes condensation on the bacon so the smoke does not "take". As Big Guy said the bacon needs to be dry or just tacky.
I also found that keeping vents shut accelerated the smoking process but increases the chamber temps, catch22.

I think you are going down the right track by

I may look at building an additional smoke generator for when I do Bacon as burning the Bradley Bisquettes over a 1-7 day period will cost an arm and a leg.