O / T Home Smoked Bacon

[wabi]

What kind of wood for smoke?

[paulaboutform]

Nog, that's ridiculous! I'm salivating and now have to go fry up store bought bacon I used to think was delicious and store bought eggs that aren't anything like the farm eggs. .... That looks awesome buddy. I'm gonna be giving you a call to pick your brain a little. If I shoot my monster Russian Boar next year I think I'll have to fireup the Bradley Smoker and get some bacon goin for myself.

[IronNoggin]

Do you buy the bacon all netted up like in your first picture? or is that not bacon?

The first picture was simply to show the smoker. It was taken when we were running a batch of Smoked Venison Summer Sausage. We'll be getting to that shortly now, and I'll post about them if there is any interest...

We don't buy just the bacon

Here's how the process starts - A Good Rancher Buddy raises free range pigs, and we buy them "on the hoof"



A little bit of effort transforms them into this:





And eventually into chops, ham, sausage and of course Bacon!

Always been a "Do It Yourself" kind of Man. Yes there's a little effort involved, but I greatly prefer knowing exactly how it's been handled right from standing through to my dinner plate.

I'd love to learn more about your setup.

Check out the link in my first post. And of course feel free to ask any questions that may come up.
I run another smaller smoker as a "smoke generator" and pipe the smoke over to the larger unit when cold smoking. Works. Likely going to invest in a Bradly smoke generator for that purpose soon, as the older smaller unit is getting a tad worn out.

I don't even want to know how much jingle I've put into the operation so far!
For me it's No Compromise when it comes down to preparing Good Munchies, so well worth it for us. We run hundreds of pounds of sausage, bacon, hams, chickens, salmon, etc through it every year, so simply want The Best we can come up with.

What kind of wood for smoke?

Hickory. Like that taste with bacon. Can use anything that you like of course.

... I'm gonna be giving you a call to pick your brain a little. If I shoot my monster Russian Boar next year I think I'll have to fireup the Bradley Smoker and get some bacon goin for myself.

Any Time my Friend! In fact you'd be more than Welcome to drag your fixings over here for some hand's on processing. Might give us a little time to sneak some shootin' in too...

Cheers,
Nog

[leonk]

Good looking hog.

Would you share your summer sausage recipe?

Please take more pics of your smoker. How is it insulated?
Is it 'home' built?
How do you use the probe/controller?
How long do you cold smoke and at what temp?

thanks

[IronNoggin]

WOW!

Now THERE'S a whole Pile of Questions!!

Would you share your summer sausage recipe?

Already did - about 2 years ago. Here's the link: http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2 ... 0&p=447140
I'll be updating that one soon as we have made the odd mod since it was first developed...

Please take more pics of your smoker.
How is it insulated?
Is it 'home' built?

The link I provided in the first post of this thread has a few more pictures and something of a description: http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2 ... 1&p=506771

It started life off as a '60's era Hospital Food Warmer. 3" of insulation all round (tightly blown glass) clad by near 400 pounds of stainless steel. Holds the heat extremely well. And yes, we did the build right here in the back yard.

How do you use the probe/controller?

It's as simple as it gets. You place either the temperature probe inside the smoker, or the product internal probe into the product you're smoking (or both). Set up your temperature & time settings (up to six varying steps), then sit back and let it happen. Basically "Plug & Play".
I'll be doing a more detailed report on this Super little piece of technology when we get to our next run - the Summer Sausages mentioned above...
One of The Best pieces of kit any dedicated smoker should have IMO

How long do you cold smoke and at what temp?

Depends entirely on the product. I have cold smoked Tuna for as long as 48 hours at 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and halibut for as little as 6-8 hours at 65 degrees.
The Critical thing is the temperature inside the smoking unit. It should NEVER reach 70 degrees, and cooler is MUCH Better. Otherwise your product will dry out too much and be quite undesirable.

You can cold smoke even in warmer weather. This is done by using an external "hot box" to produce the smoke, and piping the smoke across to the main smoker. I've successfully cold smoked Tuna when it's been damn near 90 degrees outside by running the pipe through a bath of Salt Ice (old tub) before it gets to the main unit. That kept the internal temperature down to ~ 55 degrees quite well.

Hope that answers your questions!

Look for more soon as we progress with our production runs.
On the Hit List:
Polish Hunter Sausage
Smoked Venison Summer Sausage
Smoked Polish Garlic Sausage
And if there's enough left at that point, likely some "standard" smokies just for the hell of it...

Cheers,
Nog

[leonk]

thanks, looks like fun.
I thought summer sausage was fermented....

[IronNoggin]

I thought summer sausage was fermented....

It can be. One of my Buddies does just that.
The recipe I noted incorporates that lactic acid "tang" associated with fermenting without having to do so. This is due to the holding overnight before stuffing, and the temperature gradient we smoke with.

May give fermenting a try down the road, but don't really see a need at this point...

Cheers,
Nog

[xcaliber]

From reading all of this, it seems you have the whole smoking thing down to a science Nog. Good reading, and tips, Thanks!

[paulaboutform]

Do you buy the bacon all netted up like in your first picture? or is that not bacon?

The first picture was simply to show the smoker. It was taken when we were running a batch of Smoked Venison Summer Sausage. We'll be getting to that shortly now, and I'll post about them if there is any interest...

We don't buy just the bacon

Here's how the process starts - A Good Rancher Buddy raises free range pigs, and we buy them "on the hoof"



A little bit of effort transforms them into this:





And eventually into chops, ham, sausage and of course Bacon!

Always been a "Do It Yourself" kind of Man. Yes there's a little effort involved, but I greatly prefer knowing exactly how it's been handled right from standing through to my dinner plate.

I'd love to learn more about your setup.

Check out the link in my first post. And of course feel free to ask any questions that may come up.
I run another smaller smoker as a "smoke generator" and pipe the smoke over to the larger unit when cold smoking. Works. Likely going to invest in a Bradly smoke generator for that purpose soon, as the older smaller unit is getting a tad worn out.

I don't even want to know how much jingle I've put into the operation so far!
For me it's No Compromise when it comes down to preparing Good Munchies, so well worth it for us. We run hundreds of pounds of sausage, bacon, hams, chickens, salmon, etc through it every year, so simply want The Best we can come up with.

What kind of wood for smoke?

Hickory. Like that taste with bacon. Can use anything that you like of course.

... I'm gonna be giving you a call to pick your brain a little. If I shoot my monster Russian Boar next year I think I'll have to fireup the Bradley Smoker and get some bacon goin for myself.

Any Time my Friend! In fact you'd be more than Welcome to drag your fixings over here for some hand's on processing. Might give us a little time to sneak some shootin' in too...

Cheers,
Nog

Matt,that sounds like a great plan! I'm always happy to pick up a few pointers from an old veteran....both shooting and bacon making.

[Bullzeye]

Do you buy the bacon all netted up like in your first picture? or is that not bacon? Your last picture can cause a person to drool...

I thought everyone had meats hanging from their ceiling LOL this is my buddies walk in fridge, we made sausage last week. I think I will try this bacon recipe, looks awesome.