Bacon

[Big daddy smoke]

Hello everyone, just finished the week long curing process for my first pork belly using Morton's tender quick, brown sugar and maple syrup per Sconnie's recipe. After sitting uncovered for 24 hours I was hoping to smoke this evening but, plans have now changed (heading to a KCBBQ competition smoke to hopefully pick up some new techniques ) and I will not have a opportunity to cold smoke till late Sunday. After curing, is there a specific time pork belly can sit refrigerated before you must cold smoke the pork belly without loosing flavor? Should the belly stay uncovered the entire time?  (till Sunday evening) I'm not sure what part of the process I should add cracked pepper? Is it too late to add cracked pepper to 1/3 of the belly if it's ok to smoke Sunday evening? Since I don't have a cold smoke plate, i was planning on using a Teflon coated griddle with ice pan directly below the griddle. I will include pictures after I cold smoke. Thank you, Kevin

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[SconnieQ]

It should be no problem to smoke your belly on Sunday. Since you've already formed the pellicle, I would probably cover it in plastic wrap until Sunday, if for no other reason than to keep refrigerator odors from getting in, then uncover it a few hours before smoking. Usually you would add the cracked pepper after rinsing, really pressing it in with a rolling pin or something, and it sticks as the pellicle forms. I've heard of some people who brush the belly with maple syrup, then stick the cracked pepper to that. It might fall off when you slice it, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. I'm also not sure about your cold smoke setup since I have a cold smoke plate. You can always cycle the smoker on for 15 minutes to get the smoke going, then 45 minutes off. Repeat for several hours. That will help keep the box temp down. Do you have a "D" model that you can program?

[Pork Belly]

It has been cured, so it is preserved. The longer you leave it uncovered in the fridge the drier it gets and the more concentrated the flavors become.

You can wrap or cover it but it will only get damp and you will need to dry it out again. If it was mine I would let it ride.

[Big daddy smoke]

Thank you Kari & Brian. I do have a SI #3, I do not have the D model. I do have the Auber for the SI #3 but did not  realize that I needed a wall mount probe for the cabinet. So I can only use for inside box temperature and internal temperature for now. It looks like i'm going to have to try the 15 minutes on and 45 minute off technique unless there is another method of using the smoker.  I do not have a cold smoking plate so I'll have to be creative and come up with a way to create my own smoking plate. Any suggestions? I have read through the directions for the cold smoking plate on this site, but it didn't state if the belly sits on the plate or directly on a rack. The directions call for ice on top of the plate, does that mean the belly rests on a rack not the plate while cold smoking? If my foggy memory serves me right, meat does not cook till it reaches a temperature of 190 degrees. I have seen several posts where people use inside box cooking temps up to 200 degrees. Would it better to smoke at 180 degrees instead to prevent the belly from possibly cooking? Here is my tentative plan for a cold smoke plate. Using the lowest rack level in the box, placing a heavier duty plate with about 1" sides on the bottom rack with ice. Then place something like a cookie sheet on top to create an air space, then place the drip pan filled with ice and then topped with another cookie sheet or griddle witch is thicker, placing ice on the top surface and then placing the belly directly on the rack fat side down no more than 1" above t he cookie sheet/griddle. I appreciate your responses and apologize for the slow response from me, as my wife and I have come across an opportunity to purchase a successful established family run custard/burger restaurant in business for almost 30 years this past weekend and has changed all plans this week.   With my 15 year old daughter who has aspirations of opening a baking businesses some day, it seems like the perfect opportunity to  test her aspirations and ours! Thank you, Kevin. AKA Big Daddy Smoke. 

[JustChillin]

Good luck with your new business!

[SconnieQ]

Here's how it works with the cold smoke plate. The plate slides into a lower rack guide, and fits pretty snuggly along the sides, front and back, without much of a gap. The plate is about 1" thick, and contains some sort of insulation inside. You place a large pan of ice directly on top of the plate. The drip pan works perfectly for this, and you don't need the drip pan during the cold smoke phase. Make sure you don't put in so much ice that it will overflow when it melts. You can also freeze water in 2 liter soda bottles, and place those in the pan. The belly goes on a rack above. The purpose of the plate is to let smoke through (it only takes a very small space for smoke to get through) while keeping the heat in the lower chamber beneath the plate. Hope this helps you rig up something similar on your own. There are members of the forum who cold smoke without the cold smoke plate, and can probably give you advice on that. Some rig something up. Some place an A-MAZE-N-TUBE-SMOKER in the box and don't use the SI element (the easiest solution I think, as long as there is enough airflow to keep the tube smoker burning). Hopefully they will chime in with what works for them.

Remember there are two phases to bacon, the cold smoke and the hot smoke. After the cold smoke, you remove the ice or whatever apparatus you are using (put the drip pan back under the smoker), and turn the temp up to 200. Smoke until 150 IT. Whether it is possible to set your smoker to 150 right from the get-go, without the ice, I don't know. I've always wanted to try that, since in theory, it would take several hours for the internal temp to get to 150 if the smoker is set to 150, and should get plenty of smoke. Someone here has probably tried that and knows.

I use the 15 minutes, 45 minutes off technique because I have a #1, not a D model, and the box is pretty small. So I have to be careful about running the element for too long and heating up the top chamber. I run the element just long enough until I see good smoke. I try to keep the cooking chamber below 100 degrees for the cold smoke phase. With the larger internal space of the #3, it might be possible to just set it to 150, and not have to cycle on and off, but I'm not sure. The Auber would make that easier.

Bacon is cured, so it is safe to eat when the internal temperature reaches 150. Because it's cured, it's probably safe to eat even at temperatures lower than that, but 150 is what everyone smokes it to. Keep in mind, you will most likely be slicing it and cooking it again anyway (if you are at all concerned about the temperature which you shouldn't be), so you definitely don't want to take it past 150 in the smoker or you will start rendering off all of the fat.

Congratulations on your restaurant purchase.