Making beef bacon😀

[Greenenvey]

My husband can't  eat pork bacon, and in North  Dakota beef bacon is very common at our favorite  meat market. We like ours pretty lean, so I'm experimenting.  I bought the thickest brisket  flat I could  find. I rubbed it with real maple syrup, then dry brine it with a mixture of tender quick cure and brown sugar and ground pepper. And in the fridge it went to cure. This is only about a inch and a half thick so I'm thinking  a week in the fridge? What do you recommend the internal temp to smoke to?

 

[SconnieQ]

I think the point would make better bacon than the flat in my opinion, but sounds like you like yours lean, so the flat might be a better choice for you. I would treat the flat exactly the same way you would treat a pork belly bacon for curing etc. They are very similar in thickness. So cold smoke for 4-8 hours, then hot smoke to a finished temp of 150. Slice and fry.

 

[Pork Belly]

A week of curing should be fine, I would slice it across the grain so it is not as tough.
I'm curious to see the pictures.

 

[Greenenvey]

OK thanks ,and I diffently post pics good or bad lol.

 

[Greenenvey]

I though  of a question,  should I use my dryer when making this.? Also what Temps are considered cold smoking?

 

[SconnieQ]

No dryer needed. Keeping your box temp below 100 (80 even better) would be considered cold smoking.

 

[Greenenvey]

OK so at those cool Temps, I'm a summing even if I splinter the wood I'll only get smoke when I crank the heat up late in the smoke?

 

[NDKoze]

An A-MAZE-N cold smoker or a cold smoke plate would really help this process. You might be able to get some consistent smoke at 100 if you know where the hot spot in your smokebox is and place your slivers there. Otherwise, you may have to periodically crank the dial up to 200 to get the smoke flowing and then turn it back down again.

Some people on other smoking forums use the A-MAZE-N smokers for ALL of their smoking. I have found this less than optimal and more of a pain in the butt for us with Smokin-It smokers. But, the one area where they do excel is cold smoking. I use mine all the time for Bacon and Cheese. Otherwise, it sits in the drawer. I'll PM you with some store locations in ID/ND since I am not sure where you are residing this time of year.

 

[Walt]

Another option that I use http://smokedaddyinc.com/products/cold-smokers/smoke-generators/item/5-big-kahuna.html

 

[Pork Belly]

Chip screen, Chips & Temp set at 100 It's that easy to cold smoke especially in the winter.