Search Feature

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Smokehouse (cold smoked) Bacon

Finally have the chance to post pics of the bacon I cold smoked a couple of weeks ago in the smokehouse.
Here is a link to how I cured the sides and back bacon....Curing the bacon .
This is an update on the Canadian Peameal Bacon.









After curing, I washed all cure off of the meat, then soaked the bacon in fresh cold water overnight to remove any excess cure. You can soak for a few hours changing the water every hour or so. I had other things to do and just let it soak overnight this time. (in the fridge)
I trimmed any fat I didn't want to keep....



Seasoned some of the slab bacon with more cracked black pepper...



and some with jalapeno...



made cayenne maple canadian bacon or back bacon...



made two pepper rolled slab bacons....





I made 2 Steakhouse Canadian bacons, 1 cayenne maple back bacon and 1 regular Canadian bacon... also the Peameal back bacon.
2 pepper rolled slab bacons, 1 large jalapeno, 2 regular slabs and 2 extra seasoned slabs...



Tied and ready to hang....





I used a mixture of apple and hickory for the smoke.... cold smoked at a temperature of 65 degrees F.  Only properly CURED meats can be cold smoked. Pork fat starts rendering at a temperature of 85 degrees F. You don't want your bacon to cook during the COLD smoking process so the meat internal temperature is not monitored... just the SMOKE temperature.  Keep it under 85F and it will be cold smoked.



added a few black olives...



cashews....



and coarse salt... because I was running low.





also added a few blocks of cheese, mozzarella and pepperjack...





smoked the cheese, olives, nuts and salts for 6 hours...
the bacons for 17 hours....









wrapped and ready to freeze til I need them............







I like to sprinkle the smoked nuts in a cayenne brown sugar mixture and heat for a few minutes to give them a sweet/hot coating..



I LOVE cold smoked olive tapenade.... :)



The cheeses are great on anyting from scrambled eggs to baked potatoes to breakfast burritos..



I've already used a lot of the bacon, cheese, olives and nuts over deer season... but have quite a bit left for me. :)

30 comments:

LindaG said...

Your knowledge amazes me. Where can I find your book. ;-)
Have a great weekend!

Mrs. JP said...

Okay,,,it's official we're jealous. I know you'll enjoy your goodies.

Dave~ said...

LOL You make me feel like that cartoon dog in the beggin strips comercials... I read your posts and get all glassy eyed! Have a good weekend girl.

Dave~

lisa said...

Looks good and I am now defiantly very hungry!

cowgirl said...

Linda you're too kind! Thanks...
Hope you have a great weekend too!

cowgirl said...

lol Thanks Mrs JP! Hope you have a great weekend too. :)

cowgirl said...

hahaa Dave.... I remember that commercial.. Thanks! Hope you have a great weekend!

cowgirl said...

Lisa Thank you! I appreciate you stopping by too. :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Ms Jeanie,

Ms Linda is right, you do need to right a book of this knowledge you have. Put me down for the first autographed copy. It all looks great, have a super weekend. See ya.

Chris G.

Big Dude said...

Great job Jeanie - the bacons all look awesome.

Bushman said...

Very nice. Lots of work too. I will be picking your brain a bit next summer as I plan on building the smoker of all smokers. My big custom job is nice but I'm looking for something to cold smoke and hot smoke and a few other things as well. As always, love your stuff. You were the first blog I ever read and that was almost three yrs ago. Keep it up!
-Bushman

cowgirl said...

Chris Thank you!
You're very kind too.... Hope your weekend is going well! :)

cowgirl said...

Thanks Larry! Hope all is well with you. I need to check in on your blog soon! :

cowgirl said...

Thanks Bushman! It's been nice getting to know you over the last few years. Hope you and family are doing well.
Looking forward to your smoker build! :)

Tiffany said...

mmm...my mouth is watering! your bacon looks A-mazing!! i might need to get to work on a little smokehouse like yours.

great blog!

David said...

It's because of you I built my little cold smoker. It is wonderful. Smoked some belly and back bacon a couple weeks ago. Also did some cured salmon that was fantastic!

Thanks for the inspiration!

cowgirl said...

Thank you TW! I appreciate you stopping by too! :)

cowgirl said...

Thanks David! I'm glad the smokehouse turned out well for you. They are hard to do without! :)
Bet your bacon and salmon were excellent!

LB @ Bullets And Biscuits said...

I received an early Christmas present last week...a propane smoker from my hubby! I am getting ready to do bacon and venison summer sausage this weekend. I just want you to know your blog has been VERY informative. Thanks for all the posting and sharing of knowledge you do. I can't wait to get started. The deal is, if I can burn this smoker up from overuse...then he will build me a permanent smokehouse!

cowgirl said...

LB that is fantastic!!
What a great gift! :)
Good luck with the smoking... it is addicting. lol
Thanks!

JunkerJunk said...

Cowgirl J, I have said this before, but I have to say it again - I love you. Ha!
I have some plans on making a cold smoker on my little place. I have a cold smoker generator for my smoker but it is limited as far as size. I want to build a small building off the side of my house to do bigger projects like this one that you have.
Marty

cowgirl said...

Marty Thanks! It's good to see ya.
I think you would really love a cold smoker. There are so many things you can make.
Keep me posted if you build one!
Thanks again...

Jimmy C said...

Hello All

I just made my first batch of cold smoked Bacon. Tasted OK but to smokey. I only smoked it about two hrs using a Smoke Daddy. Any input? I may just have to reduce the smoking time, but was wondering if you folks let it set for awhile before cooking to reduce smoke or maybe rinse it before cooking...

any help would be great..

Thanks
Jim

cowgirl said...

Hi Jim!
I've not used a Smoke Daddy...is there any way to control how much smoke they put out? In my smokehouse the smoke is around 65degrees F and very thin. I like a thin blue smoke.
I don't rinse or anything after smoking...
Also the kind of wood you used might make the difference. Some woods are a lot more powerful than others.
Hope you give it another try...cold smoked home made bacon is pretty good stuff.
Thanks for stopping by! :)

Jimmy C said...

I'm trying another batch today. I turned down the smoker and waiting to see what the outcome will be. I used apple wood on this first batch and i'm using Hickory today. The temp inside my smoker today is about 65 deg's. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and will fry some up this eveing and see what it taste likes. Oh another question, Does the smoke favor settle down after the meat sits for awhile or stay constant with age?

cowgirl said...

Jimmy I hope it turns out well for you!
I cut off a slice after 6 hrs of smoking and give it a fry test to taste the smoke flavor. Then decide if I want more or if that is enough.
Then I wrap the whole slabs in plastic wrap and set them in the fridge overnight. The smoke flavor developes a bit more as it sits in the fridge. So if you don't want a strong smoke flavor, pull it from the smoker when it is still fairly light and it will get stronger with age. (hope that makes sense).

I would like to hear how well the smoke daddy works if you get the time. I am curious as to how well they cold smoke.
Thanks Jimmy!

Unknown said...

Hi Jeanie
Still want that smokehouse....
I have a question about curing pork bellies.
Do you use Morton TQ and do you inject?
If you don't inject are you comfortable that the interior of the meat is fully cured? I have had problems with corned beef/pastrami but have never done a pork belly.
Thanks.
Marty

cowgirl said...

Hi Marty, it's nice to see ya! You do need a smokehouse. :)
I use TQ and have not had to inject slab bacon, I dry cure it but sometimes I let the belly cure for 10 days depending on how thick it is. Morton's recommends curing 5 to 7 days per inch of thickness.

With thicker back bacon...sometimes I do a combination cure with both dry cure and brine injection.

I've not had a problem with slab bacon not curing. Hope you have good luck with it Marty! Thanks for stopping by. :)

Unknown said...

Cowgirl love your site. Made a barrel smoker a couple years ago, and just finished my cold smokehouse. Have you smoked any hams? If you have, I would love to get more info from you!
Thanks Steve H.

cowgirl said...

Thank you Stephen! I do smoke hams. For my use I cut the pork leg into 5lb "hunks" before curing and smoking. The smaller size suits my needs better than a whole leg.
Feel free to contact me.
Thanks for stopping by too!