The Smoking Thread

B-1 said:
Put some back on the smoker after slicing and then fry it in a pan. Makes for a crispy extra smokey bacon.
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The Traeger is back under it's cover until it's next adventure.

This batch (my first try with the Traeger) came out better than anticipated - probably thanks in no small part to the [temu] smoke tube I used.

RedViking said:
Where my invite. :(
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I fear it will all be gone by the time you got here - I only made 1.5kg worth...
 
bwana said:
The Traeger is back under it's cover until it's next adventure.

This batch (my first try with the Traeger) came out better than anticipated - probably thanks in no small part to the [temu] smoke tube I used.


I fear it will all be gone by the time you got here - I only made 1.5kg worth...
Click to expand...
I also have one of those temu smoke tubes for when I use my pizza oven instead of my bullet smoker. They do make a good difference.
Bacon is one of the easier things to smoke and you dont have all that brine water they seems to use in all store bacon these days.
 
bwana said:
The Traeger is back under it's cover until it's next adventure.

This batch (my first try with the Traeger) came out better than anticipated - probably thanks in no small part to the [temu] smoke tube I used.


I fear it will all be gone by the time you got here - I only made 1.5kg worth...
Click to expand...
And if I give a weeks notice when I come to PE?
 
B-1 said:
I also have one of those temu smoke tubes for when I use my pizza oven instead of my bullet smoker. They do make a good difference.
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I'm loving the Traegar - it's insanely easy to use. The only downside is it doesn't produce enough smoke for my tastes.

B-1 said:
Bacon is one of the easier things to smoke and you dont have all that brine water they seems to use in all store bacon these days.
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Bacon is easy but time consuming. Eight days curing before it even saw the inside of the smoker and then another agonising 24 hours in the fridge before I even cut into it.

RedViking said:
And if I give a weeks notice when I come to PE?
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See above - I'd need at least 10 days.

It's going to taste even better on Thursday's pizza...
 
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bwana said:
I'm loving the Traegar - it's insanely easy to use. The only downside is it doesn't produce enough smoke for my tastes.
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I'm still sour I missed that special. It was a really good one.
 
B-1 said:
I'm still sour I missed that special. It was a really good one.
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Still can't get over it. I was out of the country at the time so my wife had to drive to Jeffrey's Bay in order to secure ours. No one in PE had stock.

Pellets are a little pricey but I'm keeping my eyes out for specials 👀
 
Nicely done Bwana. I've done a few batches myself - its hard to explain to others who have not had homemade bacon (done right) how much better it is than store bought.
 
bwana said:
I'm loving the Traegar - it's insanely easy to use. The only downside is it doesn't produce enough smoke for my tastes.


Bacon is easy but time consuming. Eight days curing before it even saw the inside of the smoker and then another agonising 24 hours in the fridge before I even cut into it.


See above - I'd need at least 10 days.

It's going to taste even better on Thursday's pizza...
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Two weeks notice it is then.
 
bwana said:
Looks amazing - care to share your process?
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Sure. It's a bit vague in places, but as received from a friend of mine who has been making his own bacon for years.

Adjust quantities to suit amount of bacon.
1 cup brown sugar.
1 cup salt.
Spices/herbs/powders.
Cover pork bellies liberally with mixture and pat in.
Seal in zip lock bags and put in fridge.
Leave for 5 days, turning bags every 24 hours.
Take out of bags and rinse well under running water.
Immerse completely in water and leave for 1 hour to draw some salt out, then return to fridge uncovered on raised racks for another 24 hours.
After that, cold smoke for 4-6 hours (~50 deg C).
Slice with sharp knife and freeze.
 
Vades said:
Sure. It's a bit vague in places, but as received from a friend of mine who has been making his own bacon for years.

Adjust quantities to suit amount of bacon.
1 cup brown sugar.
1 cup salt.
Spices/herbs/powders.
Cover pork bellies liberally with mixture and pat in.
Seal in zip lock bags and put in fridge.
Leave for 5 days, turning bags every 24 hours.
Take out of bags and rinse well under running water.
Immerse completely in water and leave for 1 hour to draw some salt out, then return to fridge uncovered on raised racks for another 24 hours.
After that, cold smoke for 4-6 hours (~50 deg C).
Slice with sharp knife and freeze.
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So no curing salt?

And only to 50°c?
 
bwana said:
So no curing salt?

And only to 50°c?
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Correct. My friend does not want to use curing salt - numerous reasons which I can't recall.

50 deg seemed low in my opinion too. I think I went a bit higher than that, purely because it was difficult to maintain such a low temperature in the Weber. This was before I got my Traeger.
 
Vades said:
Correct. My friend does not want to use curing salt - numerous reasons which I can't recall.

50 deg seemed low in my opinion too. I think I went a bit higher than that, purely because it was difficult to maintain such a low temperature in the Weber. This was before I got my Traeger.
Click to expand...

The Traeger is a game changer - I got the cheap model and it was worth every penny. The only downside is that it doesn't produce enough smoke for my liking. A R170 smoke tube from Temu soon sorted that though.

B-1 said:
View attachment 1952051
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Nice - what beast and cut?
 
bwana said:
The Traeger is a game changer - I got the cheap model and it was worth every penny. The only downside is that it doesn't produce enough smoke for my liking. A R170 smoke tube from Temu soon sorted that though.
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Absolutely. I got my Pro 575 in 2023, a very good deal from the eBucks store. R8100 and it included the Traeger cover and a bag of pellets.

The 575 also doesn't produce enough smoke so I do the same as you with a smoke tube.

The models above the Pro usually have a "Super Smoke" function which apparently negates the need for a smoke tube.

I have no inclination to upgrade though. The 575 has all the space and functionality that I need.

Gozney is next on the wish list.
 
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