Hi all
I am looking for some help. My first cold smoked bacon is not as sweet as I want and the outside, especially, tastes a little acrid, sometimes as an aftertaste. There is alos a touch of bonfire in the smell of it.
I have built a smoker - pine tongue and groove. The smoke comes from an old wood burner with a long flexible pipe producing a lot of smoke at 68-80 Farenheit. I have a number of guesses as to the problems and would welcome experienced comment.
I reckon I need to increase the amount of sugar or honey (our own) I use in the mix - cure is in bags.
On the acridity, possibilities include:
Any ideas welcome.
Steve
Hi Steve.
What curing mixture are you using, how much cure (salt/sugar ratios) to weight of pork and for how long.
70f (21c) is a bit hot, you should be aiming to keep it as cool as possible. How long did it smoke for?
Is the smoke staying in the smoker too long? Apparently it can go stale and acrid so you need some ventilation. From http://forum.sausagemaking.org
"Try and set the air vent so the smoke can get out at the same rate as it is going in, if the smoke gets at all stale in the chamber the bacon can pick up an acrid taint..."
I wouldn't use bark or a firelighter, both could flavour the smoke. The wood should be ok, both being hardwood and not resinous. You shouldn't get any flavour from the pine box...
I use the ProQ cold smoke generator to make my smoke, it works very well.
Good luck,
Simon
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