Smoker temp control

[Red^line]

I just finished my Bacon in my smoker, and with the cooler tempratures out there. I thought it would be hard to smoke the bacon in the smoker. Since i have a larger Venture castings smoker that is propane fuelled there wasn’t a problem making heat. But it was a constant monitoring of the temps to keep ot lower around 150F to smoke the bacon. So I ended up getting a valve SS304 from Amizon and used my iChill Lite from MGFA.ca to control the valve and I was amazed how well my bacon turned out. If you never done bacon before you would be amazed how EZ it was.

About 26lbs of pork belly. I rubbed the pork with the #2 meat cure and kosher salt mix, vacuumed sealed it, and placed them in the fridge. Flipped them over everyday for 3 days, removed them from the bags and rinsed the pork with water. Then smoked them at 150F for 2-1/2 hours then sliced it up.

And all I can say is WOW best bacon ever.

I can’t beleave how easy that was

So if anyone else has a manually controlled propane fuelled smoker, there is a way to fix it up and have electronic temp control

[rokman]

First I'll pick my jaw up off the floor, wipe up the drool and take a deep breath.
Just reading that made my stomach growl.
I have an ugly drum smoker and have smoked a regular can of pork 'n beans topped with strips of raw bacon and that little treat was freakin dynamite.
Your idea, of just plain old smoking bacon, is going to happen. I don't have the gadgets you have, but I have the skills necessary to smoke at very low temps in the ole ugly drum and it works quite well. I've done several batches of cheese and boy does that stuff ever turn out good.

Post of the day.

[silver]

Good for you, good post. I haven't done side bacon but I have done back bacon. And there is no problem finding people to share it with.

[Piker]

Kinda curious what is cure #2? I have only cure #1 or pink salt plus other names actually is sodium nitrite. I was under the impression that #2 was for curing in a temp and humidity controlled area for luncheon meats as salami. Any instructions I have for making bacon all call for cure#1. Thks Piker

[boomer]

You are correct Piker. Cure #1 for bacon.

[Red^line]

Thank you all for the positive posts. but the one thing I was questioned on was in regards to the Meat Cure used. I got my Information from the Meat curing and Sausage Bible. As well I did talk to the people at Butchers & Packers in Edmonton about the cures, this is the place where I do get all my Sausage and Meat supplies, And always had awesome results with there product and information.

I did not want to give anyone any bad info so just to double check

Talking to them I was told that the #1 pink salts are the Instacure salts (fast release) for sausages and processed meats,
And the cure #2 is the slow release used for curing meats like Bacon, and other rubbed on and time cured meats.

As well when I smoked my Bacon with Hickory Chips, and when the internal temp of the meat was at 150F which was about 2-1/2 hours. it was done.

This Bacon did not have anything Fancy beside the cure and salt with the hickory smoke. but take my word it was the BEST bacon I have ever tasted.

I want to share my results with everyone. You will not be disappointed

I am sure if you where to add anything else for flavoring it would turn out to be just as awesome..

[Supermag]

How did you use that temp controller to control your gas?

[Red^line]

Hi supermag.
The valve From Amazon is powered by 12volts which cycles the gas on and off then needed I added a small line from the intake Or supply of the valve to a 0.2mm orifice to run a pilot light. I then talked Tony from MGFA and he walked me through and told me how to set up the ichill lite cooler controler to run the valve instead of running a heater or bypass resister, he helped me set it up to funtion the valve.
Its good for lower temps and can only control up to 235F or 113C. But it worked well for what I needed.

My smoker needs a little Help getting the chips smoking, so what i did to get the chips going is to use a torch to get them going and after that it was all good.

[Weedy1]

This whole thread looks suspiciously like an advertisement to me.

[Red^line]

Well im not selling Bacon?

I guess I did plug Amazon, MGFA, and Butchers and Packers in Edmonton. These are all the places who helped me get the results I got. Well i did get my wood chips from PeaveyMart aswell.

I just wanted to share my experience and problems I had over come, to achieve the results I had, I was just wanting people to know how simple it was to make your own Bacon. I would have done it sooner if only I had known.

I do see alot of people share who they get good results from, and I do see other people complain about other places they get bad results from. I did think this was a forum where you could talk about your experiences good or bad.

Im not sure why all the negative criticism and judgement? And i dont see how im breaking any of the rules.

i am sorry if i had offended anyone who don’t eat meat and think killing animals for food is cruel. But they taste so good.

[Hunter Trav]

Originally Posted by Red^line

Well im not selling Bacon?

I guess I did plug Amazon, MGFA, and Butchers and Packers in Edmonton. These are all the places who helped me get the results I got. Well i did get my wood chips from PeaveyMart aswell.

I just wanted to share my experience and problems I had over come, to achieve the results I had, I was just wanting people to know how simple it was to make your own Bacon. I would have done it sooner if only I had known.

I do see alot of people share who they get good results from, and I do see other people complain about other places they get bad results from. I did think this was a forum where you could talk about your experiences good or bad.

Im not sure why all the negative criticism and judgement? And i dont see how im breaking any of the rules.

i am sorry if i had offended anyone who don’t eat meat and think killing animals for food is cruel. But they taste so good.

Lol...better put some thicker skin on if you're gonna share with the crowd here. Only one person even made a somewhat negative comment and you get on the defensive pretty hard so maybe he's right, or you just need to spend more time getting adjusted to your surroundings here...lol

Anyways, your valve idea is pretty cool and all, but I think I'll save the money for beer and just adjust the control knob on my smoker manually...worked for me so far...

[Supermag]

Originally Posted by Red^line

Hi supermag.
The valve From Amazon is powered by 12volts which cycles the gas on and off then needed I added a small line from the intake Or supply of the valve to a 0.2mm orifice to run a pilot light. I then talked Tony from MGFA and he walked me through and told me how to set up the ichill lite cooler controler to run the valve instead of running a heater or bypass resister, he helped me set it up to funtion the valve.
Its good for lower temps and can only control up to 235F or 113C. But it worked well for what I needed.

My smoker needs a little Help getting the chips smoking, so what i did to get the chips going is to use a torch to get them going and after that it was all good.

Thanks for the reply. Can you give me a little more info?

Which valve did you use from Amazon? What are you using for a burner?

Thanks!

[JBE]

I have to give this a try. Where did you buy pork belly and how much is it?

[omega50]

Originally Posted by Piker

Kinda curious what is cure #2? I have only cure #1 or pink salt plus other names actually is sodium nitrite. I was under the impression that #2 was for curing in a temp and humidity controlled area for luncheon meats as salami. Any instructions I have for making bacon all call for cure#1. Thks Piker

Yes and No

My Dry Cure bacon is always cure #2

Exposed to the proper temps and humidity-Bacteria will act as the agent of change to convert all or part of the Nitrate in cure #2 in Nitrite.

I use #2 because I hold my bacon a few month unrefrigerated undergoing multiple cold smoke and alternating maturing/aging sessions.

I keep it Raw. This type cure is critical if you are keeping the salt % under 3% and not cooking or refrigerating the bacon or WA is over .91 and you are holding less than 60 days.