You are missing out if you are a bacon lover but haven’t tried smoked bacon yet. It is salty yet smoky and so addicting.
The secret to smoking the best bacon is knowing how long to smoke it at 250°F. Smoke bacon at 250°F for 90 minutes.
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Can You Smoke Bacon Without Curing It
To determine if bacon can be smoked without curing, you must know what curing means.
Curing is a technique used to preserve bacon. It extends the shelf life of the bacon.
However, it also prevents harmful bacteria from developing that may cause food poisoning.
Bacon can be cured in one of 3 ways: Dry, wet, or injection curing.
Dry curing refers to rubbing pork belly with curing salts and seasonings. The curing salt is almost always Prague, a sodium-nitrate-based pink salt.
Once the salt and seasoning have been applied, the bacon is left to cure for at least 1 week.
Wet curing refers to the process of mixing curing salt and seasonings with a liquid. The pork belly is placed into the solution and left to sit for a few days.
Lastly, injected curing refers to an industrial technique. It is not a common technique used for making bacon at home.
The cure is injected into the pork belly. Then it is allowed to soak for a few hours before smoking it.
Supermarket bacon is wet-cured or injection cured. Artisan bacon is usually dry-cured.
All bacon is cured, so if you buy store-bought bacon to smoke, it is cured.
The only way bacon is not cured is if you purchase a slab of pork belly and smoke it yourself.
However, I must warn against smoking uncured bacon. Curing helps the bacon stay fresher longer and makes it safe for consumption, so it may not be worth it to smoke uncured bacon.
How Long To Smoke Bacon At 250
The smoking time depends on the thickness of the meat. It also depends on the amount of smoky flavor you want the bacon to have.
It takes 90 minutes to smoke bacon at 250°F. However, if the bacon is thinner, it could take 40-45 minutes to smoke at 250°F.
How Long To Smoke Bacon Slices At 250
Most people picture a slab of cured pork belly when they think about smoking bacon. However, you can also smoke bacon slices.
Just be sure to use thick-cut bacon instead of regular bacon. Regular bacon can cook too quickly, leaving you with unappetizing bacon.
It takes about 30 minutes to smoke bacon slices at 250°F.
If you are wondering whether you will have to flip the bacon slices, you don’t have to. The smoker generates heat evenly, so there’s no need to flip the bacon.
How To Smoke Bacon At 250°F
You must be craving smoked bacon by now, so let me show you how to smoke bacon.
First, you must select the perfect pork belly. The density of the pork belly will vary based on where you buy it. Nevertheless, make sure you choose skinned pork belly.
Grocery stores usually sell pork belly with the skin removed. If you purchase pork belly from your local butcher, you can ask the butcher to remove the skin before wrapping up the meat.
If you purchase a larger cut of pork belly, cut it into smaller pieces. It will be easier to cure.
You can cure your bacon with several ingredients, including curing salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, fresh cracked black pepper, and many other flavors. You can also purchase pre-made bacon cure from the grocery store.
To cure the bacon, place it into a ziplock bag and add your cure. Seal the ziplock bag after you remove all the air from it.
Place the bacon into the fridge and let it cure for 5-7 days. The cure will dehydrate the bacon, causing the liquid to gather in the bag.
Turn the bacon over every day. Turning the bacon over ensures it does not dry out too much.
Once the bacon is cured, rinse it with cold water to remove some of the salty flavor.
Do not rinse the bacon with warm or hot water. It could increase the risk of food poisoning.
Dry the bacon with paper towels, then place it onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Place the bacon back into the fridge.
Let the bacon sit in the fridge for 12-24 hours. A sticky film called a pellicle will develop on the pork belly’s exterior. So, if the meat feels a little tacky, there’s no need to worry.
Next, it’s finally time to smoke the bacon. Set up your smoker and preheat it to 250°F. Don’t forget to add your favorite wood chips to the smoker.
Next, add the bacon to the smoker and smoke it for 90 minutes. Make sure the bacon has a temperature of 155°F before you remove it from the heat.
Make sure you insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the bacon before removing it from the smoker. If it does not have 155°F, let it smoke longer, checking the meat’s temperature every 15-20 minutes.
Let the bacon cool down, then wrap it with plastic wrap. Place the bacon in the fridge for 24 hours. Letting the bacon rest in the fridge allows the flavors to set in.
Remove the bacon from the fridge and cut it into slices. You can cut the bacon into thick slices or thinner slices.
Fry the bacon in a cast-iron skillet until it reaches your desired crispiness. Remove the smoked bacon from the skillet and drain on paper towels. Now you can enjoy the fruit of your labor and enjoy some crispy, salty smoked bacon.
Final Thoughts
You haven’t tried bacon until you try smoked bacon. With one taste of the salty, delicious meat, you will understand why it’s so addicting.
You have no excuses now that you know how long to smoke bacon at 250°F. So pull out your smoker and smoke some delicious bacon.
I have been smoking and grilling meat from an early age and enjoy sharing my knowledge and expertise through the hundreds of articles I have written about BBQ. I hope to make everyone’s BBQ journey that little bit easier.