At the moment I am curing some pork sirloin to make eye bacon. In the past I cure (#1 and salt), then smoke and then bake the bacon at 80 degrees C until it reaches an internal temperature of 74 degrees c. This bacon is cooked and keeps for ages in my fridge. Now this bacon can be eaten without grilling or frying. I either grill it or fry it.
Questions
is if I do not cook the bacon after smoking it. Will this cut down its length of storage?
If I grill or fry the bacon which is uncooked, will it taste a lot different and will its texture be different to cooked bacon?