CANADIAN BACON

[reinhard1]

How much do you spend on Canadian bacon?  Answer------too much.  What is Canadian bacon made from?  Boneless pork loins.  I also smoke Buckboard bacon which is made from the pork butt but that's another thread.  When boneless pork loins come on sale, it's time to take advantage of them in a lot of ways.  One way is to make Canadian bacon.  Don't even need a smoker.  You can make it in the oven [however you will not have the smoky flavor], or even on the grill.   My way is in the smoker  Thirdeye has a great dry cure for this, but this time around I'm using the wet cure.   I buy the half boneless loins when they are on sale.  I picked these up at 1.99 lb.  Here is how I make it and some pics:

Pop's Brine

1 gallon of cold water

3/4 cup Kosher salt

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 big T of mollases

1 T of cure#1

Mix all of this up well till all of the ingredients are dissolved.  Put the half of boneless pork loin [around 5 to 6 pounds] in the brine and leave it in the fridge for 9 to 10 days.  Make sure you use a  glass or plastic container.  Also make sure the meat is submerged.  I fill a gallon zip lock bag half full of water and put it on top of the loin and that sinks the loin well.  After the 9 to 10 days take the loin out and rinse it with cold water.  Pat it dry and put it uncovered back in the fridge to dry and set overnight.  Next day is smoking time.  I set my smoker at 225 deg.  fill the chip tray with cherry wood.  Keep adding chips in the smoker tray until you get that nice gold color.  Then stop adding chips and let the loin continue without smoke until the internal temp is 150 deg.  Then take it out of the smoker and set it on the kitchen counter to cool off.  I usually put a foil tent on it.  Once it cools down, put it in the fridge until the next day.  Don't get tempted into cutting into it.  It will be hard to do, but leave it in the fridge overnight.  Next day you can use it for a meal or vac pack it for the freezer.   There are more details on my page www.sausageheavenoutdoors.com Here are some pics:

 

[RebelSS]

Great post, Sir!! And pics! Thank you! That's EXACTLY what I had for Breakfast this am!! (Bottom pic)  Mom 'n Pop store had 1 lb pkgs of it this Spring for blow out price of $1.99 pkg. I grabbed six.  

Edited July 25, 2015 by RebelSS

[reinhard1]

That was a great price Rebel!!!!!  Normal prices are very high for Canadian Bacon.  I make my own all year long.  good luck.

[eyeguy 54]

Thx for posting!  gotta try this. 

cure#1?  where can I get a little?

 

[reinhard1]

You can get it at Fleet Farm where they sell the grinders and seasonings.  Pretty cheap also. At Fleet Farm it's the LEM brand and called Backwoods flavor enhancers  cure.  It shows how much to use on the back.  If you got any questions on it just ask.  It's important to use the right amount.  good luck.

[prov1900]

Did a dry cure last winter and wow did that turn out awesome. It didn't last long. Wet cure looks great from your pictures and gives me motivation to get cooking! Thanks for the post and look forward to your buckboard bacon thread!

[thirdeye]

One of these days I'm going to have to try your wet cure.  Have you ever tried injecting some of the cure into the loins, then immersing them in the cure?  I've been doing that with simple brines and it works pretty good.

[reinhard1]

Glad you chimed in Thirdeye!!!  You are the one I credit with really getting me going with Canadian bacon in the first place.  I have used Your  dry cure many times with boneless loins and buckboard and it works awesome.  This wet brine is just easier and the results are the same in my opinion.  Just have to make sure the meat is submerged and I do that with a gallon zip lock bag filled half way with cold water when needed.  I do inject the brine for example if I bone out a whole butt and net it for buckboard.  With boneless loins I often use my meat tenderizer to put some holes in the meat for more absorption of the brine.  You cant go wrong with injection with a lot of meats. I want to buy a pork belly to use this brine on as well and cold smoke it with the AMPS smoking tube instead of hot smoking it.  I still follow you Thirdeye on facebook.  Glad you still are here as well.  good luck.

[Jim Almquist]

Not sure if all Sam's clubs are having the sale but whole pork loins are $1.88lb in Duluth. Good way to make some cheap Canadian Bacon. 

[eyeguy 54]

You can get it at Fleet Farm where they sell the grinders and seasonings.  Pretty cheap also. At Fleet Farm it's the LEM brand and called Backwoods flavor enhancers  cure.  It shows how much to use on the back.  If you got any questions on it just ask.  It's important to use the right amount.  good luck.

I see mills has a bunch of different paks.  any one work?  how about hi mountain?  I have a bunch.

I see this must be the one.  not listed at mills online.  just tons of others.  I'll pop out there to see. 

[reinhard1]

That's the pack that I have and use.  Not sure about High Mountain.  Normally in their jerky packs they have tenderquick instead of cure #1.  I have used Nesco packs which is pretty much the same as High Mountain.  Nesco uses tenderquick also.  Those two brands have the proper amount of cure  [both tenderquick and cure #1 are cures, however different in make-up and amounts used per pound of meat] in their seasoning packages.  That LEM pack you posted is cure #1 [often called the pink salt]. and I use that for brine's and all my smoked sausage.  Morton tenderquick is often used in jerky and dry brines.  good luck.

[Boar]

bump Im gonna do this, took me awhile to find it so i bumped it for easy reference.

[reinhard1]

Cubs has the boneless half loins at 1.99 lb. this week so it's a good time to get some.  good luck.

[Boar]

yes it is, my wife piced one up at sams club, 1.68 lb. awsome price. just cant get her to buy volume.

[delcecchi]

42 minutes ago, Boar said:

yes it is, my wife piced one up at sams club, 1.68 lb. awsome price. just cant get her to buy volume.

Case price is cheaper still.   You are just going to have to go yourself.

[Boar]

yup or they'll go to the dump

[smurfy]

7 minutes ago, Boar said:

yup or they'll go to the dump

I thought walleyes go to the dump????????

[lovebigbluegills]

5 hours ago, delcecchi said:

Case price is cheaper still.   You are just going to have to go yourself.

How many usually come in a case?

[Boar]

yeah wife mentioned the case, i i cried. but no one was there to help.he sorry butt. im sure she trd really hard to get help. but thats sams.

[reinhard1]

Depending from where you get them, as far as whole boneless pork loins there are 4 to 6 in a box.  Boneless half's there can be as many as 10 or so.  good luck.

[reinhard1]

Made some more Canadian bacon.  I used Pop's Brine above in the first post.  It was in the brine for 9 days.  Put the two 5 pound pieces in the smoker yesterday.  Will cut them in half today and vac pack them.  good luck.

 

 

[lovebigbluegills]

Looks great!!! 

[lovebigbluegills]

How is it that some brine recipes say soak overnight or 48 hours? Is that enough time to get cure all the way through?

[Grainbelt]

RH1,

I made your canadian bacon and brought it out to the fish house this last weekend with a couple groups of friends. It was a big hit, the 1 1/3 loin that I made got devoured. I got 2 more loins to drop in the pop's brine for today.

I picked up a case of pork butt for $1.12 per pound at Sams yesterday and am going to make some of your buckboard bacon. There were ten roast in there. Thanks for all your good info!

[reinhard1]

Thanks Grainbelt!!  LBG, the length of time that something is in the brine depends on the thickness [volume] of meat.  Shorter times are usually for fish and chicken.  Boneless pork loins usually require 9 days.  Whole pork butts longer, and a whole ham for example [fresh whole ham] takes up to 30 days.  Canadian Bacon requires cure#1 so that also play's part in the length of time.  good luck.