First attempt at Canadian Bacon.. I did a 1.5 lb loin.. Gave it 3 different people, they thought it was store bought. Off to the butcher for a 5lb loin.. Thanks for the great threads.
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/flipperz71/canbacon.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/flipperz71/canbacon2.jpg)
looks great :P nice work
That looks real nice. Let us know the final results when you slice and eat some.
Hi all from the uk ;)
How long did you cook / smoke the bacon joint 4 ?? did you soak it in brine ??? Did you use a temprature probe for the hot smoke or was it a cold smoke
Learning fast thanks to all the help on the forum I am smokeing Beetroot and Garlic today (well not just yet it is still only 6:15 in the UK)which will be made into Chutney later today / tomorrow.
Lin
Hi Lin
Here is a link to Habs Canadian Bacon recipe. It's a dry cure and is real simple/real good.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?p=500#post500
It's on the Old's recipe site. If you click on the smoker in the bottom of my post it will open it for you. Lots of great tried and true recipes for the Bradley there.
Mike
Mike,
Thanks for the info, but can you please tell me what "Morton Tender Quick" is please ? and I bet this is only available in the US ???
Do you know who produces it "MORTON" ?? :'(
Thanks
Lin
Morton Tender Quick is a cure. Here is a link to their web site, I'm not sure on availability there but it's been around for years.
http://www.mortonsalt.com/products/meatcuring/tenderquick.html
Here is a post by Habs about making your own similar cure as Mortons TQ which might be a better option for you. As usual, Habs did a great job on his write up on this.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=5463.0
Mike
Mike,
Thanks for the reply, much appresiated. I have already been onto the site, but ........ they only ship within the US and not internationally, problem being across the pond. :(
I will look at the alternative though
Thanx
Lin
Mortons TQ is fairly salty. If you read through Habs post you will see one of the reasons he did this was to lower the finished salt content a little.
Mike
Hi Lin,
These are the two UK suppliers I use for bacon cures, both are good.
http://www.sausagemaking.org/acatalog/bacon_cures.html
http://www.weschenfelder.co.uk/books-c-39.html?gclid=CLSWoKORs5ICFQ9DMAodsA5tSw
The first one even gives a guide for curing bacon.
hope this helps, cheers Paul
FlipperZ,
Your canadian bacon looks great but you made a HUGE mistake. You gave it to your friends. I did that once. Now they call pretty much every Sunday or just "drop by" to see what I'm smoking. :D 12 pounds of bacon lasted about 3 hours, greedy bas____ds! Your canadian bacon looks spot on. Never NEVER tell them you're smoking salmon or pork butts. They will camp in your front yard.
You did a great job. Now go get some pork belly and make some slab bacon. It is so very easy and so much better than what you will buy in the grocery.
Smoke on!
KyNola
Thanks.. The waiting til it cures in the fridge is a teaser... once it hit the smoker, the drueling started... The brine I used was the one with onion powder, garlic powder, and tender quick ( i did not have tender quick so I did the salt sugar and prague) I eyedballed the mix since I did not want to make a ton of it, but seeing how people like that better than the tender quick because of the aftertaste, I might mix up a large batch and keep it on hand.
I will leave the bacon to the farmers, I buy it from a local farmer and it is awesome (they need to make a living also ;D)
Amazing how a simple brine gives it suck a good flavor. I do not like it cold, I like to fry it with eggs..
Smoke On!!!
Flip
:) Hi Mike, I finally got some Instacure #1 powder thanks to Tiny Tim and am eager to have a go at the Canadian Bacon. Just to get things straight, if I make up Habs basic dry cure
Basic Dry Cure (make about 3 1/2 cups)
1 pound pickling salt
8 ounces granulated sugar
2 ounces InstaCure #1; or DQ Powder; or Prague Powder #1; or Cure #1
Do I use 1tbl spoon per pound of this mixture instead of the 1 tbl spoon of Morton T Q. ? :-\
Hi Brian
Yup, you got it.
I have got to make some more Canadian Bacon because I'm starting to run low on it and I think I'm going to try adding black pepper to it and a little less brown suger just for the heck of it.
Good luck on yours, it really is easy to make.
Mike
Hi Mike. The pork loins that I have are about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick, do I still only cure for 6 days.I know the Habs recipe says that due to the thickness of the meat it will take 6 days to cure but he does not specify the thickness that he was using :-\
Are they loins or tenderloins?
By the sounds of the size it sounds like a tenderloin.
Mike
:D That's it...no more drinking at night. I just went and checked them and they are labeled pork loin and when I measured them with my trusty rule they are 2 ½ to 3 inches thick and weigh 1kg each. My powers of guesstimation are severely hampered by the euphoria of getting a chance to use the BS. {Nah.. it's the wobble pops again..) ::) ;D
Quote from: yul on March 29, 2008, 05:25:18 PM
:D That's it...no more drinking at night. I just went and checked them and they are labeled pork loin and when I measured them with my trusty rule they are 2 ½ to 3 inches thick and weigh 1kg each. My powers of guesstimation are severely hampered by the euphoria of getting a chance to use the BS. {Nah.. it's the wobble pops again..) ::) ;D
:D LMAO ;D
I think you will want to go 6 or 7 days according to Habs information he has posted. It really is simple. The hardest part is after it's all done... and waiting 2 days to try it! ;)
I actually made it 2 days..... Once! ::)
Mike
I try to purchase the whole loin, and they average 3 to 4 inches in thickness. So I agree with Mike, you should cure them for 6 days. I prefer the sirloin end (the end of the loin that attaches to the ham) for Canadian bacon, but it seems when they cut to loin in half, the price goes up at least $1.00 per pound. :)
I deal with a small butcher/grocer and he usually has the pork loins on sale for $1.59/lb. Free cuts also, Usually costs me $18-$25 for a whole loin cut into chops/roasts/country ribs and I have him ground the scraps for suasage making. If you deal with a small town butcher you will find that you are getting better quality. Price might be a couple cents more a pound, but it is worth it in my eyes. Also, I try to stock up on my pork in October when the price is really cheap. I wrap it really good and it will last me until the mid/late summer. But know that I am a smokaholic, I might have to double the order ;D. Just picked up some ribs today for the smoker. I need to double check my PID ;) ;)
flip
Hello everyone. I have been checking out all the different recipes and techniques for smoking for at least 2 years now. It is time for me to speak out and say how helpful all these articles have been and how they have made me into a smoker maniac. My family and neighbors can't wait for the weekend to arrive to see what I will be preparing next.
This Candian bacon recipe is absolutely fantastic. Did 4 tenderloins up and sad to say they did not last the week. Incredible.
Hi Weekend Griller and welcome to the forum.
Tons of info here on the forum for sure! ;)
Mike
:) I have finally started the Canadian bacon. I am using Habs recipe and his replacement for Morton's TQ.. The pork loin weighs 2 ½ pounds and is on it's first day of curing in the fridge. Got two more loins in the freezer so if this one turns out OK I will go into full production. ;)
Let's see now, that makes it next Sunday evening for the rinse, then dry overnight, that means I should be smoking it on Monday evening. Hope the weather co operates. Any idea's on how long it should take to get up to the required 150 F :-\
Mine only took 3 to 5 hours to get to 150, depending on how much meat was in the OBS
Welcome Weekend...canadian bacon is not my gig...but you have attracted the experts!! Nice to have ya here!! :)