My first attempt at Canadian bacon

[blokie]

Had a go at my first Canadian bacon today. I used Habanero Smokers dry cure recipe. Bought a pork loin from Costco, just over 7lb in weight, cut it into 4. After trimming the fat from it they came in around 2 lbs each give or take a few once. Very skeptical at first that 2 tbs of dry cure was going to turn this pork into bacon. Put them in the fridge for six days to cure.  Brought them out last night and rinsed them for an hour. Then put in the fridge over night to dry.



From the fridge ready to cook.

Sliced one up to pan fry.





Heaven on a plate. Couldn't belive the taste of them. Never will I buy store bought Peameal again.

Put two in the  smoker for about two hours.



Again, amazing.

This was my breakfast.









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[tailfeathers]

And so it goes............another one crosses over to the dark side!!

[Smoke some]

That does look good fried up....I can tell you the CB does not last long in my house.

[Saber 4]

Welcome to the Dark Side, next it'll be breakfast sausage and brats. Then you just keep crossing things off the shopping list cause you have it in the freezer already. :)

[Habanero Smoker]

Nice looking Canadian bacon. If you still have some that is uncooked, before you fry it dip it into a beaten egg mixture, then coat it with corn meal, the coarse kind it best. You can also do that with the precooked Canadian bacon, but starting with uncooked Canadian bacon has the best results.

[blokie]

There isn't much left over of the one I pan fried, and I'll be having that for lunch today.

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[blokie]

I do have a question though, the ladies of the house have concerns over the nitrites/nitrates, can you make Canadian bacon with using cure#1 in the recipe.

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[Habanero Smoker]

I do have a question though, the ladies of the house have concerns over the nitrites/nitrates, can you make Canadian bacon with using cure#1 in the recipe.

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If you used Morton Tender Quick; which has nitrates and nitrites, instead you can use cure #1 that only contains a nitrite. Just follow the Basic Dry Cure recipe on the recipe site, or click on the link to the Basic Dry Cure that is in the Canadian Bacon recipe on the recipe site.
Basic Dry Cure

[blokie]

Hi Habanero smoker. I used the basic dry cure which I do believe is the equivalent of Morton tender quick.  Is there not a way you can cure bacon with just the salt, or does it not cure and doesn't taste the same.

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[Habanero Smoker]

Yes there is, but it will have a different taste and texture. It will not have the ham like flavor, nor the color that nitrites add to cured meat. When cooked you meat will be a grayish/whitish color, and taste much different.

If you want to use a dry salt brine, the amount of salt should be 2% - 3% of the green wait of the piece you are curing. For example if you want to cure a 2 pound (32 ounce) piece; you need to use .64 - .96 ounces of salt (.7 - 1 ounce rounded off). Then add half that amount in sugar or more if you like it sweeter.

If you want to use a wet brine, you need to make a 10% brine; which is about 1 pound of salt per gallon of water, and you can add 1/2 as much sugar.

To either you can add additional seasoning.

Having said that, nitrites and nitrates are very safe when used properly to cure your meat. You ingest nitrates on that daily basis from the foods you eat. Many vegetables are high in nitrates, which they absorb from the soils they are grown in.

[kayes]

If you want to use a wet brine, you need to make a 10% brine; which is about 1 pound of salt per gallon of water, and you can add 1/2 as much sugar.

How much #1 do you need to use per the proportions listed above?

[Habanero Smoker]

If you want to use a wet brine, you need to make a 10% brine; which is about 1 pound of salt per gallon of water, and you can add 1/2 as much sugar.

How much #1 do you need to use per the proportions listed above?

The brine that I listed above is mainly for use if you want a salt only cure. Though you can use it as a base brine, and shorten your curing times.

If you want to wet cure Canadian bacon, you can use the below recipe as a base. You can add seasoning such as pickling spice etc, and maybe bump the sugar up to 3/4 cup; if you want it sweeter.

1 gal. water
10 ounces salt
1/2 C. white or brown sugar
1.5 ounces Cure #1

Cure for 2 - 3 days. Each day reposition the meat and stir the brine.

If you only have a few pieces to cure, you don't have to make a whole gallon. The link below contains some information on how to determine how much brine you need, and there is also a link to a great recipe converter.
Smoked Cured Ham