First Canadian Bacon trial...

[Spliner]

So I've been wanting to make some Canadian Bacon.  It's hard to find where we live, and every time I read about it I hear it's much better made at home.  So.. since I have a Bradley Smoker I think this is something I should learn to do.

Anyway, my point is this, I think I might have made a mistake.  Instead of buying a packer loin and messing up a ton of meat for the first try, the local Wal-Mart had two 2-lb loin sections so I picked those up.  They had a lot of fat on them but weighed in right at 2lbs.  So I followed this recipe:

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?311-Canadian-Bacon

Here's where I made the mistake.  I used 1 tablespoon per pound (IE: 2 tbs per loin) of Morton Tender Quick as instructed at that link.

The meat has been curing for about one day now (this evening it will be 2 days).  I tried to time this so that it would be done curing by this next Saturday for the smoke. 

However, last night I was reading and realized that I trimmed the fat from the loins and didn't re-weigh them.  Crap.  I did, however still have the trimmings because I put them in separate zip lock bags and put them in the fridge to see if the wife wanted any of it for making stock/soup/whatever.  So I weighed the trimmings and now I realize that my loins, both of them are around 1.55 to 1.6 lbs.  So I now have used too much cure haven't I?

Anyway, anyone here know what is going to happen?  Should I toss these out and try again or will it not make that much of a difference?  I wondered why it seemed like I had more dry cure mix than would stay on the loins when I was rubbing it in.  So when I put them in the zip lock bags I did my best to get it all to stick to the entire surface of the loin, so about 80-85% of the cure made it onto the loin. 

I'm guessing it's not that much of a difference, but I've never done this before so I'm hoping someone here can tell me if that meat is still going to be safe or not?  It's not like I used WAY too much cure, but basically I used enough for 2lbs of meat on 1.55 and 1.6 lb loins. 

Thanks!

[beefmann]

if you  only used 1 tbsp on a  2 lb loin then it is a  bit late to make additions, to the cure, if you used 2 tbsp per the 2 lb loin your good to go, I have used 3/4 tbsp of mortons tender cure pound,, and if you  find out that you did,, give it an  extra day of  cure, the meat will still be  good,,, worst thing is the  center of the  loin wont be cured and be  brown  instead of  pink when  cooked.

check it up to a  learning curve,,, i have made  similar mistakes

[ragweed]

So to be clear, you added too much cure to the meat?  I wouldn't throw them out yet.  I'm sure a curing expert will chime in soon with some definitive advice.  BTW that's the recipe I follow for CB and it has always turned out great!!

[Spliner]

Yes, slightly too much cure.  Both the loins were between 1.55 and 1.6 lbs, and I used enough cure for 2 lbs each.

I mixed up the cure in two bowls, each had the following:

2 tbs Morton Tender Quick
2 tsp Dark Brown Sugar
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Garlic Powder

So that made enough for 2 lbs of meat, I just forgot to re-weigh them after trimming.  Anyway I rubbed in what I could onto the loins and wondered why there seemed to be about 20% too much cure.  The loins wouldn't take any more so I tried to keep them heavily coated when I put them in the bags.  I was just worried that I used too much, but I'm uncertain if I used too much for them to be safe.  I'm not worried about them not curing, I'm worried about them having too much nitrate or being too salty.  I don't want to poison anyone; but if it's just a bad (too salty) taste issue at this point I'll challk it up to a learning curve and try again. 

Spliner

[manfromplaid]

after they come out of the brine you have to rinse them off real well. if you think they will be to salty just soak in water for a longer period of time. I may be corrected but do not the nitrates dissipate during the smoking and cooking process.

[Tenpoint5]

After the required rinse and soak time. Slice a section off and pan fry it. It will be a tad salty because it is an end piece.  If it is extremely salty soak for an additional 15 - 30 minutes.  Then try another slice. Repeat if necessary until just a slight salty taste is achieved.  Then dry and smoke as directed

[Spliner]

Thanks for the tips everyone.  I guess my biggest worry was too much cure might make someone sick.  I wasn't really worried about the pork itself, I figured it would cure in plenty of time (6 days of curing with 2 1.5ish lb pieces), heck that might even be too much curing time.  I may consider smoking them Friday night instead.  I'll be sure to post the results, and will try the end piece when it's done curing and soaking the first time around.

I just replaced my smoke generator so the Bradley is good to go (old one had worn out) and I'm anxious to use it for the first time this year.  It's supposed to be in the high 60's to 70's this week.  One of my projects this summer will be to rebuild the old smoke generator so I have a spare.

Spliner

[Habanero Smoker]

Though you should use accurate measurements, you will be alright. They shouldn't come out salty, but if they do come out too salty, use the soaking instructions that are included in the recipe. Also, it sounds like you didn't use all the cure to begin with.

My motto is "Measure everything twice, and only cure once!" In the future, when you use this recipe, use the entire cure mix. If you have some that will not adhere to the meat dump it in the bag with the meat.

[Salmonsmoker]

Throw the trimmed scraps back in with the curing loins. That would bring you back to the proper weight.

[Spliner]

Actually I did dump as much extra as I could into the bag with the meat.  There was some left on the cutting board (it probably wasn't as dry as it should be).  So in the end proportions were fairly close.  I've been flipping it over daily and trying to keep the liquid distributed around the meat.  Will pull it tomorrow night, do the soak, test an end piece, and see how it goes.  I'll post the results.  I'm assuming the meat should look pink in color or is that after you cook it?  Just wondering at that point if I'll be able to tell if the cure penetrated to the center?  This is all new to me, never cured anything before.  I did make some jerky when I first purchased the Bradley but that was just an overnight cure in a pre-packaged mix.  Results were mediocre. 

Spliner

[Spliner]

Here's a newbie question....

Once the ham is smoked, rests for a day in the fridge, and then slice it can it be eaten cold, such as on a sandwich, or must it always be cooked?

I do understand it needs to be refrigerated, and will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator, but what about freezing it?  If I vacuum seal it after I slice it, how long can I keep it in the freezer and then after it's thawed in the refrigerator how long will it keep?

I ask all this because if this turns out the way I think it will, I'll be making a large packer next, probably in the 10lb range.  However, even giving some to friends and family that might be a bit much for us to use in two weeks.  Maybe. 

It also takes a good week to make this, so if we really like it (wife loves Canadian bacon but has never had it made at home) I want to try and keep some handy.

Spliner

[beefmann]

assuming you smoked / cooked the ham to 142 - 145 F range it is now  completely cooked and no longer needs cooking, Re heating it is another story.

vacuum sealing ham is a  great idea..  i do it all the  time, just be careful to do a good  seal on the  bags, in some cases if moisture creeps up and gets between the  seal point you  may  not have a  good seal and  end up  with frost bite  food.

what i also do is label all vac sealed food with  what it is along  with the date it was  made, 

[ragweed]

X2 on Beefmann's reply!  I vac and freeze too.  Doesn't last long around here tho.  The last batch was made in NOV '14 and I've got 7lbs in the smoker now as we've been out for a while.

[Spliner]

@Beefman:  So eating it cold once I've smoked to IT of 145-150 is perfectly fine?  You said Re-heating is another story, so I assume by that you mean it can be re-heated in a pan but it isn't necessary?

@ragweed:  Yep, love my food saver.  You're right about the seals, I generally vac/seal once, then seal a second time and don't seem to have issues any more.  I do try to label stuff but sometimes I am lazy if I know it's something we will use soon, but you know you always find that one thing in the back of the freezer months later... "crap when did we freeze this?"  lol

[Habanero Smoker]

I'm assuming you are still referring to Canadian bacon. If you find the need to freeze, it is best to freeze the Canadian bacon in smaller portions. That way you will be thawing only what you need at the time, and what is thawed out should be used within a week after it has been thawed.