Canadian Bacon ?

marysvilleegger · June 2014

Just bought a 4 lb pork loin and wanna make Canadian Bacon. I have Ruhlmans book and it says to brine for about 48 with pink salt and other ingredients then dry in fridge overnight before smoking to 150 IT. Is this the only way to do it? Was thinking more like curing pork belly where it takes 7-10 days in a dry rub. Any info would be great. Thanks.

nolaegghead · June 2014

Brining is a lot faster than a dry cure. You can get too much salt in the meat. But that's a reversible process - you can take salt out by soaking in fresh water. You only need 48. You can go longer but it will be saltier. The biggest complaint I read about home made Canadian bacon is the salt - too much. You can always add salt in the unlikely event your CB is not salty enough.

marysvilleegger · June 2014

Thanks Nola. Good to know on the saltiness. I got the time and would prefer to dry rub. Would like to smoke it next weekend. Any idea on amounts if I don't want to brine ?

nolaegghead · June 2014

You can use the same formula (as in time and amount) as a Montreal brisket for a dry rub. That might be in Ruhlman's book, or you can look up a few recipes online.

Durangler · June 2014

Morton's Tenderquick, rub it in at 1Tablespoon per Pound, Rub w/ brown sugar, place in a ziplock, refrigerate for 7 days, turn everyday, on day 8, remove from bag, soak in cool water for 30 minutes, drain & repeat 3 or 4 times, place on cake rack in refrigerator for 24 hrs, remove & season w/ garlic powder & crushed red pepper, smoke at 100 degrees for 45 minutes, raise temp to 200, smoke until 145 degrees internal. Pull & place in ziplock & place in cold water to stop the cook, refrigerate overnight .... enjoy

Tjcoley · June 2014

+1 with @Nolaegghead. Brine for 48 hours, then soak in fresh water for a while to remove some of the saltiness. I smoked mine at 250 to an IT of 150. Cherry wood.

fishlessman · June 2014

im a fan of the dizzy pig recipe, if you dont have cowlick sub in a montreal steak seasoning. i dont soak before smoking, i smoke it, cool it down, slice and package. day of the cook i rinse the slices for 2 seconds under the faucet and fry

http://dizzypigbbq.com/portfolio/dizzy-pig-cow-lick-canadian-bacon-ii/

Egghead_Daron · June 2014

Here is a thread that was on here recently about canadian bacon. I plan to give this a shot.

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1167361/i-m-addicted

Biggreenpharmacist · June 2014

I'm trying the brine recipe next go around just to save the time. I had to cure mine 2 weeks with the method I used.

DMW · June 2014

Here's my run, it turned out great, following Ruhlman's recipe.

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1162734/two-firsts-canadian-bacon-and-i-lost-my-fire

marysvilleegger · June 2014

Thanks for all the tips! Gonna go the brine route this time. Might only be brined for about 30 hours before I put it in the fridge over night to dry. Think that will be long enough to brine or should I stick to the 48 hour brine time?

nolaegghead · June 2014

Typically I follow the instructions the first time I do something like this and get a baseline, then adjust based on the results and my personal preference.

Ruhlman does write about increasing the brine concentration and reducing the pickle time. As a matter of fact he has a quick brine for chicken - 10% rather than the standard 5%.

http://ruhlman.com/2010/10/how-to-brine-chicken-quick-brine-recipe/

gmac · June 2014

I did the dry rub version and it turned out great but then again, I'm Canadian so I probably had a genetic advantage.

yzzi · June 2014

Haven't tried cannuck bacon yet. Is slicing by hand feasible or do I need to find a slicer?

DMW · June 2014

@yzzi Yes, can be sliced by hand. Par freeze it before slicing.

Canadian Bacon ?

Comments

Categories