Damn, This Is Fun

Bob V · November 2003

Elder Ward's instructions for pulled pork call for waiting until the pork gets to 175-185, then opening up the vents to finish off the shoulder at 200. Medium Egg's been going for 16 hours with no refueling and just chugging along.[p]It looked so happy smoking away at 300 that I threw on a pork loin I'd been marinating in the refrigerator to make into Canadian bacon. Hate to see a good fire go to waste -[p]Too much is never enough -[p]Bob V

Seth · November 2003

Bob V,
That part about throtteling the temp up to 300* is not such a good thing in my opinion. It will work if your cook is going a little long, but the best butts that i have had were the longer, not tinkered with cooks. Just my opinion. Have a great turkey day.
Seth

FatDog · November 2003

Bob V,
Tell me more about making Canadian bacon from pork loin. What's the process? Where can I learn more?

Bob V · November 2003

FatDog,
I used a variant of the Ugly Brothers recipe (below):
This recipe might more closely resemble Canadian Bacon or South African "Kassler" since it uses the lean loin cut. We don't really know what to call this recipe since it is not really ham, not really bacon, oh, whatever.[p] Amount Ingredient Preparation Method
10 lb pork loin
10 TBS Morton Sugar Cure (plain)
10 tsp brown sugar [p]First we like to cut the loin into three pieces in order to fit them into gallon sized baggies. Mix plain Morton Sugar Cure with brown sugar, divide into three portions and rub evenly over the pork loin pieces. Place them into gallon sized baggies and refrigerate at 40 degrees F for 10 days, turning daily to allow the nitrite containing moisture to coat evenly. When complete, rinse in cold running water then soak in cold water for about a half hour, pat dry.[p]We cook this cured pork in a number of ways; we smoke it like ham, slice it thick and grill it or slice it thin and fry it in a little extra oil like bacon . We also dice it and use it in a variety of dishes, such as Jambalaya, or any other way you would use ham as a flavoring ingredient.[p](end Ugly Bros)
I didn't use quite as much pork as they did, but used same proportions. Didn't go 10 days, either, though I have a loin still in the fridge. Doing the BBQ forced me to cook one after only 4 days in the brine! Cooked to 145 internal over hickory. I'd probably lower that next time to 140.[p]Results were good enough that not only all the BBQ got finished, but half the loin as well. The other half will be for breakfast.[p]The essentials are the Tenderquick (preserves the color and prevents spoilage) and the sugar (for that sweet, ham-like taste).[p]Good luck![p]Bob V

Damn, This Is Fun

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