Smokin-It User Forum!
Recipes => Bacon! => Topic started by: SuperDave on February 14, 2015, 02:47:11 PM
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I bought my pork loin this morning on sale at Cash & Carry for $1.77/lbs. The plan is to make some Canadian bacon or also known as back bacon. The first step is to trim it up. There is a fatty skin layer and then a sinew tissue layer. The fatty skin layer comes off rather easily.
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Sinew layer trimmed and loin ready to be split into 2" X 2" sections.
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Strips in the brine bucket.
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Meat will sit in brine a minimum of 48 hours.
Brine recipe:
1 gallon of water
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
8 teaspoons instacure powder #1
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 cup maple syrup
I simmered in 1 quart of water until salt & sugars are dissolved and then allow to cool. Mix with 3 quarts of cold water and the brine is ready. Put meat in the brine, weigh down with a plate if necessary and refrigerate.
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Looking forward to see what you do with this.
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C&C sucked me in for 20 lbs of cheese when I went in to get the loin so another cheese smoke looming out there too. 8)
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8 tsp. of #1 cure seems pretty hefty for a gallon of water. I only use 3 (1 Tbsp.), but brine longer. I guess that also explains the short 48-hour brine time. Be interested to hear how this goes. Is this an old recipe of yours, or something new?
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Tony, one of the guys on my fishing board is supposed to be hard core into meat curing. He thinks this book is one of the better ones out there.
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The Ruhlman book is one of the curing bibles, Dave, so I'm sure you're OK! It just struck me as a lot of cure, which can be a bad thing. :o
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The Ruhlman book is one of the curing bibles, Dave, so I'm sure you're OK! It just struck me as a lot of cure, which can be a bad thing. :o
Curing is like smoking I guess. Everyone has their own opinions. My buddy says he'd run away from recipe that called for a 2 week brine. I'm of the same opinion as you and figure the curing powder must have a pretty direct impact on cure time.
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I believe you're right, Dave! ;)
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Meat is going to air dry until tomorrow evening and then get smoked.
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So, here's the results. First samples seemed a little salty but as Pork Belly pointed out to me, that seemed to dissipate by the next day. It wouldn't be hard to sit down and eat a log of this in one sitting.
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That looks awesome! I love the dark pink color.
I do a lot of Canadian Bacon as I don't really like smoked or grilled pork loin.
I can tell you that the salt levels do go down after resting for a while.
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Since I generally buy pepper bacon at the store, I tried a little garlic pepper on the outside just before putting in the smoker. It gives just a nice accent to the flavor.
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Looks great Dave. I need to make some cb. Going to try ruhlmans method.
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Looks great, Dave!
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Hey Dave, what was your smoking routine for the CB. That looks awesome.
Chuck
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After allowing to dry in the refrigerator for 24 hours, I sprinkled with a little pepper rub and smoked at 230 until it reached an internal of 145.
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Simple enough. What wood? Amount?
Thanks again.
Chuck
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It is a relatively short smoke, about 3 hours, 1.5 - 2 oz. of wood is plenty. I used apple for flavor and cherry for color.
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One more money shot!
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Beautiful
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Meat looks great but that is a fine looking Hollandaise.
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Nice spread there, Dave!
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That does look yummy
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Dave, how many lbs. was the loin before you started. I am doing a loin starting today using your recipe. A gallon of the brine for how many lbs.? And those sectional pieces in the bucket are 2"x2"? They look bigger than that. And if 2x2 is correct, why that size? Easier getting more brining surface to keep the brining time to a minimum?
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Dave, how many lbs. was the loin before you started. I am doing a loin starting today using your recipe. A gallon of the brine for how many lbs.? And those sectional pieces in the bucket are 2"x2"? They look bigger than that. And if 2x2 is correct, why that size? Easier getting more brining surface to keep the brining time to a minimum?
Bill, I usually get a 9-10 lb loin at Sam's, trim it, and cut it in 4 equal sections. In the Briner Jr. that I use, 1 gallon of brine is more than enough to cover the 10 lbs. of loin.
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That's pretty much what I did Tony. 9.7 loin from Sam's but it was the first time using the briners so I guessed the 4 pieces might be crowded in the Jr. so I did them in the bigger Briner. I figured the sections would get better absorption with the extra room. I will go ahead and use the Jr. the next time. They are now sitting in the fridge for 2 days and I am now desalinating 2 corned beeves to start a pastrami project.
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Sounds good, Bill!
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Yep, mine was a 9 lbs loin from Cash & Carry. It is all but gone already. Canadian bacon sandwich with some of my smoked cheese is like taking an addictive drug.
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Oh my, Dave! We need to find you intervention! You'll need to send all of the offending substance (CB & cheese) to me immediately, for proper disposal of course! We're all in this together, and we'll get you the help you need! LOL! ;D
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Dave, it took me a while to get back on my Canadian bacon experience because I have been tied up with numerous smoke projects. But...your recipe was incredibly easy to do and produced by far the best Canadian bacon I have ever eaten. I do not plan on sharing this bacon with anybody else. I am hoarding. This kind of changed my previous impressions of CB as being a breakfast meat. Sliced thin it is so tender and moist it makes great sandwiches. With the maple (syrup and smoke) it has a sweetness that contrasts with the saltiness and makes it tough to put back in the fridge.
So, after this weekends action I now have or had 2 full bb rib racks, 7.5 lbs of pastrami, 9 lbs of canadian bacon, and 16-17 lbs of pulled pork. Since I live alone I can see that this hobby is going to have me looking like Buddha.
Correction, more like Buddha than at present. Another beach season down the tubes.
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How long do you think the brine will keep in the fridge? Any other smoking the brine would be good for? I made more than needed, so just put the extra in a sealed container in the fridge.
By the way Dave, I made some; it's great.
Thanks,
Chuck
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Chuck, put it in a gallon bag and lay it flat in the freezer or maybe a soda bottle?
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I wouldn't even freeze it if you have space. I have started keeping a gallon of brine in the meat fridge in case I need to soak a chicken with little prep.
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I use empty gallon water jugs to store brine. When I make a gallon, I always put it in a water jug in the fridge until it's good and cold (even though I chill it with ice when I make it). It'll keep for a long time - really nothing to go "bad" in a brine.