NDKoze
Moderator
I had some loins in the freezer from the two hogs that we butchered during sausage making season last year. Since I do not particularly care for grilling them (I haven't tried smoking yet) and I love bacon and ham, I figured this could be an excellent way to use the loins.
My brine is cooling out on the deck right now (at 19 degrees it is colder than my fridge).
So, I figured as I am going to be in for the long wait, I would start a thread for day one of the 12 day brine to see if I can get some tips from you guys that have already done this.
Do you have any suggestions on things you would do different from your Canadian Bacon smokes?
I am pushing it on time as the twelve day will be Sunday 3/2 and I am flying to Atlanta for 5 days on Monday (3/3) morning.
The loins are probably about 10 inches long or so, so I figured I would just cut them in half and end up with four pieces. One loin is a bigger than the other, so in order to prevent overcooking the smaller pieces, I plan on probing one of the smaller loin pieces and also one of the larger pieces instead of using one of the probes for the smoker temp.
Other than that I think I will plan on rotating the pieces in the brine every four days to ensure even coverage. I noticed when I brined my Pork Butt this last weekend that there was a section of the meat that was resting on the brining container that didn't change color like the rest. So, hopefully this will work to get an even soaking in of the brine.
Any tips you guys can provide will be appreciated.
My brine is cooling out on the deck right now (at 19 degrees it is colder than my fridge).
So, I figured as I am going to be in for the long wait, I would start a thread for day one of the 12 day brine to see if I can get some tips from you guys that have already done this.
Do you have any suggestions on things you would do different from your Canadian Bacon smokes?
I am pushing it on time as the twelve day will be Sunday 3/2 and I am flying to Atlanta for 5 days on Monday (3/3) morning.
The loins are probably about 10 inches long or so, so I figured I would just cut them in half and end up with four pieces. One loin is a bigger than the other, so in order to prevent overcooking the smaller pieces, I plan on probing one of the smaller loin pieces and also one of the larger pieces instead of using one of the probes for the smoker temp.
Other than that I think I will plan on rotating the pieces in the brine every four days to ensure even coverage. I noticed when I brined my Pork Butt this last weekend that there was a section of the meat that was resting on the brining container that didn't change color like the rest. So, hopefully this will work to get an even soaking in of the brine.
Any tips you guys can provide will be appreciated.