Right, I know you can't really make canadian bacon in the wsm, but is there something similar? Please not the buckboard bacon recipe, I have tender quick and I don't really want to mailorder for somebody's cure mix, rather have just a recipe and make my own.

Thanks!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chris Allingham,

There is no reason why you can't make Canadian bacon in the WSM. Want to?

Sure I want to, but I thought you had to keep the temp at something like 140? Am I totally wrong?

You can mini-Minion, get the loin in, then let the temp drift up, capping its rise so as not to go above 200. Take the loin to an internal of 150 and remove. It works very well. Make sure the loin dries nicely (in the fridge, uncovered on a rack, for 8-10 hours or, more quickly, on a rack on your counter with fans blowing on it) before smoking.

to follow up on the mini-minion method, add about 30unlit briquettes. Top with 3-5 lit briquettes and any smoke wood you want. Let it come up to temp. you should get a several hours at 180 this way.

OK, thanks -- I understand the cooking method and the meat (tenderloin). Keeping the temp under 200 is no problem in New England in the winter, as long as the door doesn't fall off! What about a cure? Any thoughts there?

Actually, loin is typical, not tenderloin, and I'd recommend loin. Better size.

Get a boneless center-cut loin roast of about 4 lbs. They are usually well trimmed; trim off any remaining surface fat.

You can:

use a curing brine. I don't really use TQ for anything so consider this conversion somewhat experimental (but I think it will work well).

Pour 1 gal water in a pot on the stove and heat on high. While it's heating add 2 cloves of garlic, crushed, 2 T granulated onion, 1 bunch of sage*, one bunch of thyme*, 2 t white peppercorns, 2.25 c TQ, and .5 c white or light brown sugar and mix till the TQW and sugar have dissolved. Simmer 10 min over med/med-low heat then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Chill thoroughly in the fridge before use. (You can speed cooling by pouring the brine into a pot which you've already placed in a sink full of ice. Stir frequently.)

Place the loin (or loins; you could do two) in an appropriately sized flat container that's roomy enough so that it (or they) is not squashed at the sides or ends, then cover with the chilled brine, weighting the meat to keep it submerged, then cover the container and cure for 2-2.5 days at 36-40F. (Alternatively, place in doubled large Zip-locs, pour in the brine, seal well, then place in a container in the fridge to cure.)

Remove from the brine, rinse well in cold water, the dry as noted upthread.

-or-

you can dry cure:

Note the weight of the meat so that you can make necessary fractional adjustments to this:

Per pound of meat, mix together--


1 T TQ

1 t light brown sugar

1 t granulated onion

.5 t granulated garlic

.5 t dried thyme

.5 t rubbed sage

pinch ground white pepper

Mix thoroughly. Dry the loin. Place the loin on a sheetpan. Sprinkle the loin evenly all over with the mixture and rub it in. Use all the mixture. Place the loin in a Zip-loc, adding any spilled cure mix from the sheetpan to the bag. Press out the air and seal. Cure at 36-40F for 5 days, overhauling (flipping the bag) every 24 hours.

Rinse the loin well in cold water then soak in cold water for 1 hour, changing the water after the first 30 min. Dry then dry further as noted upthread.

Smoke as noted above, using Jay's suggestion. I like apple mixed with a little hickory but use what you wish.

********



* if fresh is unavailable, sub 1/2 c dry, each, for the thyme and/or sage

Hotsy totsy! Thanks so much -- I'm off to cook me some Canadian bacon!

Basic cure: 1 TBSP Tender Quick 1 tsp sugar per pound of loin; cure 5 days; smoke at 200F or less to 145F internal.

I've got 4 loins curing right now for smoking on Sunday. It's great stuff, you'll love it and it's soooo easy.

Here's some pics of back bacon I make in my WSM.

Of course it's Canadian bacon. Shawn made it in Calgary. Actually, great Canadian bacon can be made in a WSM.

quote:

Originally posted by Mary M:
Hotsy totsy! Thanks so much -- I'm off to cook me some Canadian bacon!

Mary,
5 days are up on the 26th. I want to see a post about how things came out, complete with photos, the whole deal. I can't stand it anymore. This stuff looks great and I have to try it. Don't forget us on the east coast.
Hope all came out well as I'm sure it did.

Shawn,
Yours looks fantastic. Nice going

How long does the bacon keep in the refrigerator after smoking?
Is it ready to eat only after frying?
Dave

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dave/G,

quote:

Originally posted by Dave/G:
....
How long does the bacon keep in the refrigerator after smoking?
Is it ready to eat only after frying?
Dave

If it's cured I think you can eat it just like that. But for sure once it's smoked it's cooked. So no, you don't have to fry it. If you do fry don't forget gobs of low salt butter.

I vacuum package and I've had some over 6 months in the fridge, no problem. Kinda makes sense given curing, smoking and vacuuming are all preservation techniques. I think it would keep just this side of forever

quote:

Originally posted by Shawn W:
If it's cured I think you can eat it just like that. But for sure once it's smoked it's cooked. So no, you don't have to fry it. If you do fry don't forget gobs of low salt butter.

I vacuum package and I've had some over 6 months in the fridge, no problem. Kinda makes sense given curing, smoking and vacuuming are all preservation techniques. I think it would keep just this side of forever

Ok, I'm going to try this. I'm getting crazy in my old age, but I do like canadian bacon. I'll try one loin and see how that works. Only two people here. If that works, I'll do more.
I went to the Hi Mountain website last night and attempted to order the cure. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the new customer log in page. I kept getting a message to make sure that I had 5 digits in my zip code, which I did. After a few attempts I got frustrated and looked for another site. Found a company in New Hampshire and ordered from it. Sounds like fun and good eating. Many thanks for the info and especially for the pics as I find they inspire.

Posted by Don Irish in another thread, moved here:

"Gave canadian bacon a try. I used a recipe posted by Kevin K. Cured for one week (a bit longer than many but I did not want to adjust my fridge...had some problems when I did that once before). Smoked at 225 for about 2 hours (only needed about a quarter of a ring and 8 lit coals minion method), apple wood. Over all, rich smoky flavor, however a bit too salty for my tastes. I will soak much longer next time (I did 1 hour with a change of water at 30 minutes) and perhaps cut the cure duration back."

I've suggested elsewhere several times--but not upthread where I also should have mentioned--trimming a small piece off the meat after soaking. This can be fried in a little oil and tasted for salt. If too salty for your taste then soak in a new water at least another hour or two.

Not something I have done with Canadian bacon--but a common technique for bacon that is going to be used to wrap other food, especialy seafoods, where its saltiness would be too much: blanching. Give that a shot. Bring a couple cups of water to a simmer of high heat, add a couple slices of the bacon, lower the heat, simmer gently about 3 min. Drain, pat dry, fry as usual. Being leaner you might have to adjust the simmer time and it's possible the lack of fat will alter the results but give it try.

Thanks for the tip Kevin, I'll give it a try. I did dice some up and added to breakfast tacos...fantastic, I just did not add anymore salt. This will also be excellent in navy bean soup I think.
"I love the smell of smoked meat in the morning...it smells like victory"

Tried it again, this time I soaked for 2 hours with 3 water changes, sliced off a small piece to fry for a taste test...perfect! Apple wood smoked to 142, sliced and vacusealed to give to good friends. Thanks for the tip Kevin.

There is one thing I don't follow; In the bacon recipes its said to take the belly to 140 and then cool, slice, and store. But before eating to fry it up and cook throughly.

What about this canadian bacon? Once taken to 140 is it done, good to eat? Or does it need to be cooked more?

Further cooking is not technically required. To get some depth out of the bacon, this or belly bacon, browning (some, at minimum) is required. The other reason one might cook further is if there were or might have been problems during curing or possible post-smoke contamination. As long as curing, smoking and post-smoke handling was correctly done, further cooking is not required for safety, though it might be for flavor, depending on what you are looking for.

where's the cornmeal? I know Canadian bacon varies but the stuff we know around here is brined, unsmoked and dredged in cornmeal. its called peameal bacon in these parts. great stuff, fried or grilled and served as a blt. Luckily the butcher closest to my home makes it well. it does kind of prevent me from trying to make it myself.

to reduce saltiness, what about shorted brine times and longer rests to redistribute salt? seems like extra work to have to soak it to get the right salt.