Canadian bacon

Anybody out there in WSMland know how to make CB?
I think it is made from pork loins or tenderloins.
Thought I might try some on the WSM when I'm doing
some salmon and/or turkeys.

I haven't tried this out yet, but here's the Canadian Bacon recipe from "Great Sausage Making and Meat Curing" by Rytek Kutas.

The directions call for a detailed temperature regiment which may not be possible with a charcoal smoker, so experiment.

The directions also say to stuff the cured loins into a synthetic casing, probably to hold their shape. Again, I doubt it's necessary, but it was in the book, so I transcribed it here.

For 25lbs of pork loin
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5 qts ice water (38-40 degF)
1 cup + 2 Tbsp powdered dextrose
1/4 cup Instacure #1 (a.k.a Prague Powder #1)
3/4 cup salt (granulated, not kosher)

Chill pork loins to 38-40 degrees. Remove all bone and trim all fat until you reach lean meat.

Dissolve the ingredients in cold water. It's OK to use ice to maintain water temperature. Spray pump the loins with the brine solution to 10% of their green weight. Place loins in remaining brine and store at 38-40 degrees for 4-6 days. Remove from cooler and wash under hot water. Let drain and tightly stuff into a synthetic casing.

Place loins into a preheated smokehouse at 130deg. Hold for 4 hours without smoke. Slowly increase temperature to 150 and hold for 3 hours while introducing smoke. Increase to 160 and hold until internal temperature reaches 142. Remove and cool with cold tap water until internal temperature is 110. Hang at room temperature until casings are dry. Refrigerate overnight before using.

To make peameal bacon
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Cure pork loins as above. Dry cured loins somewhat and coat generously with yellow corn meal. No smoking necessary.

Joe

Here's a recipe I use that's similar to Joe's. I've made it a couple of times when whole loins were dirt cheap and I had a freezer full of them. While my results were closer to a mild ham than Canadian Bacon, the meat was still very good.

This is a tough recipe to make on a WSM due to the stable low temps over a long period required to cure the meat. The WSM wants to run hotter than what the recipe calls for. About a one pound coffee can of hot coals at any one time is all that's needed for heat. Making Canadian Bacon is probably better suited to a Cookshack than a Bullet. Nevertheless, this was still a fun project to experiment with.



Canadian Bacon

(Makes up to 25 pounds of pork loins)

5 quarts of ice cold water
8 ounces cane syrup (corn syrup, molasses, honey or 1/2 cup packed brown sugar)
3 tablespoons Tenderquick
4 ounces table salt

Trim all visible fat from the loins and keep cold.

Weigh the loins to determine the amount of brine to be injected into them. Dissolve the above ingredients in the cold water. This can be simplified by dissolving the sweetener, TQ, and salt in a cup of boiling water before adding to the remaining cold water. A few ice cubes will also help keep the brine cold.

Inject the loins with 10% of their weight with the brine. (I found the loins to be fully saturated with about half that amount, however.) Pour the remaining brine into a non-reactive container and place the loins in the brine and cover with an airtight lid. Store loins in the fridge for seven days; stir the loins at least once every day to ensure all surfaces of the meat are exposed to the brine.

Preheat smoker to 130 degrees.

While the smoker is coming to temperature, remove the loins from the brine, rinse with fresh water, and pat dry with paper towels. If desired, press cracked pepper into the surface of the loins. Wrap each loin tightly in cheesecloth to maintain their shape and secure the ends with twist ties.

Put the loins in the smoker for about 4 hours without smoke. (The idea at this point is to gently remove the excess moisture from the loins without cooking them through.) Increase the temperature to 150 degrees, apply smoke for 2 hours, then raise temperature to 160 degrees and continue to smoke until internal temperature reaches 142 degrees.

Upon reaching 142 degrees, remove loins from the smoker and rinse under cold running water until the internal temperature reaches 110 degrees. Remove cheesecloth and let the loins rest at room temperature until the surface is dry.

Store the meat in the fridge overnight to allow it to “tighten up” before using.

Thanks for the repies,guys. Most of what found
on the "net were"variations on a theme...". Although I did stumble across one-it was early in the AM and I was at work-that called for brining in the fridge for 3 weeks or so and no smoking!!
I will probably try Ken's method as it seems easier. At long as it eats good who cares what you call it!