I vote for turning it all into Canadian bacon. It's just me and my wife, but I typically cure 4-5 lbs at a time of pork sirloin or loin. I'll be constantly curing batches between now and Christmas because family and friends have already put in their orders. Got a batch in the fridge right now I started today. We use it for making everything from BLTs to pizza to weekend breakfast potato/egg/onion/pepper/bacon scrambles.
I use a semi-wet cure. For 5.25 lbs of pork loin I'd use the following:
1.3 tsp of cure #1.
2 Tbs plus 2 tsp of Kosher salt.
2 Tbs plus 2 tsp of course ground black pepper.
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs of dark brown sugar.
1.3 cups of cold water.
Cut the meat into two pieces so the pieces would fit side by side in a gallon Ziplock bag. Put the meat in one bag, then put that bag into a second gallon Ziplock. Mix up the above ingredients in a bowl or large enough measuring cup and pour it into the bag with the meat. Squeeze out as much air as possible from the inner bag and seal tightly. Then squeeze out as much air as possible from the second bag and seal tightly. Put it in the fridge, turning it over and massaging it daily for 10-14 days.
Remove from the bag, rinse thoroughly, soak in cold water for an hour, pat dry, then put it uncovered on a rack in the fridge for 24 hours to form a pellicle.
Smoke at 200F until IT is 140F. Cool and vacuum seal. Hickory, pecan, peach, cherry, apple, oak, and maple all work for smoking. I haven't tried mesquite and don't intend to.
Picture of batch curing right now.
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