First ever Peameal Bacon

[v8trdude]

Hey all. Well decided to try my hand at peameal bacon this week. There aren't as many steps to making this, and with it being a household staple for most of my life, I figured it would be a good way to start. On a trip down to Michigan a few weeks back, found 6# pork loins on sale for $10. Considering our grocers charge $6 for 6-8 slices, I figured even if managed to mangle it, $10 was worth the education. So I started with the brine

1 gal water
1 c himalayan pink rock salt
1/3c brown sugar
2/3c white sugar
1/4 c honey
1 T pickling spice
5 cloves minced garlic
23g instacure #1

Got all the ingredients (except the cure) warmed up in a pot to help blend everything, let it cool and then added the cure. Don't know what I did with a couple of prep pics, but then trimmed up and cut the loin in half. Into the bucket with ziploc bags and into the fridge.

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• v8trdude
• Jun 12, 2014

Rolled it over every night and tonight was the 6th day its been in. Decided to cut one open and have a look

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• v8trdude
• Jun 12, 2014

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• v8trdude
• Jun 12, 2014

Since it was looking like everything was good to go, washed off the split halves and cut off a couple slices for the fry test

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• v8trdude
• Jun 12, 2014

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• v8trdude
• Jun 12, 2014

Taste came out better than I could have imagined. Wasnt overly salty, so gave it the roll in cornmeal

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• v8trdude
• Jun 12, 2014

Sliced it all up, and got most of it stowed away ready for the freezer. Saved a few to cook up for BLTs.

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• v8trdude
• Jun 12, 2014

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• v8trdude
• Jun 12, 2014

Managed to get 41 slices ( we like it a little thicker) out of that loin. The family was hoping I wasn't going to freeze any of it.. guess they enjoyed it.. anyway, thanks for looking

Jeff

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Looks real good Jeff, very nice ! Thumbs Up

Justin

 

[dingo007]

Looks great! Makes the best BLT!

 

[tonybel]

Looking good!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Interesting and looks good. The meat does not get Smoked? Can you explain why the use of Cornmeal? Thanks...JJ

 

[v8trdude]

Looks real good Jeff, very nice !

Justin

Thank-you. Very pleased with my first attempt. Looking forward to doing more

 
Looks great! Makes the best BLT!

Love it on banquet burgers too. A lot of flea markets have vendors that sell strictly grilled peameal sandwiches(4 or 5 slices to a bun) . Was one that did a honey mustard glaze while the slices were cooking, but left an awful sticky grill..lol.. Delicious 

Looking good!

Thank-you

 
Interesting and looks good. The meat does not get Smoked? Can you explain why the use of Cornmeal? Thanks...JJ

Thank-you. Traditionally, it was rolled in ground yellow peas for aid in preserving the meat so the outside of it was not exposed to the elements.  Somewhere along the line, cornmeal started getting used. My granddad once told me it was done during one of the wars, as it became a cheaper, and less time consuming option to use cornmeal. He used to get some once in awhile from a butcher that did it the traditional way with the peas, and while it was still good, I prefer it with the cornmeal. Gives it a bit of a sweeter taste and a better crust, in my opinion.

 

[v8trdude]

Chef JimmyJ got my curiosity going, and as I had never really looked into why peameal is what it is, I decided to do a little research. I managed to find a few interesting links, so here is a bit of history The Canadian Bacon storyAround the turn of the last century (or as they say, "during the war years"), England had a pork shortage. They imported side bacon from Canada, smoked it and termed it "Wiltshire Sides" in England. Due to this event Canadian bacon was made famous. Over time the United States believed that Canadian bacon was smoked back bacon although true Canadian bacon is not smokedPeameal definitionDuring the war years, yellow peas were ground up into meal. Canadian bacon was rolled in this meal. This ensured better curing, shelf life and avoided bacterial problems. Over the years, this tradition was changed to cornmeal, due to the availability of corn.The USDA refers to peameal as uncooked Canadian Bacon. Also found a couple of websites talking about Peameal Bacon roasts. Where a glaze or sauce is spread across the uncut loin, and cooked. Never tried it myself, but sounds like it might be nice to try.