# Canadian Bacon...Bear style



## xray (Jan 10, 2017)

Here's two pork loins after curing for 10 days. Both were approximately 1 1/2" thick.

Special thanks to Bearcarver and his easy to follow step-by-steps.  I've followed his steps to a "T" so far.












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The thickest one was cut in half to check for cure penetration. They are soaking now, will do a fry test shortly.  After that, they will rest in the fridge, uncovered overnight.

I will be using Maple pellets for tomorrow's smoke.


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## xray (Jan 10, 2017)

Salt fry test showed no salt flavor.












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In the fridge until tomorrow, more to come.












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## SmokinAl (Jan 11, 2017)

Looks like a great start!

Al


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## tropics (Jan 11, 2017)

I'm in

Richie


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## xray (Jan 11, 2017)

Well I woke up to a sheet of ice blanketing everything, but it sure is a pretty day.












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I put the bacon in at 8 am. Since I had three pieces, I decided to experiment with one.  Here's a piece brushed with maple syrup and coated with coarse ground pepper.












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## SmokinAl (Jan 11, 2017)

That's a nice view off your porch!

Sunny here today too, but no ice!

Al


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## xray (Jan 11, 2017)

Thanks Al. It's 30 degrees out but it feels like T-shirt weather after the cold snap we had.


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## tropics (Jan 11, 2017)

Xray said:


> Thanks Al. It's 30 degrees out but it feels like T-shirt weather after the cold snap we had.


Almost 50* here, how long are you going to smoke it?

Richie


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## xray (Jan 11, 2017)

tropics said:


> Almost 50* here, how long are you going to smoke it?
> Richie



 I have it smoking at 180°, the IT is about 115°. So probably 6 or 7 hours total. I will pull the pieces when they hit 145 IT


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## smokin jay (Jan 11, 2017)

Looking good xray! I got the ice too,looks like more to come!


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## Bearcarver (Jan 11, 2017)

Looking Good Xray!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Everything's going Great !!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





My Son had to salt the Driveways this morning again.  Now it's 47°---Supposed to push 60° tomorrow.  I'll take it !!

Be Back......







Bear


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## xray (Jan 11, 2017)

Thank





Smokin Jay said:


> Looking good xray! I got the ice too,looks like more to come!



Thanks Jay! We're good on ice here. We have a heat wave the next two days!



Bearcarver said:


> Looking Good Xray!!!:drool
> 
> Everything's going Great !!Thumbs Up
> 
> ...



Same here, I had to salt the driveway this morning so my wife could get to work, now it's 50 degrees and mild.


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## xray (Jan 11, 2017)

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The last  of the Canadian bacon reached 145 IT. It took about 6 1/2 hours total. Now I will wrap them and rest in the fridge so I could slice them either Friday or Saturday afternoon.

They smell wonderful!


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## Bearcarver (Jan 11, 2017)

Xray said:


> The last of the Canadian bacon reached 145 IT. It took about 6 1/2 hours total. Now I will wrap them and rest in the fridge so I could slice them either Friday or Saturday afternoon.
> 
> They smell wonderful!


I can't quite smell them from here, but they certainly look Tasty!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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Nice Job!! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## xray (Jan 11, 2017)

Bearcarver said:


> I can't quite smell them from here, but they certainly look Tasty!!:drool ----:points:
> 
> Nice Job!! Thumbs Up
> 
> ...



Thanks Bear! And thanks for the points!!

Yeah, the wind was calm for a change. Usually, I fight the wind on all my smokes!

Can't wait to try them.  Now the hardest part of my breakfast will be, do I choose CB or scrapple? Or why not both!!


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## Bearcarver (Jan 12, 2017)

Xray said:


> Thanks Bear! And thanks for the points!!
> 
> Yeah, the wind was calm for a change. Usually, I fight the wind on all my smokes!
> 
> Can't wait to try them. Now the hardest part of my breakfast will be, do I choose CB or scrapple? Or why not both!!


Definitely "BOTH" !!

Bear


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## xray (Jan 14, 2017)

Well the CB is sliced and vac sealed. It tastes delicious! I got 45 slices total.












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This isn't going to last long at all.  I'll have to make more soon.   I noticed my food saver is still leaving a little bit of air in the bags. Im  going to  need to find a fix for this or purchase a new one ...bummer.


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## Bearcarver (Jan 14, 2017)

Xray said:


> Well the CB is sliced and vac sealed. It tastes delicious! I got 45 slices total.
> 
> This isn't going to last long at all. I'll have to make more soon. I noticed my food saver is still leaving a little bit of air in the bags. Im going to need to find a fix for this or purchase a new one ...bummer.


Slices look great !! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Is your sealer sucking any juice across the sealing path.

In the past, I've had mine skip sealing where there was a trail from juices going across the seal strip.

Bear


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## xray (Jan 14, 2017)

Bearcarver said:


> Slices look great !! :drool
> 
> Is your sealer sucking any juice across the sealing path.
> In the past, I've had mine skip sealing where there was a trail from juices going across the seal strip.
> ...



Thanks Bear! 

The strip is dry when I vac seal, no juices are being pulled there.  I would say it removes 85-90% of the air.  The food saver was my late grandfather's.  It is the first one I ever owned and it always seemed to work fine. I just don't know if there's a simple fix or if it's a sign that it's getting ready to crap the bed .


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## Bearcarver (Jan 14, 2017)

Xray said:


> Thanks Bear!
> 
> The strip is dry when I vac seal, no juices are being pulled there. I would say it removes 85-90% of the air. The food saver was my late grandfather's. It is the first one I ever owned and it always seemed to work fine. I just don't know if there's a simple fix or if it's a sign that it's getting ready to crap the bed .


LOL---That thing I mentioned is "All I Got".

Maybe it's just getting tired.  I don't work so good any more either.

Bear


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## smokin jay (Jan 14, 2017)

Looks awesome xray! Points!


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## xray (Jan 15, 2017)

Smokin Jay said:


> Looks awesome xray! Points!



Thanks Jay! It came out real good. Do you have any of yours left?


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## smokin jay (Jan 15, 2017)

No it's gone! Lol gotta make some more bear bacon! It's  fantastic!


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## tropics (Jan 16, 2017)

Xray have no idea how I missed the sliced shot,they have beautiful color Points

Richie


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## xray (Jan 16, 2017)

tropics said:


> Xray have no idea how I missed the sliced shot,they have beautiful color Points
> Richie
> 
> :points:



Thank you Richie, and thanks for the points. It was real good too! I'm going to be using this stuff up quick.


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## tallbm (Jan 16, 2017)

Man that looks great! I love CB. As for the vacuum sealer, I have a feeling yours has reached the end of it's life.

Vacuum sealers are NOTORIOUS for crapping out and not lasting.  Even when you think you are buying quality by going with a big brand name like FoodSaver you still will likely get disappointed.  

I did a little research and broke down and bought a Weston Pro 2100 and never looked back.  I got it on sale about 5 years ago for about $350 and yeah it hurt paying that much but man this thing sucks... in a good way :D

It works without issue and just keeps going and going and going.  Expensive yes, but when you process 5-7 animals a year yourself you do NOT want your vacuum sealer dying or simply failing after all that working put in to butcher wonderful and clean cuts of meat + sausage. 

The Weston Pro 2100 and 2300 are the same thing but one is stainless.  The 3000 seems to be the new model and I've never used it. 

I bought the 1100 for my Father this past Christmas and the machine works well vacuum sealing but a "feature" they added to help clamp down on the bag during vacuuming makes the usage a little annoying.  It's some sort of click and grab mechanism meant to keep the lid/handle pushed down as the machine vacuums.  You then push down on it and it unclicks/ungrabs to then open up.  It is annoying and doesn't always grab correctly.

In any case vacuum sealers seem to be a must "pay to play" kind of item and it costs you about $350+ to get a Weston sealer that will last unlike other sealers that may make it 1yr or 2 if lucky.

Hope this info helps :)


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## xray (Jan 16, 2017)

Thank you Tall, it helps immensely.  I haven't had the time yet to really research a new one or possibly fixing this one. The only thing I tried was inspecting the gaskets and rubber, they look perfectly fine to me. The ceiling strip is clean and the unit is self itself clean and free from any kind of debris.

 I think I am going to vacuum seal a few non-perishable items and nonfood objects, like my cell phone etc.  just to make sure it is not nothing that I am doing wrong. 

 I inspected some bags that I recently froze, that I have sitting in the freezer. I've noticed they have some small air pockets inside of them maybe 5 to 10% of the air is left behind. 

 I vacuum sealed a ton of smoke cheese last year and that is perfectly fine.


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## timstalltaletav (Jan 16, 2017)

Not sure if this would help but I'll suggest it anyway.  Take the sealing gaskets out of the machine and inspect them closely.  Mine was doing the same thing with leaving behind a bit of air.  It turns out there was a small break in the bottom gasket. It wasn't visible when they were in the machine but it was definitely effecting the seal.  I bought a new set for about 6 or 7 bucks and it's been good as new.


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## tallbm (Jan 16, 2017)

Best of luck troubleshooting your sealer. I had the $174-$200 Food Saver and had the same thing you describe with losing seal quality. I went the whole route of buying and replacing gaskets, and strips, etc. and nothing worked to get it back to acceptable condition.

I really hope your situation is fixable but if not start saving up for a hardcore sealer :)


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## xray (Jan 21, 2017)

Well, I found out what's going on with the vacuum sealer. 

It's not completing the seal. When I look very closely at the bags, there's a tiny portion in the right hand corner where the bag's seal isn't melted all the way through...almost as if the heating strip isn't getting hot enough. 

The bag will seal properly at first but after a few hours air will seep back in.

Has anybody tried replacing the heating element? The strip is clean and the foam and rubber gaskets are in good shape.


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## Bearcarver (Jan 22, 2017)

Xray said:


> Well, I found out what's going on with the vacuum sealer.
> 
> It's not completing the seal. When I look very closely at the bags, there's a tiny portion in the right hand corner where the bag's seal isn't melted all the way through...almost as if the heating strip isn't getting hot enough.
> 
> ...


I'm sure someone here has.

You should post a "New Post" with a Subject something like "Replacing Element in Vac Sealer".

Somebody should come through for you. This place is Great !!

Bear


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