# Chipotle Canadian Bacon



## disco (Jul 7, 2018)

Jeff stopped by my site and made some comments about my maple bacon and my chipotle bacon and inspired me. Wouldn't the nice mellow heat of chipotle go great with the smooth sweet of maple? It had to be tried.

There were some pork loins on sale and I went for Canadian bacon. It still bothers me to call it that. Canadians like me call it back bacon.

I mixed up the cure ingredients. For each kilogram of pork I use:


3 grams (2 ml) Prague powder #1
15 ml brown sugar
15 ml Kosher salt
If you are out of tune with most of the world and use US measures, for each pound I use:


0.05 ounce (1/5 teaspoon) Prague powder #1
1 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

This is different than my usual cure blend as I reduced the  brown sugar as I will be injecting maple syrup.








For each kilogram of meat I injected 25 ml of maple syrup every inch or so. In US measures, I would inject 1 tablespoon for each pound of meat.







I put the meat on a plate and rubbed the cure mixture into it.







I put the meat in a vacuum seal bag making sure to get all rub that fell onto the plate into the bag. I sealed the bag but did not suck the air out.






I let the bacon cure in the fridge for 12 days. I took it out and soaked it in cold water for 1 hour changing the water once. I dried it off with paper towels and rubbed 15 ml of ground chipotle per kilogram on the surface. In US measure, that is 1 1/2 teaspoons per pound.






I put the bacon on a rack, uncovered in the fridge overnight for the surface to dry. I smoked it at 200 F with hickory pellets to an internal temperature of 140 F. This is not enough to cook the bacon and it has to be fried but it does cook it enough to make it easy to slice.






I let the bacon sit in the fridge overnight and then sliced it up.











Of course, you have to give it a test fry!







The Verdict
This was incredible! The bacon had a great sweet touch from the maple syrup and the heat from the chipotle went great with it! It made for a wonderfully complex, tasty bacon. This will be one of my favourites. Thanks for the inspiration, Jeff.

Disco


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## bdskelly (Jul 7, 2018)

Delicious! Standing ovation for this one. I humbly bow to the master as I give him a Like! B
PS out of tune with the measurements  of the rest of world. Too dang old to change.


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## dcecil (Jul 7, 2018)

WoW, as always most impressive.


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## disco (Jul 7, 2018)

bdskelly said:


> Delicious! Standing ovation for this one. I humbly bow to the master as I give him a Like! B
> PS out of tune with the measurements  of the rest of world. Too dang old to change.


Har! Thanks for the like, Brian! One day you will see the wisdom of the metric system!


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## disco (Jul 7, 2018)

dcecil said:


> WoW, as always most impressive.


You are too kind to this fat old Canadian, Doug!


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## chilerelleno (Jul 7, 2018)

/me waves at Disco...  "Pass me a slice or five, pretty please?!?!"


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Jul 7, 2018)

Very nice thread as per usual Disco!  Definitely need to try this.. the flavor combo sounds awesome!


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## gmc2003 (Jul 8, 2018)

Another fine tutorial Disco. I'm not a fan of maple syrup, could honey be used instead?

Point for sure.

Chris


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## David Leopold (Jul 8, 2018)

Looks great! Fellow Canadian here and I agree, it’s called back bacon!

I’ve made one chunk of back bacon last week using a wet brine method (will make a post soon on it). 

I want to try a dry brine one next and I have a question for you on it. As I do not have an injector do you think it will still work reasonably well to just rub the maple syrup onto the loin along with the dry rub before packing in the bag?


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## SmokinAl (Jul 8, 2018)

Another good one Disco!
Nicely done!
Al


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## disco (Jul 8, 2018)

chilerelleno said:


> /me waves at Disco...  "Pass me a slice or five, pretty please?!?!"


Thanks, Chili! You are welcome for bacon at my place anytime!


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## disco (Jul 8, 2018)

WaterinHoleBrew said:


> Very nice thread as per usual Disco!  Definitely need to try this.. the flavor combo sounds awesome!


Thanks Justin. It is very good and I don't know why I didn't think of it before!


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## disco (Jul 8, 2018)

gmc2003 said:


> Another fine tutorial Disco. I'm not a fan of maple syrup, could honey be used instead?
> 
> Point for sure.
> 
> Chris


Thanks, Chris. Honey is delicious in bacon as is molasses. However, they are thicker and hard to inject. I would mix one part of hot water with two parts of honey or molasses for the injection.


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## disco (Jul 8, 2018)

David Leopold said:


> Looks great! Fellow Canadian here and I agree, it’s called back bacon!
> 
> I’ve made one chunk of back bacon last week using a wet brine method (will make a post soon on it).
> 
> I want to try a dry brine one next and I have a question for you on it. As I do not have an injector do you think it will still work reasonably well to just rub the maple syrup onto the loin along with the dry rub before packing in the bag?


I have rubbed the syrup on the surface by making a slurry of the rub ingredients and the syrup. It gives an OK taste but the maple flavour is definitely lighter. Injectors are quite inexpensive. I know us Canadians are slow to pry open a wallet but it is worth it in this case.


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## disco (Jul 8, 2018)

SmokinAl said:


> Another good one Disco!
> Nicely done!
> Al


Thanks, Al. I am a bacon addict!


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## David Leopold (Jul 8, 2018)

Haha we are indeed slow to pry our wallets open. I might just look for one, would come in handy for chicken and turkeys as well.


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## disco (Jul 8, 2018)

David Leopold said:


> Haha we are indeed slow to pry our wallets open. I might just look for one, would come in handy for chicken and turkeys as well.


Absolutely! If you haven't tried Scarbelly Wings, get an injector and treat yourself!


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## Bearcarver (Jul 11, 2018)

That Back Bacon looks Awesome, Disco!!
Nice Job!
Like.

Bear


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## disco (Jul 11, 2018)

Bearcarver said:


> That Back Bacon looks Awesome, Disco!!
> Nice Job!
> Like.
> 
> Bear


Thanks for the like, Bear!


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## David Leopold (Jul 14, 2018)

Hey Disco,

I just realized, or at least I hope I’m right on this, that you’re the guy on some YouTube videos I’ve watched about bacon making!!??

Or am I imagining it? Haha

Oh and I am getting ready to do some maple back bacon usin your method. I even pride open my wallet and picked up an injector the other day. Tried it on some chicken already.


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## chilerelleno (Jul 14, 2018)

You're not imagining it.


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## disco (Jul 14, 2018)

David Leopold said:


> Hey Disco,
> 
> I just realized, or at least I hope I’m right on this, that you’re the guy on some YouTube videos I’ve watched about bacon making!!??
> 
> ...


I have done several videos on YouTube, thanks for watching! I think you will be happy you got an injector, it is good for so many dishes!


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## disco (Jul 14, 2018)

chilerelleno said:


> You're not imagining it.


Maybe I am!


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## chilerelleno (Jul 14, 2018)

disco said:


> Maybe I am!


I think it's just a little Deja vu.


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