# Bacon and Canadian Bacon



## bill ace 350 (Sep 18, 2014)

Picked up some pork belly the other day, and some pork loin today. Will mix up a dry cure for them tomorrow, cure for 6-8 days, then smoke... Will post pics of the dry cure tomorrow. Can't wait! haven't had bacon in awhile!


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## foamheart (Sep 18, 2014)

Bill, you should know, once you do this you can never return back to who you are now. You will have crossed over and there is not returning. It will get into every fiber of your very existence. You camp the meat counter begging the butcher for free samples of larger pieces of meat! You'll break large limbs off your neighbors fruit and nut trees. You'll have boxes and boxes of seasonings and spices including cures you'll never use, taking up space in the house.

Bon Chance!!


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## pc farmer (Sep 18, 2014)

I am in.  

I love curing meats.


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## disco (Sep 18, 2014)

Looking  forward to the Qview!

Disco


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## flyboys (Sep 18, 2014)

Sounds great, I'm in


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## daveomak (Sep 18, 2014)

Bill Ace 350 said:


> Picked up some pork belly the other day, and some pork loin today. Will mix up a dry cure for them tomorrow, cure for 6-8 days, then smoke... Will post pics of the dry cure tomorrow. Can't wait! haven't had bacon in awhile!



Bill, evening.....  when curing, the accepted time to cure is 1/4" of thickness per day, + 2 days....   Sooooooo, for a 4" thick loin, 2" to the center should be cured for a minimum of 10 days.... then a good rinse and a couple days in the refer for it to come to equilibrium would be good...  Too short of a cure time is not good... extra time is good... there is a chemical reaction/penetration that does need to happen...

Dave


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 19, 2014)

Thanks for the replies everyone. The loins I have are not large, but I will take the advice and cure longer. Here is a picture of my first attempt at Canadian Bacon -













canadian bacon.jpg



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 19, 2014


















canadian bacon1.jpg



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 19, 2014






I hope this next batch works out as good....

Will post updates.


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## themule69 (Sep 19, 2014)

I look forward to seeing some smoke.

Happy smoken.

David


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## daveomak (Sep 19, 2014)

When you cut into the loin, check to make sure the cure has penetrated to the center.....

This is an example of too short a cure time..... 













Partially Cured Meat.jpg



__ daveomak
__ Sep 19, 2014


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## rexster314 (Sep 19, 2014)

Foamheart said:


> You'll have boxes and boxes of seasonings and spices including cures you'll never use, taking up space in the house.
> 
> Bon Chance!!


That was me when I first started out almost 10 years ago. Now I have a favorite dry cure that I mix up myself that  I use for almost everything except pastrami which needs to be pickled.


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 27, 2014)

So, my pork bellies will be ready for some smoke tomorrow, the loins another couple of days.

I am going to try a cold smoke, using apple wood,  and a cheapo 30w soldering iron from Harbor Freight to make some smoke. Seems like it will do the trick.


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## themule69 (Sep 27, 2014)

How long are you planning on smoking? Happy smoken. 
David


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 27, 2014)

Probably 6 - 10 hours... Play it by ear...


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 27, 2014)

Rinsed, soaked, patted dry and peppered. in the fridge overnight. Test fry was outstanding.













peppered.jpg



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 27, 2014


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 28, 2014)

Started the smoke at 1315. Bellies had a nice pellicule on them. Outside temperature about 72 degrees. Used some ice in the pan to maybe keep temperatures down. Smoking with apple wood  in an old peanut can with a soldering iron. Smoking nice an evenly. Will post pics.


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 28, 2014)

apple smoke.jpg



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 28, 2014






Nice smoke, nice temp....even decided to throw a small block of sharp cheddar in..


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## foamheart (Sep 28, 2014)

I never thought of a camp cup as a multi tasker before. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





So where's the meat??


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 28, 2014)

Camp Cup definitely a multi-tasker!!! If you need to bump up the temp real quick, just place that on the top!!!!!


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 29, 2014)

Events caused my plans to change, and I ended up pulling it after 4 hours of smoke at 70 - 75 degrees. Wrapped it and placed back in the fridge. Will try some tonight.













bacon and cheese.jpg



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 29, 2014


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 29, 2014)

1.jpg



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 29, 2014


















2.jpg



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 29, 2014


















3.jpg



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 29, 2014


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## pc farmer (Sep 29, 2014)

Looks great.   How was the smoke flavor?


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 29, 2014)

c farmer said:


> Looks great. How was the smoke flavor?


Mild, but you could taste it. My first try with apple, has a nice flavor. I think a couple of hours more would have been better, but i'm calling this another success!!!


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## pc farmer (Sep 29, 2014)

Sweet deal.  I usually let mine set in the fridge for 3 days to let the smoke mellow some.


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 30, 2014)

Started Canadian bacon 













loin.jpg



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 30, 2014





low to warm it gradually before applying smoke....












temp.jpg



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 30, 2014


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 30, 2014)

getting_there[1]



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 30, 2014






Getting there....


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## pc farmer (Sep 30, 2014)

Lookin good


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 30, 2014)

c farmer said:


> Lookin good


Thanks C Farmer..... Another 30 minutes and I will take another temperature reading... Once I decide to pull it, I will tent and let it rest. I screwed up though....Dont have any plastic wrap.... What's best, place it in a zip lock, or wrap in foil?


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## pc farmer (Sep 30, 2014)

I would zip lock it and try to get the air out of it.


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 30, 2014)

Thanks again C Farmer. I pulled it at 147 degrees, have it tented now...













Canadian_Bacon[1]



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 30, 2014


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## pc farmer (Sep 30, 2014)

Looks great but 3 more degrees and you would have been able to eat it cold without cooking it.

It would have been fully cooked.


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## ensignway (Sep 30, 2014)

Very good advise. I remember curing "bauern Schinken" cold smoked ham approx. 2" thick and let it sit for a week before rinsing and netting for cold smoke


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## bill ace 350 (Sep 30, 2014)

I'm calling the Canadian bacon a success!













finished[1]



__ bill ace 350
__ Sep 30, 2014


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## pc farmer (Sep 30, 2014)

I see much more cured meats in your future.


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## bill ace 350 (Oct 1, 2014)

Well, I am very pleased with how the Canadian bacon turned out. It was my third batch using a dry cure. Very, very tasty and easy cure using Tender Quick. For my next attempt, I think i will make up a batch of Pop's Brine and try the wet cure route. Make a comparison.... Thanks for looking and all the assistance and comments.


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## pc farmer (Oct 1, 2014)

You think tender quick is easy.

Pops brine is easier.

I have 3 loins curing with tender quick that will get smoked this weekend.


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## bill ace 350 (Oct 1, 2014)

What do you think the pros and cons of each are?


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## pc farmer (Oct 1, 2014)

I haven't used pops brine with loins.   Only belly bacon.

I need to do  a side by side test.  When I brine cured a cold smoked.  When I went to tender quick I started warm smoking.


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## bill ace 350 (Oct 1, 2014)

Interesting.  I cold smoked my bacon cured with tenderquick.  Worked good, tastes great.


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