# Finally, Maple Flavoured Bacon, Thanks To Scarbelly and Pops



## disco (Jul 21, 2014)

I have been making back bacon (Americans erroneously call it Canadian bacon) since I started smoking, a couple of years ago. In that time I have been trying to get a real maple flavour in my bacon without success.

I was injecting some wings (thanks to Scarbelly and his wing recipe). As I was doing it, I was wondering why you couldn't inject a pork loin with maple syrup as long as you included a curing brine and gave it long enough in a curing brine to make sure it cured all the way through. An experiment was born.

I bought two 2 pound pork loins that were on sale. I didn't want to make too much in case it didn't work.

I made up some modified brine (thanks to Pops for his basic recipe). I modified it to introduce some maple syrup. I need to make 3 litres (3/4 of a gallon) to have enough to submerge the loins. Here is the brine I made up:

125 ml (1/2 cup) kosher salt
175 ml (2/3 cup) sugar
90 ml (1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) brown sugar
90 ml (1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) maple syrup
11 ml (2 ¼ teaspoon) Prague Powder #1

enough water to make 3 litres (3/4 of a gallon).

I took 125 ml (1/2 cup) of the brine and mixed it with 60 ml (1/4 cup) maple syrup. I injected the mixture into the pork loins in several places.













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Of course there was a little blow back!













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Then I submerged the pork in the brine and let it sit for 2 weeks in the cooler. I did stir them around every couple of days.













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I pulled the pork out of the brine, rinsed it well and dried it with a paper towel.













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I let it sit in the cooler overnight and then put it in my Bradley smoker at 140 F with no smoke for 2 hours to ensure I got pellicle on the surface.













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I set up my mini for a cold smoke. I was making some smoked cave aged gruyere, edam and old cheddar at the same time so I added ice to my mini and used my A-MAZE-N Pellet smoker with apple and pecan dust.

I cold smoked the cheese and bacon for 3 hours.













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I took the bacon out of the cold smoker and put it in the Bradley electric smoker at a temperature of 150 F over pecan smoke. I increased the temperature to 170  F after an hour. I increased it again to 190 F after another hour. I increased it to 200 F after another hour and continued to smoke until the internal temperature was 150 F.













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I let the bacon sit in the fridge for 2 days for the flavours to blend. Then, it is sliced. I’m sorry, I forgot to take a picture when I sliced it two days later.

*The Verdict: *Eureka! This has a real nice taste of maple. Not the candy maple taste of commercial products, a real nice mellow maple flavour. This is now my favourite recipe for back bacon.

Disco


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## dandl93 (Jul 21, 2014)

Thanks for the walk threw I am getting real close to do some ?? Bacon.This looks like a great starter recipe.

Dan


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## disco (Jul 21, 2014)

dandl93 said:


> Thanks for the walk threw I am getting real close to do some ?? Bacon.This looks like a great starter recipe.
> 
> Dan


I really like the way this recipe and making bacon is fun.

There are 2 basic methods, dry cure and brine. I have tried both and they both make a good bacon.

Bearcarver is a good resource for dry cure and Pops brine makes a good bacon.

Let me know if I can help.

Disco


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## dandl93 (Jul 21, 2014)

Disco said:


> I really like the way this recipe and making bacon is fun.
> 
> There are 2 basic methods, dry cure and brine. I have tried both and they both make a good bacon.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the help offer.I am sure I will be bugging you real soon.I should start testing my new smoker any day now. Once it is dialed in I will start working on getting my Bacons and Hams dialed in I will start off at first with Pops brine then venture out to Bearcarvers dry cure.I am still fighting with learning the metric system so the best way is the KISS method for me.

Dan


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## pc farmer (Jul 21, 2014)

Glad you finally got it right Disco.

It looks great.


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## disco (Jul 21, 2014)

dandl93 said:


> Thank you for the help offer.I am sure I will be bugging you real soon.I should start testing my new smoker any day now. Once it is dialed in I will start working on getting my Bacons and Hams dialed in I will start off at first with Pops brine then venture out to Bearcarvers dry cure.I am still fighting with learning the metric system so the best way is the KISS method for me.
> 
> Dan


Welcome to my world. I live in the metric world and most of the forum is American. Sigh. I get by.

I really encourage you to try buckboard or back (Canadian) bacon.

Disco


c farmer said:


> Glad you finally got it right Disco.
> 
> It looks great.


Thanks, Adam. It just goes to prove you need to keep trying.

Disco


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## dandl93 (Jul 21, 2014)

Disco 

American Belly Bacon and Canadian Bacon are both on my first to do list.Pork belly and pork loins are easy to get here I will work on these two until I get them correct then move on to other meats.

Dan


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Jul 21, 2014)

That looks awesome Disco ! :2thumbs:  Very nice !


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## foamheart (Jul 22, 2014)

Congrats my friend, excellent job!


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## disco (Jul 22, 2014)

dandl93 said:


> Disco
> 
> American Belly Bacon and Canadian Bacon are both on my first to do list.Pork belly and pork loins are easy to get here I will work on these two until I get them correct then move on to other meats.
> 
> Dan


You will have fun and will eat well doing that! Sadly, belly is almost impossible to get around here.


WaterinHoleBrew said:


> That looks awesome Disco !
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks, Brew. It tasted good too!


Foamheart said:


> Congrats my friend, excellent job!


Thanks Foam. I'll have to send you some maple syrup to give it a try.

Disco


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## woodcutter (Jul 22, 2014)

Look at the color on that bacon! Very nice!


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## disco (Jul 22, 2014)

Woodcutter said:


> Look at the color on that bacon! Very nice!


Thanks, Todd. Once again my food has improved thanks to this forum.

Disco


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## Bearcarver (Jul 22, 2014)

Looks and sounds Great, Disco!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	









Glad to see you're still eating good!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	









Bear


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## disco (Jul 22, 2014)

Bearcarver said:


> Looks and sounds Great, Disco!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks, Bear. Eating is something to be enjoyed!

Disco


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## smokinvegasbaby (Jul 25, 2014)

WOW! Disco...................I gotta try this recipe. 

Josie


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## disco (Jul 26, 2014)

SmokinVegasBaby said:


> WOW! Disco...................I gotta try this recipe.
> 
> Josie


Thanks, Josie. I think this is my go to back bacon recipe now.

Disco


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jul 26, 2014)

Great looking Bacon Disco! I like using my mini for cold smoking. Especially my double decker and using the mailbox mod.


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## darwin101 (Jul 26, 2014)

Very nice looking bacon Disco, congratulations.


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## disco (Jul 26, 2014)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Great looking Bacon Disco! I like using my mini for cold smoking. Especially my double decker and using the mailbox mod.


It worked just great by putting the AMNPS on the charcoal grill. It even left me room to put ice in to keep it really cold for the cheese. It will be my cold smoker from now on.


Darwin101 said:


> Very nice looking bacon Disco, congratulations.


Thanks, Darwin. I do love my bacon.

Disco


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## pops6927 (Jul 27, 2014)

Congratulations on your perseverance!   

Let me interject an idea, however.  What if you tried maple extract vs. maple syrup for a more intense flavor?


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## disco (Jul 27, 2014)

Pops6927 said:


> Congratulations on your perseverance!
> 
> Let me interject an idea, however.  What if you tried maple extract vs. maple syrup for a more intense flavor?


Thanks for the suggestion Pops. I have tried extract in the past and it gets closer to the store bought but it isn't a real maple flavour in my opinion, it is kind of like the fake maple in the commercial stuff. 

This has a more maple syrup taste that is clear but not overpowering so I think I will stick with it.

As for my perseverance, She Who Must Be Obeyed has a different word for it!

Disco


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## oregon smoker (Jul 27, 2014)

this looks right up my alley ,tremendous job! i am right in the middle of my busy season but this is first on my list to make!!

tom


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## disco (Jul 27, 2014)

Oregon Smoker said:


> this looks right up my alley ,tremendous job! i am right in the middle of my busy season but this is first on my list to make!!
> 
> tom


You are very kind. There is something satisfying about a good bacon!

Disco


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## stovebolt (Jul 28, 2014)

Great post as usual. Thanks.

Chuck


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## knifebld (Jul 28, 2014)

Great post Disco...going to refer to this thread for sure when I attempt this! Thanks!


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## disco (Jul 28, 2014)

stovebolt said:


> Great post as usual. Thanks.
> 
> Chuck


Thanks, Chuck!


knifebld said:


> Great post Disco...going to refer to this thread for sure when I attempt this! Thanks!


I recommend giving back bacon a try. It is fun and tasty!


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## frosty (Jul 28, 2014)

Well, that is certainly a success of the highest order.    Nothing but perfection!


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## foamheart (Jul 28, 2014)

Disco does good work, ya just gotta be there the day SWMBO'd lets him do it!

<Chuckles>


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## disco (Jul 28, 2014)

Frosty said:


> Well, that is certainly a success of the highest order.    Nothing but perfection!


Thanks, Frosty! Well, as close to perfection as a fat old Canadian can get.


Foamheart said:


> Disco does good work, ya just gotta be there the day SWMBO'd lets him do it!
> 
> <Chuckles>


You have that straight! Of course, if it works out well, she also rewards me!


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## nchapelheel (Sep 2, 2014)

Has anybody tried to use maple sugar instead of syrup?

Got my first batch in yesterday and I used maple syrup. Later...much later... I thought about using maple sugar in the

brine instead of brown sugar.


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## disco (Sep 2, 2014)

nChapelHeel said:


> Has anybody tried to use maple sugar instead of syrup?
> 
> Got my first batch in yesterday and I used maple syrup. Later...much later... I thought about using maple sugar in the
> 
> brine instead of brown sugar.


I tried it as a sweetener in the brine without much success. I did use it in a dry cure and it gave some maple flavour but not a lot.

Disco


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