# Canadian Bacon Bearcarver’s Way



## thebig1 (Feb 2, 2019)

Well, this is my first attempt at ever making Canadian bacon.

I allowed the meat to cure for 12 days. I got it out this morning, washed and soaked it, and then cut a piece out of the middle of the thickest piece and fried it up for the wife and I. Again, this is my first time. It kind of tasted like a fried pork chop.

I seasoned half of it with McCormick’s seasoning and the other half plain for the ham flavor that Bear has described.













I put it in the smoker for 1 hour at 150* to allow the pellicle form. After an hour I put the AMNPS in filled with 2 rows of AMNPS Maple Sugar pellets. I then bumped the temperature up to 160*.












Now comes the questions to answer my confusion.

How is the color of my cured meat, did it come out right?

I am thoroughly confused, it’s been absolutely frigid cold this past week, today’s temperature is around 15*-20*, the meat has been in the smoker for a total of 3 hours, and th IT of the meat that I’m plugged into is already 131*. Does this sound right?

Will continue to update as my day progresses.

Update: I just plugged my TP20 into a different piece of meat and the temperature is down to 118*.

Chad


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## TomKnollRFV (Feb 2, 2019)

It can be hard to tell from pictures if the curing got in there or not, since it can be a light pink...but I think it did. 

As for how long Canadian bacon can take..remember it's pretty lean as a cut, so don't expect it to take 8-12 hours like Buckboard can. I've had Canadian bacon done in 4 hours. Though you are right with how cold it is, sounds like one probe is close to the surface of the meat, or poked through to touch the grating!


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## SonnyE (Feb 2, 2019)

Looks good Chad!
I'm a cold smoker of my Bacon's. Because I'm going to always cook it before use.
Your color looks good to me, but I'm also new at this.
I typically do a 14 day cure. Considered to be a maximum cure time. So I err toward the long side. Your 12 days sounds good to me.
You've hit on why I have multi probe meat thermometers. I have a TP-08, but I added an IBT-XP, and recently the newest Long Range IRF-4S. Which I think I like the best so far, because it is LCD and easy to see, has all 4 probes viewable at all times.
When I did my first bacon's (2 ea - Pork Belly and Buckboard) I stuck all for and monitored the IT. Kind of frivolous for cold smoking, but I was curious.
Now I can almost monitor a chain of sausage links. 
You might want to find your most middling chunk and use it as your average, then when you are near your finish, probe them all.
I'd hesitate to open the smoker a lot. It upsets the cook over all.

Incidentally, cured pork is going to be kind of pork tasting. All it has is curing, no smoking yet.


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## jcam222 (Feb 2, 2019)

I hot smoked my Canadian bacon that was cured in Pops brine. I have people begging me to make more.


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## thebig1 (Feb 2, 2019)

Thank you very much guys, I appreciate your input.

Tom, thanks for bringing up the point about cook times, now I feel better.

Sonny, thank you for touching on my question about taste, I was worried but now I’m not. Also, I think that I might look into cold smoking my buckboard bacon. I literally just got back from the store where I picked up two boneless pork butts to do buckboard. With as cold as it is I can just hang it in my smoker for days since I built a 4’x4’ shed to house it and it’s all protected.

Jcam, I hope that I get at least half that reaction.

Chad


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## noboundaries (Feb 2, 2019)

I ten-day cured eight pork loin chops, about 1 1/2" thick, then smoked them last week. Total weight just under 8 lbs. Set the smoker at 200F, with a bump to 225F for the last hour. Took 4 hours to reach 140F. The temp rise slowed SIGNIFICANTLY once they hit 125F, that's why I bumped the chamber temp. Reminded me of a stall.


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## thebig1 (Feb 2, 2019)

Boundaries, thank you for THAT reminder too. Lol. I’m sitting here wondering why I’ve been at 130*-135* for the past hour or two. Now I remember about the stall too.


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## SonnyE (Feb 2, 2019)

albngore said:


> No, that is not correct. If I did not see the jar of "Himalayan Pink Salt" on the counter, I would not have been able to answer correctly. HPS is NOT CURING SALT. You need to use Prague Powder #1.



He's done curing. That mixed seasoning you see is for his smoking.
Kind of like Pepper Bacon. The pepper is applied between Pellical, and the smoker.


Read it closer. It is HPS, Black Pepper, and Garlic.


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## SonnyE (Feb 2, 2019)

albngore said:


> My mistake, obviously. I just hate to see this Himalayan salt because many people do not understand about curing salts. Thank you.



No sweat. You'll find many watch dogs prowling this neighborhood.

Feel free to ask or correct me if I screw up, too.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 2, 2019)

thebig1 said:


> Boundaries, thank you for THAT reminder too. Lol. I’m sitting here wondering why I’ve been at 130*-135* for the past hour or two. Now I remember about the stall too.




I don't see any brown or gray in the middle of your slices, so the cure must have got to center.

Also:   That's probably not a stall.
It's not going to go fast above 130° when your Smoker Temp is only 160°.
If you're following one of my CB Smokes, you should notice I keep my Smoker temp down below 160° for enough time to get plenty of Smoke, but then once I'm happy with the Smoke, I'll go to about 190° to get it to get to an internal Temp of  145°--150°.
I Take all my BBB & my CB to 145° IT, because IMHO it tastes better than cold smoking, and if I want I can eat it cold, or just warm it up a little, without having to worry about getting it to 145°, because it's already been there.

I Smoke my Bellies with 100° to 130° Smoker Temp, until it gets good color & flavor (About 10 to 12 hours---One AMNPS load). I don't worry about the IT, because I always fry my Belly Bacon before eating.

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 2, 2019)

Bearcarver said:


> I don't see any brown or gray in the middle of your slices, so the cure must have got to center.
> 
> Thank you for the reassurance.
> 
> ...


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## thebig1 (Feb 2, 2019)

It’s been 9 hours and although the ones which were on the right and middle (over the heating element), the two on the left were still at 136*. 

Look at the intense color on these. I used 2 rows of Maple Sugar by AMNPS. It’s not their fault, but I hope that I didn’t overdo the smoke and ruin the entire batch.


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## pc farmer (Feb 2, 2019)

They will be good.  I smoke for 12 hours. a full tray of smoke


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## thebig1 (Feb 2, 2019)

pc farmer said:


> They will be good.  I smoke for 12 hours. a full tray of smoke



I’m hoping Farmer. The alarm just went off and I pulled the plug. I’m just going to let them in the smoker which is inside it’s shed instead of putting it in a fridge.

I’ll go check on it sometime tomorrow and then bring it in for slicing and sampling on Monday night.


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## chopsaw (Feb 2, 2019)

What's the internal temp ? I do alot of loin ham using Bears step as a guide line always comes out great . I like to just warm mine up , or eat it cold on a sandwich . I take it to 145 internal


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## thebig1 (Feb 2, 2019)

chopsaw said:


> What's the internal temp ? I do alot of loin ham using Bears step as a guide line always comes out great . I like to just warm mine up , or eat it cold on a sandwich . I take it to 145 internal



Yes, it hit 145* when I turned it off. The other pieces were around 150-155.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 3, 2019)

That does look exceptionally Dark, but it could be because of what you had on the surface---Sugar??.
As long as you didn't have too much "Heavy Smoke" it should be fine.
Remember --- Hours & Hours & Hours of light to medium Smoke is good, but even a short time of Heavy Smoke can be bad.

BTW: I alway like to use the Second Rack from the Top, so it's not close to the heating element.

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 3, 2019)

Bearcarver said:


> That does look exceptionally Dark, but it could be because of what you had on the surface---Sugar??.
> As long as you didn't have too much "Heavy Smoke" it should be fine.
> Remember --- Hours & Hours & Hours of light to medium Smoke is good, but even a short time of Heavy Smoke can be bad.
> 
> ...



I just used that McCormick seasoning with salt, pepper, and garlic. I too have it on the second rack from the top, following your lead as always.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 3, 2019)

Be back to see how you made out & for final Pics.

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 3, 2019)

I had to open up the smoker to take a peak. It’s VERY dark. I hope that it’s good and not ruined. I’m hoping that it’s just the Maple Sugar wood pellets that made it so dark.

I’ll be slicing and sampling tomorrow evening.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 3, 2019)

Hopefully it's good to go!
If it's bad on the outside, don't toss it.
If it doesn't scrub off, you should be able to slice the outer portion off, especially with a meat slicer.
Fingers crossed.

I do that sometimes with some of my BBB, CB, and Dried Beef, even when it's good, because Bear Jr loves the outside. He says it's better than the best Jerky he ever had. So I trim a bunch off & give it to him.

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 3, 2019)

That’s sound advice, I truly appreciate it. I might have made a mistake and junked it.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 3, 2019)

thebig1 said:


> That’s sound advice, I truly appreciate it. I might have made a mistake and junked it.



Yeah---LOL, I hate to get there too late to tell somebody not to toss it!!

Bear


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## SonnyE (Feb 3, 2019)

I would wait for several days to allow the smoke to even out through the meat.
That's why I got a small fridge for outside. I let my bacon's age for 5 days basking in the 30's on the open on a rack.
It does two things: Allows the smoke in the Bacon's to mellow. And gives my beer cans a wonderful bacon aroma.
(And it doesn't make the indoor fridge stinky. Which was the most important thing.)


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## thebig1 (Feb 4, 2019)

That's also a good idea Sonny.  Perhaps I'll do that due to what looks like a super heavy smoke.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 4, 2019)

thebig1 said:


> That's also a good idea Sonny.  Perhaps I'll do that due to what looks like a super heavy smoke.



I've tried numerous amounts of time in the fridge after smoking.
I find 36 to 48 is better than 12 hours, but after 48 hours there is very little if any change in flavor throughout.
Nowadays I wait until the second day after smoking, to slice my Bacon---About 40 to 45 hours.

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 4, 2019)

You just had to go and offer your experience and advice again didn't you Bear?  Now I'll be slicing and sampling tonight since Bearcarver said that from his experience it doens't add anything additional. LOL

Seriously, all I was looking for was an excuse to do it anyways.  I'm looking forward to it and am remaining hopeful.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 4, 2019)

thebig1 said:


> You just had to go and offer your experience and advice again didn't you Bear?  Now I'll be slicing and sampling tonight since Bearcarver said that from his experience it doens't add anything additional. LOL
> 
> Seriously, all I was looking for was an excuse to do it anyways.  I'm looking forward to it and am remaining hopeful.




I'm getting anxious to find out if that unusual dark color is a bad thing, and if so how bad.
I would think worst case could be fixed by trimming, like I mentioned before.
If it's only slightly bad, a few extra days in a fridge might help, but since it never happened to me, that one is only a hopeful guess.

Bear


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## SonnyE (Feb 4, 2019)

Whether it is bad or not, Leaving it in with the cans of beer doesn't hurt any.
They take on as much of the smokey bacon flavor as the bacon will give up.

You have 6, try 1 a day for 6 days.
When you decide... There's your favorite bacon!


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## thebig1 (Feb 4, 2019)

SonnyE said:


> Whether it is bad or not, Leaving it in with the cans of beer doesn't hurt any.
> They take on as much of the smokey bacon flavor as the bacon will give up.
> 
> You have 6, try 1 a day for 6 days.
> When you decide... There's your favorite bacon!



I like the way you think Sonny!!!!


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## thebig1 (Feb 4, 2019)

HOLY SMOKES!!!!!! (Pun intended)

We have found astounding success. This Canadian bacon is actually better than anything I could have imagined. I was extremely worried about how dark it got, thinking that I over smoked it.

I used Maple Sugar pellets from AMNPS. I swear to you that I can taste the maple sugar in the smoke on the bacon.

Oh my, I can’t express enough how good it is. Now I’m going to need a 20lb box of those pellets for pork smoking.

More pics will come when I slice it all after dinner.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 4, 2019)

thebig1 said:


> HOLY SMOKES!!!!!! (Pun intended)
> 
> We have found astounding success. This Canadian bacon is actually better than anything I could have imagined. I was extremely worried about how dark it got, thinking that I over smoked it.
> 
> ...




I was hoping for that outcome, but it was awful dark, without the usual Red or Mahogany tint.
Glad to hear that !!

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 4, 2019)

Bearcarver said:


> I was hoping for that outcome, but it was awful dark, without the usual Red or Mahogany tint.
> Glad to hear that !!
> 
> Bear



John, I literally owe it all to you and AMNPS. Without the two of you I never would have been able to do it. I’d have had to find a different recipe.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 4, 2019)

I'm just glad it worked out for you!!!

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 4, 2019)




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## pc farmer (Feb 4, 2019)

Looks great.   I learned from the Bear also.  So you think the pellets is what made the meat dark?


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## thebig1 (Feb 4, 2019)




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## thebig1 (Feb 4, 2019)

pc farmer said:


> Looks great.   I learned from the Bear also.  So you think the pellets is what made the meat dark?



Farmer, I really do. The flavor imparted is also absolutely amazing. I used two full rows on my 5x8 Maze.


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## chopsaw (Feb 4, 2019)

Really happy it worked out for you . This was the first thing I cured and smoked using Bear's knowledge . I like it sliced about a 1/2 " , and just heated up for breakfast , or thin sliced for eating cold . It's addicting .


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## thebig1 (Feb 4, 2019)

I sliced it rather thin. I wish that I would have done half of it thicker now. It’ll still be awesome with some eggs. My son wants to make some Eggs Benedict this weekend with it.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 5, 2019)

thebig1 said:


> I sliced it rather thin. I wish that I would have done half of it thicker now. It’ll still be awesome with some eggs. My son wants to make some Eggs Benedict this weekend with it.




Before I even had a Smoker, we used to buy "Cured & Smoked Pork Chops" from a Farmer's Market "Zern's" in Gilbertsville, PA. They cured and smoked the whole Loin, with Bone in. Then when you ordered them, you had to tell them how thick you wanted them, and how many, and they'd run them off on the Bandsaw, right in front of you. We used to get them cut at 3/4".
I Smoke the Boneless Loins, because I don't have a meat cutting Bandsaw, and I used to cut some at 1/2" (my slicer's Max) and some at about 1/8". I have since gone to cutting them all thin, because I get more flavor when I heat up 4 slices of 1/8" that I do 1 slice at 1/2".

Now-----WHERE??? Do you get the "Maple Sugar" Pellets???

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 5, 2019)

Bearcarver said:


> Now-----WHERE??? Do you get the "Maple Sugar" Pellets???
> 
> Bear



Bear, the pellets are from AMNPS.  I think I remember that his name is Todd.  I know that you know his name.  But he's the one that I got the pellets from.

Are you going to The Great American Outdoor Show this week?  I'll be there on Friday if you'd like to meet up and I'll give you some to try.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 5, 2019)

Thanks, LOL---I didn't know Amazing had that flavor.
Todd's a Good Friend of mine.
We joined SMF about the same time, and I was one of his testers when he was inventing these Little Smoking Miracles.
I'll have to ask him about "Maple Sugar" next time I talk to him.

Sorry, about the only places I go to any more are Doctor's Appointments.
I even skip most Birthdays, Weddings, and Funerals these days.

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 5, 2019)

I understand, it would've been nice to meet up anyways.

I know that I'll be ordering more of the Maple Sugar soon.  I only had a 2lb bag and that dog just ain't gunna hunt.  I'm going to need a 20lb bag now.  I might just try everything pork with those pellets.

I'm worried though, I've talked them up, have become excited myself, etc...  I'm just hoping that I can duplicate the same taste.  I've never been able to actually taste or differentiate between different woods.  They all just tasted smoky to me.  That is until I tried the MS pellets.  Now I'm wondering if I just haven't smoked my foods long and/or heavy enough to actually TASTE the flavor of the wood imposed onto the meat.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 5, 2019)

thebig1 said:


> I understand, it would've been nice to meet up anyways.
> 
> I know that I'll be ordering more of the Maple Sugar soon.  I only had a 2lb bag and that dog just ain't gunna hunt.  I'm going to need a 20lb bag now.  I might just try everything pork with those pellets.
> 
> I'm worried though, I've talked them up, have become excited myself, etc...  I'm just hoping that I can duplicate the same taste.  I've never been able to actually taste or differentiate between different woods.  They all just tasted smoky to me.  That is until I tried the MS pellets.  Now I'm wondering if I just haven't smoked my foods long and/or heavy enough to actually TASTE the flavor of the wood imposed onto the meat.




I was just on the Amazing site.
I don't see anything called "Maple Sugar".
The only thing I see is "Maple" and "Sugar Maple".

Sugar Maple is just a Species of the "Maple" family.
I would never guessed it would actually give a "Maple" flavor just by smoking with it.
I could also only find it in 1 pound bags, listed as
BBQr's DELIGHT GRILLING PELLETS - 1LB *For $5.49.*


Bear


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## pushok2018 (Feb 5, 2019)

thebig1, I am kind of interesting in ordering Maple sugar pellets and just checked AMNPS site - I was able to find only 1 pound bags for $ 5.49 each which is kind of expensive... Looks like the y don't carry 20# bags.... Am I missing something?


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## thebig1 (Feb 5, 2019)

Bearcarver said:


> I was just on the Amazing site.
> I don't see anything called "Maple Sugar".
> The only thing I see is "Maple" and "Sugar Maple".
> 
> ...





pushok2018 said:


> thebig1, I am kind of interesting in ordering Maple sugar pellets and just checked AMNPS site - I was able to find only 1 pound bags for $ 5.49 each which is kind of expensive... Looks like the y don't carry 20# bags.... Am I missing something?



Fellas, I too went on there looking and couldn’t find it. I will take a pic of the bag when I get home and post it. Maybe it’s a flavor that didn’t do too well or something. I see new flavors listed that weren’t there a few months ago when I was on the site.

Stand by


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## Bearcarver (Feb 5, 2019)

thebig1 said:


> Fellas, I too went on there looking and couldn’t find it. I will take a pic of the bag when I get home and post it. Maybe it’s a flavor that didn’t do too well or something. I see new flavors listed that weren’t there a few months ago when I was on the site.
> 
> Stand by




Meanwhile, I'll ask Todd what the scoop is.

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 5, 2019)

Correction!!!!!!

I apologize for any confusion and/or inconvenience. You are correct, it is SUGAR MAPLE. I say again, IT IS SUGAR MAPLE.


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## thebig1 (Feb 6, 2019)

Bear, we’re y able to speak to Todd about whether or not Sugar Maple is, or will be, available in 2lb, 5lb, and/or 20lb bags?

I know I want 20lb myself.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 7, 2019)

thebig1 said:


> Bear, we’re y able to speak to Todd about whether or not Sugar Maple is, or will be, available in 2lb, 5lb, and/or 20lb bags?
> 
> I know I want 20lb myself.




I didn't ask him about future size availability, because he said you must have gotten the Maple flavor some other way, because he doesn't know anyone who can tell the difference between Sugar Maple & Maple, and he never heard of any actual Maple flavor from either. That's kinda what I always thought, until you had this episode.

The biggest difference in the Maples is that the Sugar Maple is the hardest of the lot.

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 7, 2019)

Bearcarver said:


> I didn't ask him about future size availability, because he said you must have gotten the Maple flavor some other way, because he doesn't know anyone who can tell the difference between Sugar Maple & Maple, and he never heard of any actual Maple flavor from either. That's kinda what I always thought, until you had this episode.
> 
> The biggest difference in the Maples is that the Sugar Maple is the hardest of the lot.
> 
> Bear



Wow, ok. I did exactly what you did with the TQ and brown sugar. I’d thought about the brown sugar but just like the cure it’s washed off prior to smoking, etc... Unless it really seeps into the meat during the curing process.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 7, 2019)

thebig1 said:


> Wow, ok. I did exactly what you did with the TQ and brown sugar. I’d thought about the brown sugar but just like the cure it’s washed off prior to smoking, etc... Unless it really seeps into the meat during the curing process.



Everything that turns into liquid rides along into the meat during the curing process.
You should get some Maple & some Sugar Maple, and see if you can tell the difference after smoking a couple times with each. I suspect they will be about the same.

Bear


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## thebig1 (Feb 7, 2019)

10-4


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