# Canadian Bacon Smoke w/Qview



## pops6927 (Nov 6, 2012)

Kroger had a deal on half pork loins, rib half's, $1.79/lb., picked up two of them and brined them for 27 days, was going to smoke them last week but Hurricane Sandy hit and waited another week (that's the beauty of brining vs. dry curing, flexibility - you have up to 45 days in the brine!).    

Took them out this morning, sacked them and hung in the smokehouse:













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started the mailbox on smolder with a combination of Corn Cob and Pitmaster's:













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and off they go!

Promised my sister a piece, she's still in upstate NY, didn't want to ship it to her until their problems straightened out, that's why I waited!  I'll post more when they're done!


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## fpnmf (Nov 6, 2012)

Looks great..Tell Joann I sent my best wishes!!!!

I sent a link to this thread to her;  "Jo Ann, Craig Wedgwood says Hi! and Best Wishes!"


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## s2k9k (Nov 6, 2012)

Lookin' Good Pops!


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## smoking b (Nov 6, 2012)

Nice smokehouse Pops! I have some Canadian bacon that should be done curing today. This is probably a stupid question but what happens after 45 days in the brine? Bacteria count too high perhaps or am I missing something obvious?


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## pops6927 (Nov 6, 2012)

It's finished curing an it starts degenerating into a gelatinous mass, proteins breaking down.


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## pops6927 (Nov 6, 2012)

Love my smokehouse!  Modeled it after my dad's smokehouses from Koch:

                                                                                         This one - Insulated Gas or Electric













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With the addition of the external Amazen Smoker mailbox attachment:













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The back upper exhaust, showing the Thin Blue coming out:













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Inside, the good smoke goin'!













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It cost me about $400 in parts and built it myself (while recuperating from one of my strokes, it's a miracle it has 4 sides! lol!)

My kids helped me build it, they are wonderful (and knew what I was going to do with it, keep them supplied!)


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## pops6927 (Nov 6, 2012)

November Roses, just beautiful this time of the year, it's about 80° outside!


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## smoking b (Nov 6, 2012)

Pops6927 said:


> It's finished curing an it starts degenerating into a gelatinous mass, proteins breaking down.


Ah ok - makes sense  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






    I hope to build a smokehouse of my own in the very near future. I need to make up my mind what style I want to build   
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   Wow 80* - it's 45 here right now...


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## pops6927 (Nov 6, 2012)

Spring and Fall are our 'real' summertimes; too hot in the summer and chilly in the winter.


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## pops6927 (Nov 6, 2012)

Internal is 124° as of 12:30pm; proceeding normally!

BTW, as many know, my wife is retiring this month.  They gave her a retirement party Friday, a little early, but time sensitive.... her boss bought her a  ticket at the Texas Motor Speedway for the next day, Saturday, Nov. 3rd; it was November Race weekend there and George Jr. bought her a ticket to "Ride of a Lifetime!" - 4 laps on the track with other 14 other racecars (all driven by professional Nascar drivers) and she had a ball!

my Gorgeous wife, Linda!













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others waiting:













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Her by Jr's NG car!













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Getting into Dale Jr's Navy 88 car!

The plaque she got for the ride!













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She had a ball, the speed didn't bother her a bit!

Scanned in her plaque picture!













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## pops6927 (Nov 6, 2012)

Reached 150° by 3 pm, pulled them and they came out great!  Trimmed off one end to check, yum!













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Sweet color!  Fully cooked!  Delicious!  That one is for you, Jo Ann!  I trimmed it extra lean!  The end was a thin slice, not much wasted at all!


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## kadoka (Nov 6, 2012)

Seeing your wife enjoying herself brought a smile to my face.Congrats to her on her retirement and to her new

racing career. Nascar needs a new Pretty Face.

Rick


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## big casino (Nov 6, 2012)

looks good pops, I will have to try the cheese cloth I usually set them on the rack


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## smoking b (Nov 6, 2012)

I don't think they are cheese cloth - they look like the cotton ham bags that Butcher & Packer sells

http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22_78&products_id=228


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## smokinhusker (Nov 7, 2012)

Looks great Pops and I love the pics of your wife (I'm a Dale Jr fan).


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## jrod62 (Nov 7, 2012)

Nice !


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## sqwib (Nov 7, 2012)

Awesome pops, thanks for sharing some great moments as well as a great smoke.


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## pops6927 (Nov 11, 2012)

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Canadian Bacon sliced!  I split the other piece 3 ways; 1 chunk for my Chiropractor (See YAWYE - The Spine: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/127754/the-spine), 1 for my son, and 1 for me.  This is mine.  Had it this morning for breakfast... sooo good!

Sent off Jo Ann's piece (from Fort Worth, Tx., to Pulaski, NY) Wednesday, she got it Friday.  Waiting to hear if she liked it!


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## smoking b (Nov 12, 2012)

That looks really good Pops! I'm going to try out your brine for my next batch of Canadian bacon...


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## spec (Nov 27, 2012)

Thats an Awesome smoker Pops!

Bet the wife will never forget that ride either


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## pops6927 (Oct 28, 2015)

[h1]Pops6927's Curing Brines - Regular and Lo-Salt[/h1]




By: Pops6927

Posted 10/27/14 • Last updated 10/27/14 • 1,268 views • 0 comments

These are my Curing brines for pork, beef (corned and dried), poultry, and so on.

Regular Curing Brine:

1 gallon of clean water

1 cup plain, regular non-iodized table salt

1 cup sugar or sucrolose

1 cup brown sugar or sucrolose equiv.

1 tablespoon of Cure#1

Lo-Salt Curing Brine:

1 gallon of clean water

½ cup plain, regular non-iodized rable salt

½ cup sugar or sucrolose 

½ cup brown sugar or sucrolose equiv.

1 tablespoon of Cure #1

mix in food-safe container, stir until clear.

Add meat.  Do not add different species of meats, but you can add pieces of the same species.

Refrigerate 1 to 21 days, depending on thickness of meat. 

Up to 2 inches, 1-10 days.

2 - 4 inches, 5 - 15 days, may require injecting to cure from the inside-out as well as from the outside-in.

4 inches and larger.  15 - 21 days, requires injecting.

Injecting - use a Morton's injection 4 oz. manual injection pump with the Broadcast needle.













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or equivalent.

Brine can become frothy (ropy).  It has both salt and sugar in it.  It also is inputting curing ingredients into the meat and oozing out blood and plasma.  Just dump the brine and make up fresh and continue curing should that happen.  Make sure you keep it at 38° - 40°.  

Weigh down meat into curing brine with half-filled ziploc bags of water on top.

No further mixing or stirring required, let it cure until done.  Meats will come out of the brine wish a distinct grayish look.  This is normal.

Cure #1:

I use this as reference:













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Computing equivalency, for 100 gallons of curing brine, you add 24 lbs. of curing salt to 100 gallons of water and mix.

That is .24 lbs, or 3.84 oz. of curing salt to 1 gallon of water maximum.

My recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of curing salt to 1 gallon of water.  A level tablespoon is .88 of an ounce.  Heaping is approx. 1 ounce.  Either is fine.  Neither comes close to the maximum amount allowed, but just enough to do the job.  Curing at Maximum, plus with injection, requires 48 hours of cure time maximum.  This process uses less than one third the curing salt and a longer curing time to tenderize and flavor the meat.

You must cover the product until it floats off the bottom of the container, then weight it down to stay submersed in the brine, leaving no area to be exposed to air.  You must keep at 38° to 40° until curing time is over.  Remove from brine, put or hang in smokehouse or smoker.  I personally go from refrigeration to heat with no wait time myself.  There is different thoughts, whether to allow a pellicle to form or not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellicle_(cooking)

A pellicle is mainly, to my knowledge, allowed to form on fish prior to smoking.  We were only 30 miles from Salmon River in Pulaski, NY, a very well known salmon run.  We had many bring us their salmon to process and usually allowed a pellicle to form  But, pork and beef are not tender like fish.

Anything I have left out or any questions, be sure to PM me!  Don't hesitate!


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## grillfather (Oct 29, 2015)

Looks like a good guide to brining!I saw IT temp was 150 degrees when you pulled out of smoker! What was your smoking temp at?


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## vince m (Jan 23, 2016)

Can i make that brine then fill zip lock up with it and still be safe?


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## daveomak (Jan 23, 2016)

vince m said:


> Can i make that brine then fill zip lock up with it and still be safe?


When using Pops brine/cure mix, you must mix up a gallon and put the meat in it...  If you put meat in a quart of the brine, or just mix up a quart by cutting stuff in 1/4's, there will not be enough cure for the meat...  

As a note, when you find a reliable recipe, DO NOT CHANGE IT...


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## vince m (Jan 23, 2016)

Thanks I'll have to figure something out I have no room in fridge for that


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## smokin phil (Jan 23, 2016)

.


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## daveomak (Jan 24, 2016)

vince m said:


> Thanks I'll have to figure something out I have no room in fridge for that


As Phil said, a dry cure will work...  If you are wanting to brine a small portion try this.....

Weigh the meat....  say it's 4 #'s....  One pint of water weighs ~1#....    Now you have 5#'s of stuff...   add 1 tsp. of cure #1.....  1 tsp. is used for curing 5#'s of stuff...   add salt and sugar and dissolve and zip bag it all and put in refer for at least 7 days turning daily...   Thickness determines time in the cure...


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## vince m (Jan 24, 2016)

Pink salt can be used as dry cure too as a sub mixture?


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