A Little Canadian Bacon for the holidays.

sound1 · Nov 17, 2012

The local market had pork loins on sale for $1.69 lb. so I figured that a little CB added to the smoked cheese and cracker baskets that my friends get every holiday season.

This time I used the basic dry cure method:

Per Pound

1Tbs TQ

1Tbs Brown Sugar

And trying something a bit different, for one of the chunks of loin:

Per Pound

1Tbs TQ

1tsp Brown Sugar

2tsp Maple Sugar

I am curious as to how much of the Maple flavor will permeate the meat in the curing process. I like a subtle maple flavor but like many seasonings, it can go way over the top in my opinion.

Anyway, out of the fridge after 13 days...The "Juice" of the chunk that had the maple sugar smelled great.

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sound1
Nov 17, 2012

In the ice bath for a bit then off to the fry test...

PB170238.JPG

sound1
Nov 17, 2012

Fry test, salt level good so some course GBP, and a light sprinkling of granulated onion and garlic. When doing my belly or BBB I have sprinkled some of the maple sugar on the meat as well, but for this CB test I want to see what maple flavor is IN versus ON the meat, trying to achieve that subtle flavor I'm looking for.

PB170240.JPG

sound1
Nov 17, 2012

Back into the fridge to get a nice pellicle and into the smoker early tomorrow.

Now if I could only decide what I want to throw into the AMNPS....so many decisions...

sound1 · Nov 18, 2012

The wife told me the choice of the day is going to be apple. (what was I thinking.... so many decisions??)

driedstick · Nov 18, 2012

That looks really good will be good in gift baskets I sure hope i am on the list

great job your friends will be happy

sbishop · Nov 21, 2012

Looks good, i've been adding 1/2cup of maple syrop to each 1/2 loin bags (with 1tbs of TQ / 1tbs brown sugar per pound).....for some reason, when i do the fry test...its not really salty...so no soaking before smoking.....the flavor is excellent!!!!

good luck!

Sbishop

sound1 · Nov 26, 2012

Took a while to get back to the Computer...That work thing really gets in the way sometimes.

Anyway, some more pics of the project.

Apple smoke to an internal temp of 160

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sound1
Nov 26, 2012

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sound1
Nov 26, 2012

Portion sizing for the gift packs

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sound1
Nov 26, 2012

Ended up with 25 bags ready to go in the baskets

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sound1
Nov 26, 2012

The Maple Sugar did infuse the meat in the subtle way I was looking for and tastes awesome. That said, I will tweak the brown/maple sugar ratio a bit in the future just for fun.

The cheese I ordered for the baskets is coming today....A cold smoke is in my future, if the work thing doesn't keep getting in my way.

jrod62 · Nov 26, 2012

Nice looking CB !

sound1 · Nov 27, 2012

THX jrod, tis difficult to keep the stash hidden from the tasters...

shtrdave · Nov 27, 2012

What kind of smoker did you use, it has a wonderful color to it?

sound1 · Nov 27, 2012

MES 40 with Todd's magic little helper. 4hrs of cold smoke then about 5hrs at 150* finished at 190* until 160 internal..Timing was about perfect, the AMNPS and the meat were both done about the same time.

shtrdave · Nov 27, 2012

Thank you

smqua · Nov 28, 2012

Forgive my ignorance; what is TQ?

dirtsailor2003 · Nov 28, 2012

SMQua said:
Forgive my ignorance; what is TQ?

Morton's Tender Quick

smokinhusker · Nov 28, 2012

That's beautiful Canadian Bacon and some lucky gift receivers! I post this on the Forum Twitter and FB...folks went crazy on FB over it! LOL

sound1 · Nov 29, 2012

Alesia, Too Funny!! Who would of thunk it??

20lbs of cheese came in today so I can get part two of the gift baskets done. Need the time for the cheese to age before I pass them out. But that smoke is for another thread....

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sound1
Nov 29, 2012

smokinhusker · Nov 29, 2012

Sound1 said:
Alesia, Too Funny!! Who would of thunk it??

20lbs of cheese came in today so I can get part two of the gift baskets done. Need the time for the cheese to age before I pass them out. But that smoke is for another thread....

PB290262.JPG

sound1

Nov 29, 2012

Going to be great gifts! Have you seen the Facebook SMForums Page? I posted the photo first - no link to the article, just the pic of the Canadian Bacon on the cooling rack. There were 9,992 views, 49 comments (including mine), 504 Likes and 55 shares. I put up the link to this thread and ended up with 2 shares, 30 Likes, 8 comments and 4,536 views!!!!!

backyard bbq · Dec 3, 2012

Thinking of making this and smoked cheese also for the holidays. Question though after you smoke the cb and cheese, can you keep it in the gift basket or does it need to be refrigerated??? Pretty sure you must keep refrigerated but not too sure. How do you do your baskets ? Tha is a lot!!!!!

smokey mo · Dec 3, 2012

That looks fantastic. I have a half loin in the fridge that will get prep'd tonight for the very same thing. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

dirtsailor2003 · Dec 3, 2012

backyard bbq said:
Thinking of making this and smoked cheese also for the holidays. Question though after you smoke the cb and cheese, can you keep it in the gift basket or does it need to be refrigerated??? Pretty sure you must keep refrigerated but not too sure. How do you do your baskets ? Tha is a lot!!!!!

Yes keep them cold or frozen. When we do ours, I vac-pac everything and put the meats, fish etc into the freezer. The Cheese goes into the fridge. I then assemble the gift packs the day of the event. Then keep them in a cooler u or fridge ntil its time to exchange gifts. I also label the vac-pacs with whats in them, and I put "keep frozen" until use for the items requiring that.

Those that are needing to be shipped get packed and over night shipped via Fed-x or UPS. I take them late in the afternoon just before last call. I always make sure that the recipient is going to be home prior to sending. Most have said that the meats are still frozen when they get them!

sound1 · Dec 4, 2012

Smokey Mo said:
That looks fantastic. I have a half loin in the fridge that will get prep'd tonight for the very same thing. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Timing, with a nice little rest, done just before Christmas!! Like Belly or BBB, CB is a versatile chunk of meat. It can be used in many a holiday dish or just as a snack. I love it!!

backyard bbq said:
Thinking of making this and smoked cheese also for the holidays. Question though after you smoke the cb and cheese, can you keep it in the gift basket or does it need to be refrigerated??? Pretty sure you must keep refrigerated but not too sure. How do you do your baskets ? Tha is a lot!!!!!

Even though the meat is "cured" and fully cooked, I don't want to get my friends sick. I keep it cool as much as possible which this time of year is not too much of a problem, in fact quite the opposite. Hauling 15-20 baskets around for delivery, in the back of the truck, even with the shell, I cover them to keep the cheese from freezing. Yup, even in AZ.

backyard bbq · Dec 7, 2012

Thanks for the info. Good luck and happy holidays!

A Little Canadian Bacon for the holidays.

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