Canadian Bacon (Step by Step—2015)

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One day sounds good..I look up MES 40 ..I wanting to get away from buying fuel to smoke with..Had a 24" pipe smoker for years produced many great ribs and briskets..a couple of years age I bought a egg look a like to me it does not smoke as good as old pit..Just put a new thread on of my smoke house.. 
 
Bear, thanks a ton for the how-to! It was my first whole-meat cure/smoke, and it was fantastic. I'll be running a second batch (Apple instead of Hickory this time, for a different flavor). Not only is the stuff excellent just to snack on, it made a killer Hawaiian pizza, excellent omelet, and the end cuts were cubed up and put into a wicked bean soup. I have a couple of pounds left, but a lot of it was either devoured or claimed by my people.

Anyway, here are a couple of photos for folks to enjoy.



-Ragnar
 
Awesome looking CB...  
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Bearcarver, thank you for displaying your step by step instructions for newbies like myself. I had never thought about making Canadian bacon before I read this post, now it's a must do. All I am waiting for now is pork loin to go back on sale.
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Bear, thanks a ton for the how-to! It was my first whole-meat cure/smoke, and it was fantastic. I'll be running a second batch (Apple instead of Hickory this time, for a different flavor). Not only is the stuff excellent just to snack on, it made a killer Hawaiian pizza, excellent omelet, and the end cuts were cubed up and put into a wicked bean soup. I have a couple of pounds left, but a lot of it was either devoured or claimed by my people.

Anyway, here are a couple of photos for folks to enjoy.

-Ragnar
Looks Great !!
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Glad you like it !!

Keep up the good work!!
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Bear
 
Bearcarver, thank you for displaying your step by step instructions for newbies like myself. I had never thought about making Canadian bacon before I read this post, now it's a must do. All I am waiting for now is pork loin to go back on sale.
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Glad you like It !!   It really is easy.

Around here, Boneless Pork Loin is the only meat they have at a good price---Always between $1.59 and $1.99.

Bear
 
Hey Bear!

So I am planning to tackle some Canadian Bacon as my next project, but just wanted to know something.

All of the recipes that I have found on here are using "Pork Loin" / "pork Loin Roasts". Could I instead use "Pork Tenderloin" Usually they are a little smaller and perfectly round, and often they have awesome sales on them at my local store. Not sure why I wouldn't just use the tenderloin and not ask questions, but for some reason I just like the size and shape of the tenderloin better than the larger loin roasts.

Is there even any difference between the 2 cuts of meat? Would a tenderloin make a food Canadian bacon? Any other thoughts? 
 
 
Hey Bear!

So I am planning to tackle some Canadian Bacon as my next project, but just wanted to know something.

All of the recipes that I have found on here are using "Pork Loin" / "pork Loin Roasts". Could I instead use "Pork Tenderloin" Usually they are a little smaller and perfectly round, and often they have awesome sales on them at my local store. Not sure why I wouldn't just use the tenderloin and not ask questions, but for some reason I just like the size and shape of the tenderloin better than the larger loin roasts.

Is there even any difference between the 2 cuts of meat? Would a tenderloin make a food Canadian bacon? Any other thoughts? 
I've seen Pork Tenderloin used, but it's usually at least twice as expensive, and makes pretty small CB.

Tenderloin is usually used for other smokes, because it is more tender, and qualifies more as a good Tasty Pork to Smoke without curing.

To me using Tenderloin for CB would be like using Prime Rib for Dried Beef..

Also most Pork Loin has very little Fat, and most people don't want much fat on their CB.

I can always get Pork Loin around here for under $2 per pound.

Bear
 
Hi Bear ! I got a great buy on a 1/2 pork loin 2 weeks ago, and followed your earlier CB recipe. It turned out great.....except it went away too fast, I have a whole loin that I will cure on Wednesday, to smoke a week from Saturday.
My question is regarding the temperature steps. Why do you start low and bump up during the smoke? Is this for improved flavor, texture, or some other reason ?
 
Hi Bear ! I got a great buy on a 1/2 pork loin 2 weeks ago, and followed your earlier CB recipe. It turned out great.....except it went away too fast, I have a whole loin that I will cure on Wednesday, to smoke a week from Saturday.
My question is regarding the temperature steps. Why do you start low and bump up during the smoke? Is this for improved flavor, texture, or some other reason ?
Thank You!!

I'm real glad you liked it !!

As for my Smoking Temp Schedule:

My finished target is 145° +

So I start low enough (but above 100°) to give it a lot of time to absorb smoke flavor, and keep it there for hours.

Then when I feel I got a good amount of smoke on it, I start bumping it up to get it closer to 145° IT.

Then when I'm tired of playing around, and already have plenty of smoke on it, I bump it up enough to get it done before it begins to dry out.

I like to keep the smoker temp below 200°.

Note:  Way back years ago, before I had my Amazing smokers, I used to bump it up about 10° every hour, because it was the only way I could get my MES Chip burner to do any smoking. Every time I bumped it up the chips smoked for a short time. The Amazing Smokers solved that problem!!!

Bear
 
Thanks for the quick reply, Bear. As always, very enlightening. I downloaded the whole book you put together, and it's a great resource. "priciate all you do.
 
Thanks for the quick reply, Bear. As always, very enlightening. I downloaded the whole book you put together, and it's a great resource. "priciate all you do.
Thank You!!

Glad to hear you like them!!

Bear
 
I just found this now I  got another thing to do.

Bear your SxS things have always worked great

for me and this one will too.

You make them pretty newbie proof.

Thanks.

                              Ed
 
 
I just found this now I  got another thing to do.

Bear your SxS things have always worked great

for me and this one will too.

You make them pretty newbie proof.

Thanks.

                              Ed
Thank You Ed !!

I'm always glad to hear when my Step by Steps are helping some!!!

Bear
 
Hi Bear, Great sxs. Did you have water in the water pan?
Thank You!!!

No water---Actually I haven't put water in an MES water pan in over 6 years.

It just doesn't work good in an MES. IMHO

Bear
 
Thanks for the step by steps they are a big help.
Can I use loin that has been injected or does it need to be fresh? Tough to find ones that aren't injected here
 
Thanks for the step by steps they are a big help.
Can I use loin that has been injected or does it need to be fresh? Tough to find ones that aren't injected here
Glad you like them.
I would definitely prefer non-injected, but if you can't find any, I would guess the injected would be alright.

Bear
 
Thanks for this step by step, Bear! I've made Canadian bacon using this recipe a few times and I like it a lot. I'm wondering what the CB might taste like if no sugar was used. Would it just be more savory or do you think the salt might overpower the taste of the meat? Does mixing brown sugar with the tender quick help the curing process?

My wife is forcing me into a 30 day restricted diet with no sugars, dairy or grains. I can eat plenty of meat, veggies and eggs. I thought I would stock up on some sugar free CB to help get me through. it.
 
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