Canadian Bacon Final Temp?

freshmeat · Nov 11, 2009

To slice and eat without further cooking, what temp can I pull a fully cured loin, (now canadian bacon after smoke) safely?

I have searched the site and have found different final temps for making canadian bacon (using whole loin + cure, with appropriate amount of cure on each loin piece by weight for 7 days). I have seen temps in different threads here ranging from 150* to 160*. I am wanting to slice and eat without further cooking. I have completed the process once taking product to 160*, seemed dry to me. (I could Qview to prove it happened, just not jacked about results.) I am a newbie to smoking but not to food. I have 4 electronic probes that I have checked for accuracy in last 30-45 days.

Thanks!

bmudd14474 · Nov 11, 2009

165 is what i do. Never had a prob with it being dry. What temp are you smoking it at?

freshmeat · Nov 11, 2009

225* monitored with accurate probe.
Does a properly executed curing process allow for a lower final temp?

Appreciated.

bmudd14474 · Nov 11, 2009

What are you using for your cure and with your cure?

forluvofsmoke · Nov 11, 2009

Hmmm...I just finished my first batch of CB a few days ago...3 half loins brine-cured for 12 days. I took them all to 160* for fully cooked and they were fine..no crumbling when slicing thin. I don't think CB will have an excessive amount of moisture due to the curing (it seems to hold the juices in and solidifies them to some extent, I think). I know that my cured salami has a much stiffer texture than un-cured does, and doesn't seem to have as much drippings during smoking.

Did you cut the loin piece in half to check the cure status before smoking? (an even coloring throughout the muscle groupings)

It may not have been fully cured, and that could cause some dryness...not sure, just a theory.

Also, I chilled mine overnight in a ~20* fridge before slicing...that can make a huge difference.

Whatever you do, don't give up...this stuff's too good to walk away from!

Eric

pignit · Nov 11, 2009

I pull mine at 155. Most everything I have read whole muscle meat pork suggests pulling them well before the 160 mark. Make sure not to put your temp probe in the loin until you are well into your smoke as you can infect the meat with bacteria from the outside of an uncooked piece of meat. If your taking it up over 160 then I don't think this rule applies. I use to feel a bit uneasy about pulling under 160 but having done it many times with no problems, that's the way I do it now. Loins are so lean... they are easy to dry out. I usually stuff them or wrap them in bacon. When I stuff them I take them to 160.

DanMcG · Nov 11, 2009

I take my CB to 152°-155° and keep my smoker temp's below 200°. I also think it helps to pump them up, I've added 10%-15% apple juice / maple syrup and it seemed to make a difference.

pops6927 · Nov 11, 2009

Two considerations:

1) Trichinosis is killed at 130°, 'fully cooked' is at 145°.

2) Trichinosis resides in the fat, not the lean, which on CB is the outside cover (if any) and first to be 'fully cooked'.

These were the guidelines by the State of NY Meat Inspection my dad had to comply to in curing, smoking and cooking his whole hams, bacons, etc. He sold his hams as 'partially cooked' (pulled at 135°) and 'fully cooked' (pulled at 145°). The state inspector would randomly take samples to send into Albany and they could analyze the product and tell him to what temp. exactly it was cooked to (plus water retention, nitrate concentration, etc. etc., a whole slew of things he had to conform to). With State Inspection of a plant, there's an inspector there every day doing these things and checking conditions, etc. etc.

Mike, the local inspector was a nice guy and we got to know him well. He'd have various bosses from Albany travel with him, and there was one that got under Dad's skin real bad every time he came there. We had an ingredient room that he insisted we convert into an inspector's office with a desk, chair, etc., and of course Dad complied. When he came back the next month with our local inspector to check it out, he whined and complained that Dad should provide him with a coat hook to hang up his suit coat before he put on his inspector white coat. Dad didn't say a word, went to his toolbox and got his hammer and a 16 penny nail and nailed the collar of his suit coat right to the wall, said, "There ya go!" and stormed off. He got a $500 fine for that one and didn't mind paying it at all, and the senior inspector never came back! Mike, the local inspector, laughed for years about that one!

bbq bubba · Nov 11, 2009

^^^^^^ Great advise!

Bearcarver · Nov 21, 2009

Pops,
That was great. Reminds me of something my Dad would have done. They'd have got along really well.
Thanks for this story.

Bearcarver

macneilm · Dec 14, 2019

Came across this old tread in my search but here's my question. I'm going to throw my thin sliced Canadian Bacon on the griddle before I make an egg sandwich. It's going to get cooked in the end anyway. After the smoke, what's the minimum IT that I need to take it to?

Thanks
Mark

Bearcarver · Dec 14, 2019

macneilm said:
Came across this old tread in my search but here's my question. I'm going to throw my thin sliced Canadian Bacon on the griddle before I make an egg sandwich. It's going to get cooked in the end anyway. After the smoke, what's the minimum IT that I need to take it to?

Thanks
Mark

Since about 8 years ago, USDA changed the "Safe to eat" Temp of Whole Meat Pork to 145°.
It used to be 160°, but they now say you are safe at 145° IT.

Bear

macneilm · Dec 14, 2019

Bearcarver said:
Since about 8 years ago, USDA changed the "Safe to eat" Temp of Whole Meat Pork to 145°.
It used to be 160°, but they now say you are safe at 145° IT.

Bear

So I'm going to to throw it on the griddle and fry it up next to the eggs before I eat it. what if I pull it from the smoker at 130, slice, freeze, and then when I cook it will get easily to 145?

Bearcarver · Dec 15, 2019

macneilm said:
So I'm going to to throw it on the griddle and fry it up next to the eggs before I eat it. what if I pull it from the smoker at 130, slice, freeze, and then when I cook it will get easily to 145?

Sure---A lot of people do that---As long as it gets to 145° sometime before you eat it, you're good to go!

I like to smoke it to 145°. That way when I heat it up, I don't have to worry about getting it to 145°, and maybe overcooking it in the process. Plus I can eat it cold if I want to.

Bear

pikestabber · Dec 23, 2019

macneilm said:
So I'm going to to throw it on the griddle and fry it up next to the eggs before I eat it. what if I pull it from the smoker at 130, slice, freeze, and then when I cook it will get easily to 145?

It will get to 145 no problem, but I might suggest keeping it on the smoker to 145 so you know it's at a safe IT. Then freeze. Once thawed, just fry it until heated through. It won't be dry by any means and then you have no questions about if it's at a safe IT. That gives you flexibility to use it cold (replace ham in chef salad's, eat as a snack meat with crackers, etc.). We used to be instructed to cook CB to 165 IT and still had no issues with it being dry, so I'd go for 145 off the bat and never have to worry about it. Just my 2 cents.

Steve H · Dec 23, 2019

145 IT for me. Works well. And I can then just heat it without having to worry about it like already mentioned.

sawhorseray · Dec 23, 2019

I'm another advocate for pulling CB at 145º. Works for breakfast, sliced for sammys, grilled CB & cheese sammys. Safe and ready to eat! RAY

A Little More Canadian Bacon

Made a brine last Monday morning to get some Canadian bacon going. 19 lbs. of pork loin @ $1.79 lb . 6 quarts ice water 4 & 1/2 tablespoons Cure #1 1 & 1/2 cup canning salt 1 cup powdered dextrose 1 2oz. bottle Mapeliene Injected 10% of the loins dry weight and then let them soak in the fridge...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

macneilm · Dec 23, 2019

sawhorseray said:
I'm another advocate for pulling CB at 145º. Works for breakfast, sliced for sammys, grilled CB & cheese sammys. Safe and ready to eat! RAY

A Little More Canadian Bacon

Made a brine last Monday morning to get some Canadian bacon going. 19 lbs. of pork loin @ $1.79 lb . 6 quarts ice water 4 & 1/2 tablespoons Cure #1 1 & 1/2 cup canning salt 1 cup powdered dextrose 1 2oz. bottle Mapeliene Injected 10% of the loins dry weight and then let them soak in the fridge...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

sawhorseray · Dec 23, 2019

What? Guess I must have said enough. RAY

Canadian Bacon Final Temp?

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