There was a good confluence of events. Whole pork loins were on sale and I was heading to visit relatives in Alberta. I take a lot of bacon for the family when I go to visit.
I had also had a couple of requests to do a wet cure, brined bacon.
I decided to do 4 loin pieces to make back (erroneously called Canadian bacon in the US). I would do two dry cured and two wet cured for a head to head taste. I have done this before but it has been years.
I started by mixing my standard dry cure mix for one loin, for each kg of weight I use:
I injected the maple loin with 25 ml of maple syrup per kg (1 tablespoon per pound).
I put each piece of pork loin on a plate to catch any rub that falls off. I rubbed the curing mix into each piece of loin.
I put each piece of loin into a vacuum sealer bag and made sure to scrape the plate into the bag.
I sealed the other end of the bag but did not suck the air out.
Then I started on the two wet brined loins.
I weighed the loins.
I added a measured amount of water and calculated the combined weight of the water and pork.
I took the pork out and for each kilogram of pork and water I added to the water:
The thickest piece of pork was 2 1/2 inches thick. I allow 4 days curing time plus 2 days for each inch of thickness. So I covered the wet cure and put all the bacon in the fridge for 12 days. I turned the bags and the bacon in the brine every day or so.
I took the bacon out and applied a coating of pepper to one of the wet cure loins.
I put a fan on the loins and let them sit until the surface was dry. Then I smoked them to 140 F internal temperature in a 190 F smoker. The bacon isn't cooked at this temperature so it must be fried before eating. You can take it to 150 F and it will be cooked but I find that has a slightly worse texture on cooking.
I cooled the bacon and wrapped it in plastic wrap. I let it sit for a couple of days.
I sliced the bacon with my rotary slicer.
I fried a piece of each loin:
Left to right is the dry cured Maple Bacon, dry cured bacon, wet cured Pepper Bacon and wet cured bacon.
I also did a video of making the wet cure bacon.
The Verdict
First, all of the bacon was great. The differences I am about to describe were minor.
The dry cure was a bit pinker but that can be explained by the piece of pork as they vary.
The dry cure was firmer and had more chew. The wet cure was softer and didn't crisp as much.
The taste of the dry cure is a bit more salt forward and the wet cure was a bit sweeter.
I still like the dry cure better but the differences are minor. If you prefer a tender bacon, you will prefer the wet cure.
Disco
I had also had a couple of requests to do a wet cure, brined bacon.
I decided to do 4 loin pieces to make back (erroneously called Canadian bacon in the US). I would do two dry cured and two wet cured for a head to head taste. I have done this before but it has been years.
I started by mixing my standard dry cure mix for one loin, for each kg of weight I use:
- 25 ml brown sugar
- 15 ml kosher salt
- 3 grams (2.1 ml) Prague powder #1
- 2 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/5 teaspoon Prague powder #1
I injected the maple loin with 25 ml of maple syrup per kg (1 tablespoon per pound).
I put each piece of pork loin on a plate to catch any rub that falls off. I rubbed the curing mix into each piece of loin.
I put each piece of loin into a vacuum sealer bag and made sure to scrape the plate into the bag.
I sealed the other end of the bag but did not suck the air out.
Then I started on the two wet brined loins.
I weighed the loins.
I added a measured amount of water and calculated the combined weight of the water and pork.
I took the pork out and for each kilogram of pork and water I added to the water:
- 25 ml brown sugar
- 15 ml kosher salt
- 2.1 ml (3 grams) Prague powder #1
- 2 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/5 teaspoon Prague powder #1
The thickest piece of pork was 2 1/2 inches thick. I allow 4 days curing time plus 2 days for each inch of thickness. So I covered the wet cure and put all the bacon in the fridge for 12 days. I turned the bags and the bacon in the brine every day or so.
I took the bacon out and applied a coating of pepper to one of the wet cure loins.
I put a fan on the loins and let them sit until the surface was dry. Then I smoked them to 140 F internal temperature in a 190 F smoker. The bacon isn't cooked at this temperature so it must be fried before eating. You can take it to 150 F and it will be cooked but I find that has a slightly worse texture on cooking.
I cooled the bacon and wrapped it in plastic wrap. I let it sit for a couple of days.
I sliced the bacon with my rotary slicer.
I fried a piece of each loin:
Left to right is the dry cured Maple Bacon, dry cured bacon, wet cured Pepper Bacon and wet cured bacon.
I also did a video of making the wet cure bacon.
The Verdict
First, all of the bacon was great. The differences I am about to describe were minor.
The dry cure was a bit pinker but that can be explained by the piece of pork as they vary.
The dry cure was firmer and had more chew. The wet cure was softer and didn't crisp as much.
The taste of the dry cure is a bit more salt forward and the wet cure was a bit sweeter.
I still like the dry cure better but the differences are minor. If you prefer a tender bacon, you will prefer the wet cure.
Disco
