For I don't know how many years now, several times a year I would make Canadian Bacon based on a thread started by Woodcutter:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/canadian-bacon-using-pops-brine-2nd-try.136954/
Just used standard pork loins cut into 4 or 5 pieces. Used this brine:
Recipe
1 gallon of water
1/2 cup of kosher salt
2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbs cure #1 (pink salt)
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs onion powder
molasses (mild flavor)
soy sauce
Brined them for 10 days based on figuring they were mostly around 4" thick and using the one day per 1/2 inch plus 2 days calculation. No injection.
After 10 days I would take them out of the brine, rinsed them well, and then put them in a solution made up of brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. This I would pierce and inject daily for 3 or 4 days. Once the loins were placed in the smoker (MES 30) I would boil this sauce down to a syrup and use it to baste the loins towards the end of the smoking time. Always turned out great, loved it, and pigged out on it until it was gone.
Well, hadn't done this for a couple of years because after 25 years in the old place, we moved. Also decided to get a Camp Chef Woodwind with sear station to replace my old Weber gas grill, and upgrade from the MES.
So with much excitement I launched into doing the CB again. Even bought a small (4.5 cu inch) used refrigerator to have a place to brine without taking up main refrigerator space. (A move the rest of my family applauded.) But one thing I changed (at least I think it's the only thing). I'd read that you really couldn't over cure, but you could under cure, so I decide since I now had the 2nd fridge, to cure for 14 days instead of 10. I'm not sure how to describe a ham texture as opposed to just a cooked meat. Perhaps just a bit firmer with a slight rubbery bite? Well what I was after was a bit more of this more resilient texture.
What I got instead was very disappointing. It was a sort of mushy texture. Like what you can get if you attempt to tenderize meat using a marinade with papaya, or pineapple, or lemon juice, etc., and you overdue it. Leave it to long. And the texture is then a sort of mushy or bit like sawdust.
So any ideas what could have caused that? Can you over cure? And if so would it be that sensitive to make a difference in just 4 days? Whats the best way to achieve the more resilient "ham" texture?
Thanks
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/canadian-bacon-using-pops-brine-2nd-try.136954/
Just used standard pork loins cut into 4 or 5 pieces. Used this brine:
Recipe
1 gallon of water
1/2 cup of kosher salt
2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbs cure #1 (pink salt)
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs onion powder
molasses (mild flavor)
soy sauce
Brined them for 10 days based on figuring they were mostly around 4" thick and using the one day per 1/2 inch plus 2 days calculation. No injection.
After 10 days I would take them out of the brine, rinsed them well, and then put them in a solution made up of brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. This I would pierce and inject daily for 3 or 4 days. Once the loins were placed in the smoker (MES 30) I would boil this sauce down to a syrup and use it to baste the loins towards the end of the smoking time. Always turned out great, loved it, and pigged out on it until it was gone.
Well, hadn't done this for a couple of years because after 25 years in the old place, we moved. Also decided to get a Camp Chef Woodwind with sear station to replace my old Weber gas grill, and upgrade from the MES.
So with much excitement I launched into doing the CB again. Even bought a small (4.5 cu inch) used refrigerator to have a place to brine without taking up main refrigerator space. (A move the rest of my family applauded.) But one thing I changed (at least I think it's the only thing). I'd read that you really couldn't over cure, but you could under cure, so I decide since I now had the 2nd fridge, to cure for 14 days instead of 10. I'm not sure how to describe a ham texture as opposed to just a cooked meat. Perhaps just a bit firmer with a slight rubbery bite? Well what I was after was a bit more of this more resilient texture.
What I got instead was very disappointing. It was a sort of mushy texture. Like what you can get if you attempt to tenderize meat using a marinade with papaya, or pineapple, or lemon juice, etc., and you overdue it. Leave it to long. And the texture is then a sort of mushy or bit like sawdust.
So any ideas what could have caused that? Can you over cure? And if so would it be that sensitive to make a difference in just 4 days? Whats the best way to achieve the more resilient "ham" texture?
Thanks