Canadian bacon question

[Steve H]

Morning all. I'm getting ready to make my first batch of canadian bacon. Just wondering what is a better approach. Or should I say what people prefer most. Wet brine or dry? Recipes would be appreciated. I was thinking about Pop's brine. Or perhaps dry like when making dried beef?

 

[indaswamp]

I like a wet brine for CB... I think it helps the loin stay a little more moist.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Never done wet I always use Bear's look under his step by steps. You will likely need to try both ways and see which you like. Like so many things on here it comes down to personal preference.

Warren

 

[chopsaw]

dry like when making dried beef?

Hey Steve . In the spirit of learning what these guys teach . I have done loins 3 ways .
Bear's method with Tender quick
Pop's brine
Dave phosphate injection
For me , they all have a place or application I like best . Pop's brine on poultry is really hard to beat . The phosphate injection on butts and picnics is Fantastic .
I like Tender quick on pork loins . Comes out just as moist as any other method I've used .
You've done the dried beef , so do the same with the pork .
In the end , it's all a matter of taste . The right way will be the way you like it .

 

[Murray]

I’ve only used a wet brine with Jerky and had allot of condensation running down the window, so much so that the condensation was pooling on the floor. That being said, would the dry rub/cure penetrate to the centre of the loin in a reasonable time frame without injecting brine? I own a MES 30 and smoked the Jerky in the dead of winter at -20C which likely didn’t help with the condensation issue.

 

[Bearcarver]

Morning all. I'm getting ready to make my first batch of canadian bacon. Just wondering what is a better approach. Or should I say what people prefer most. Wet brine or dry? Recipes what be appreciated. I was thinking about Pop's brine. Or perhaps dry like when making dried beef?

I personally like Dry Cured best, because it doesn't sit in mostly water for a couple weeks.
Just like making Dried Beef.
Here's my newest one in Step by Step form:
*New------Canadian Bacon

Bear

 

[Steve H]

Thanks all. I'l be using the same dry cure that I used for the dried beef. This works even better since my project fridge is a bit full at the moment.

 

[Steve H]

I’ve only used a wet brine with Jerky and had allot of condensation running down the window, so much so that the condensation was pooling on the floor. That being said, would the dry rub/cure penetrate to the centre of the loin in a reasonable time frame without injecting brine? I own a MES 30 and smoked the Jerky in the dead of winter at -20C which likely didn’t help with the condensation issue.

I used the dry cure for dried beef. And it reached the center with no issues. And I didn't inject. The tenderloin is pretty much the same thickness as the London broil I used

 

[Bearcarver]

I’ve only used a wet brine with Jerky and had allot of condensation running down the window, so much so that the condensation was pooling on the floor. That being said, would the dry rub/cure penetrate to the centre of the loin in a reasonable time frame without injecting brine? I own a MES 30 and smoked the Jerky in the dead of winter at -20C which likely didn’t help with the condensation issue.

I Dry Cure with TQ for all of my cured Meats.
If I don't want to inject, I normally cut anything that is thicker than 3" into two pieces, so the cure will get to center within a "Reasonable" time frame. Example: If a Pork loin is 4" thick, I will cut it into two pieces, each about 2" thick, before curing.
Note: An MES is well known for too much humidity inside, due the the fact that it is very well insulated. This is why we never put any liquid in an MES Water Pan!

Bear

 

[Steve H]

I asked my wife to pick me up a whole tender loin. And she got these little things! So I used two of them for CB. The other two got wrapped in bacon for dinner Also got a chunk of boneless brown sugar cured ham with a bacon blanket on it with some SYM sprinkled on top for the smoker.

Weighed. Used just under 1 TBS of tender quick and brown sugar. Considering how small these are I'll let them cure for eight days.

The other two pieces got wrapped in bacon for dinner. Here they are wrapped in precooked bacon. No money shot. I seem to always forget to do that!

 

[Steve H]

 

[chopsaw]

The tenderloins work too . Gonna be good .

 

[Steve H]

The tenderloins work too . Gonna be good .

I hope so!

 

[Bearcarver]

Mighty Tasty Looking Stuff, Steve!!
Nice Job!!
Like.

Bear

 

[Steve H]

Mighty Tasty Looking Stuff, Steve!!
Nice Job!!
Like.

Bear

Thanks Bear! And thanks for the like!

 

[HalfSmoked]

Nice like that bacon wrap.

Warren

 

[Steve H]

Nice like that bacon wrap.

Warren

Thanks. I've wrapped bacon on boneless hams before when cooking them in the oven. I find it adds a bit of flavor and moisture. This was the first time I did this in a smoker. The ham is nice and moist. And the double smoked bacon is awesome.

 

[Steve H]

On to the next step. CB is out of the bags and rinsed last night. I cut one in half to check how far it cured. Looks good. They'll be going on the smoker this morning. Getting hungry!

 

[Bearcarver]

On to the next step. CB is out of the bags and rinsed last night. I cut one in half to check how far it cured. Looks good. They'll be going on the smoker this morning. Getting hungry!

Yup---Inside looks Perfect!!!

Bear

 

[Steve H]

Thanks Bear. After 30 minutes I went from 150 to 160 degrees. 3 hours in and it's getting there. I'll bump it 170 after it hits 130 IT.