Canadian Bacon (Step by Step—2015)

[Bearcarver]

 
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.

Thank You!

Glad you like it.
I would think with no sugar at all, it would be salty. I usually use between 1 tsp and 1 TBS, so just use 1 tsp.

I don't think the consumption of sugar from a couple pieces of CB that only had 1 tsp of Brown Sugar per pound in the cure mix is a bad thing.

Bear

 

[yeroc]

Thanks, Bear. I think I'll make half the batch with sugar included and half without sugar to see how it goes.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Thanks, Bear. I think I'll make half the batch with sugar included and half without sugar to see how it goes.

That's a Great Idea!!

I would suggest doing a "Salt-Fry-Test" on both of them too, before smoking.

Bear

 

[yeroc]

 
That's a Great Idea!!

I would suggest doing a "Salt-Fry-Test" on both of them too, before smoking.

Bear

Will do. I'll report back with whatever I learned.

 

[yeroc]

 
Will do. I'll report back with whatever I learned.

So I cured two batches of CB. One with Tender Quick and about 2 TSP brown sugar per pound and one batch with TQ and no sugar. The fry test of the no sugar batch was a bit salty. I soaked that meat in water for another 15 minutes before patting dry and letting it form a pellicle in the fridge. I didn't do another fry test on the no sugar meat but after smoking it tastes great and not at all salty.

I will say that in side by side tastings, the batch with sugar is a few notches better IMHO but this one is good too.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
So I cured two batches of CB. One with Tender Quick and about 2 TSP brown sugar per pound and one batch with TQ and no sugar. The fry test of the no sugar batch was a bit salty. I soaked that meat in water for another 15 minutes before patting dry and letting it form a pellicle in the fridge. I didn't do another fry test on the no sugar meat but after smoking it tastes great and not at all salty.

I will say that in side by side tastings, the batch with sugar is a few notches better IMHO but this one is good too.

That's Great !!

Then it worked the way you wanted it to, and it didn't take much soaking.

I wasn't sure what would happen without any added sugar, but I'm glad it came out Great for you.

And Thanks for the Report !!

Bear

 

[shawnthomas]

Got some smoking today, thanks for recipe! Will let you know how it turns out! Covered mine in molasses and honey and rolled in brown sugar prior to putting on smoker...wild hair that sounded good!

20161023_130930.jpg

• shawnthomas
• Oct 23, 2016

20161023_130842.jpg

• shawnthomas
• Oct 23, 2016

 

[shawnthomas]

20161023_144947.jpg

• shawnthomas
• Oct 23, 2016

Pulled mine off at 135 degrees

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Real Nice, Shawn!!

I always take mine to 145° IT, and it doesn't carry over much at the smoker temps I use.

Hope you Like It !!

Bear

 

[thebig1]

Hey Bear, great thread as always.  Of course now I want to attempt to tackle this but I always have questions.  I guess by reading opening that there is more than one way of doing this.  I don't know of any so I'm going to try your way.

My main question has to do with heat.  I have a stick burning offset that likes to burn around 275-300.  Of course I'm guessing that this is too much heat.  I was looking at Disco's thread on the same subject and he used his AMNPS to smoke his meat first (No heat), let it rest for a day or two, and then proceeded to smoke/cook to get it up to it's final IT.  So if I were to use his smoking, wait, and then cook method such as he did, could I just finish them off in the oven to be able to get the IT up to where it needs to be since I've already cold smoked them?

As always, thanks Bear.

Chad

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Hey Bear, great thread as always.  Of course now I want to attempt to tackle this but I always have questions.  I guess by reading opening that there is more than one way of doing this.  I don't know of any so I'm going to try your way.

My main question has to do with heat.  I have a stick burning offset that likes to burn around 275-300.  Of course I'm guessing that this is too much heat.  I was looking at Disco's thread on the same subject and he used his AMNPS to smoke his meat first (No heat), let it rest for a day or two, and then proceeded to smoke/cook to get it up to it's final IT.  So if I were to use his smoking, wait, and then cook method such as he did, could I just finish them off in the oven to be able to get the IT up to where it needs to be since I've already cold smoked them?

As always, thanks Bear.

Chad

I'm not big on cold smoking, but sure you could do that. Cold smoke as long as you like, and then oven heat it until the IT is at least 145°.

Then you can eat it cold whenever, or warm it up in the Nuke or the Pan. Believe it or not, I like mine heated up in the Nuke best, because it Doesn't dry out at all that way.

If you can get yours down to 230° without too much hassle, I'd still do it all in the Smoker.

Bear

 

[thebig1]

Thanks Bear. I'll give it a try at 230 but I'd have to babysit that thing something awful.

At least I know that if I can't control the heat that low then there is another option. I'll let you know how it turns out when I get to do it.

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks Bear. I'll give it a try at 230 but I'd have to babysit that thing something awful.

At least I know that if I can't control the heat that low then there is another option. I'll let you know how it turns out when I get to do it.

I would actually prefer a lower than 230° Smoker Temp if you can, but that shouldn't hurt anything like 275° to 300° might.

Bear

 

[thebig1]

Bear, sorry to bother you again.  Is this boneless pork SIRLOIN?  I ask because it's on sale right now for $1.69/lb.

Chad

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Bear, sorry to bother you again.  Is this boneless pork SIRLOIN?  I ask because it's on sale right now for $1.69/lb.

Chad

This was "Boneless Pork Loin", and it is almost always under $2 per pound.

A whole Pork Loin is normally about 3" or more thick, about 5" to 6" wide, and 22" long, and weighs about 10 to 12 pounds.

Bear

 

[thebig1]

 
This was "Boneless Pork Loin", and it is almost always under $2 per pound.

A whole Pork Loin is normally about 3" or more thick, about 5" to 6" wide, and 22" long, and weighs about 10 to 12 pounds.

Bear

The WHOLE pork sirloin is what's on sale at my local restaurant supply store, that's why I was asking.  So is SIRLOIN a good cut to use?

 

[Bearcarver]

 
The WHOLE pork sirloin is what's on sale at my local restaurant supply store, that's why I was asking.  So is SIRLOIN a good cut to use?

I never saw anything marked "Pork Sirloin" in any of my stores, so I just did a search on it.

It appears to me to be the same as a "Pork Loin", so if it's near the Width & thickness I mentioned above, it should be Great for CB.

Bear

 

[thebig1]

Thanks Bear.  One more question, as you stated it's going to be approximately 3" high but it's going to be about 5"-6" wide.  When determining curing time, I use the HEIGHT and NOT the width, correct?

Chad

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Thanks Bear.  One more question, as you stated it's going to be approximately 3" high but it's going to be about 5"-6" wide.  When determining curing time, I use the HEIGHT and NOT the width, correct?

Chad

Use the Thickness (Height). The thinnest way is the thickness, and assuming you lay it flat, the thickness would be the height.

If it's thicker than 3--3 1/2", I usually try to press it down each time I flip & massage it during curing, because I don't inject it.

Also if it's over 3", I like to give it an extra 2 or 3 days above my normal calculated curing time.

Bear

 

[thebig1]

As always, thank you very much Bear! After looking at your finished picture, I cannot wait to give this a try. I'll try not to let my prior negative experience with QT get in my way.

Chad