More Canadian Bacon pictures

[cowgirl]

Hope you aren't tired of bacon pictures...

This is a 10lb loin I divided and dry cured 1/2, brined the other 1/2.
The dry cured one is on the left and the brined is on the right. They cured for 7 days.

For the dry cure I used Morton's tender quick mixed with sugar.
For the brine cured, I used a mixture of Morton's, water, garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, brown sugar and bay leaves...then put fresh cracked black pepper over it before going into the smoker.
I used hickory for the smoke. Left it in the smoker for about 2 1/2 hours at 200 degrees.
After cutting, I put a small piece of waxed paper between each slice before bagging and freezing. That way I can get just a couple of slices out to fry at a time.

 

[Deer Meat]

Awesome Cowgirl, I just received my HI-mountain bacon cure yesterday. I can't wait to make some canadian bacon. I hope it turns out as well as yours did. I see you have pictures of your bacon.......but still no pictures of your BUTT...................You know the one you got in the fridge.

Sorry cowgirl got you confused with lisacsco..........how embarassing

 

[richtee]

Niiiiice! All these folks ravin' 'bout their fancy cures...hehehe...well done! Make yer own, folks...it's a blast!

 

[cowgirl]

Thank you DEER MEAT and Richtee.

I'll see if I can find my BUTT, DEER MEAT.

I've never tried Hi-Mountain cure, let me know how it goes.

Richtee, I like to tweak the brine recipe, I still use the basic tenderquick/water combination, then add my favorite spices...depending on what I have on hand and what sounds good at the time.
So far, I've not met a slab of canadian bacon that I didn't like.

 

[richtee]

I bought a case of the stuff. BTW, if the "smoke ring" on ribs impresses you, or your guests, add a little bit into your rub. Plus, if you add about half the cure amount for that weight of meat as replacement for some of the salt, you'll be treated to "ham ribs". Different and QUITE tasty!

 

[lisacsco]

That looks great!

I am going to try and copy what you made next weekend!

Lisa

 

[goat]

OK Cowgirl,
Was it good and which did you like best? Give it up.

 

[smokin for life]

That looks realy good Cowgirl, I have a lot of the High mountain cure left. Seeing how I can't find butts here. May I'll have better luck finding a loin. When I did find a butt the bacon came out really good. But I never tried Canadian Bacon, thanks for the little push to make it.

 

[cowgirl]

Thanks for the tip RichTee.

Thank you LisaCSCO....I used the basic tenderquick/water brine and added... 5 cloves of garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1 TBs of red pepper flakes.
Once you make the brine, you can really add just about anything you like to flavor it.
I did let both cure for 7 days and soaked in cool water for an hour to remove some of the saltiness before smoking.
Hope it works out for you!

 

 

[cowgirl]

goat, I can't pick a favorite, I like both ways to cure them. I think on my next brine one, I might add a couple more cloves of garlic and maybe a bit more of the cracked pepper on top.....I like a little kick to it.

Thank you Smokin for life.....I'm going to have to get some of that High Mountain cure....it sounds good.

Sometimes I like to make bacon out of any roasts I have on hand in the freezer. I butterfly them open so they lay flat and are about 1 1/2 inches thick......then I cure and smoke.
I have never tried a whole roast..uncut....I'm going to give it a try.
Thanks!

 

[Dutch]

cowgirl, on the loin that you brined-did you inject any brine into the loin before you but it into the brine mixture? When we did Canadian bacon, we would stitch pump them first and then put them in the brine to soak.

BTW-both loins look really good!!

 

[cowgirl]

Thank you Dutch.

No, I didn't inject them. I did weigh the brined one down with a plate and jar of home canned goods.
This one was left in the brine for 7 days and it penetrated to the center just fine. I think if the meat would have been thicker, like a ham or a larger cut, I probably would have pumped it.

You know....I might give it a try next time, maybe cut back on the curing time. Thanks for mentioning it!

 

[seaham358]

They look nice.... Something added to the "Things to Smoke" list.

 

[gypsyseagod]

looks great

 

[cowgirl]

Thank you seaham358 and gypsyseagod...the hardest part is waiting while they cure.

 

[Deer Meat]

Cowgirl, if you buy the Hi-Mountain cure don't buy it from them directly. There shipping is absolutly rediculous, twenty bucks for a 7 dollar item is nuts. I bought mine from here http://www.alliedkenco.com/catalog/index.php
thanks to Salmonclubber. Much more reasonable shipping.

 

[cowgirl]

I appreciate the tip DEER MEAT.

 

[deejaydebi]

That's a real beauty Cowgirl! You did a fine job! I think you'll like injecting it gets the garlic in there real good!

 

[cowgirl]

Mmmmm, more garlic flavor, can't go wrong with that!
Thanks DeejayDebi!