Pepper Back (Canadian) Bacon a la Bearcarver

[disco]

 
I have a loin in the fridge for this very reason! Just needed the motivation to get it started. Thx for the motivation!!

By all means get some bacon started and don't forget to do a post on it!

I love your icon by the way. A two headed smoker!

Disco

 

[nesmokingchad]

Looks great Disco, after seeing this will have to try a batch for myself.

 

[atomicsmoke]

Disco,

You are the baconator.looks great.

A little disappointed though: no wine glass in sight.

 

[disco]

 
Looks great Disco, after seeing this will have to try a batch for myself.

Thanks, Chad. Only fair to warn you. It is addictive.

Disco,

You are the baconator.looks great.

A little disappointed though: no wine glass in sight.

Kind words, Sir! I assure you some wine was consumed. I don't make the rules, I just follow them.

Disco

 

[bear55]

Visited your web site, very well done.

Richard

 

[susieqz]

disco, thanks for your thots on maple syrple. it's very expensive here, so i substituted raw brown sugar in my wet cure. i have 9  lbs curing right now.

i grew up on back bacon from ontario. it has a nice sweetness, so that's what i wanted.

i'm using dave omak's brine with added raw brown sugar as it seems to have a close flavor profile to real maple syrup..

raw sugar doesn't add that much sweetness either. i added 4 cups to the brine for a ham i cured,  n i was afraid it might be so sweet as to mask the ham taste. it wasn't.

the ham tasted like real back bacon.

so, don't be shy adding brown sugar. use more than you think you need.

 

[disco]

 
Visited your web site, very well done.

Richard

Very kind words, Richard. I have fun with it and have met some cool people online.

 
disco, thanks for your thots on maple syrple. it's very expensive here, so i substituted raw brown sugar in my wet cure. i have 9  lbs curing right now.

i grew up on back bacon from ontario. it has a nice sweetness, so that's what i wanted.

i'm using dave omak's brine with added raw brown sugar as it seems to have a close flavor profile to real maple syrup..

raw sugar doesn't add that much sweetness either. i added 4 cups to the brine for a ham i cured,  n i was afraid it might be so sweet as to mask the ham taste. it wasn't.

the ham tasted like real back bacon.

so, don't be shy adding brown sugar. use more than you think you need.

I have messed around with several sweetening profiles. For wet curing, I like molasses and brown sugar for dry. However, I am always experimenting and will give your suggestion a try and kick up the brown sugar.

Thanks, suzieqz.

Disco

 

[susieqz]

disco, i see you're in the rockies, but the bacon must be similar to ontario's.

by any chance, have you ever found a CANADIAN recipe for a back bacon brine.?

they sell what they call canadian bacon here in new mexico, but it's pathetic

 i've spent most of my life within a few miles of the border, so i'm spoiled.

 

[disco]

 
disco, i see you're in the rockies, but the bacon must be similar to ontario's.

by any chance, have you ever found a CANADIAN recipe for a back bacon brine.?

they sell what they call canadian bacon here in new mexico, but it's pathetic

 i've spent most of my life within a few miles of the border, so i'm spoiled.

Ah, you have put me in a spot. There are 4 kinds of back bacon (Americans call it Canadian bacon). There is the back bacon of my youth. Nice smokey flavour with a nice bite, Not hammy.

Then there is the back bacon my wife and her family liked. I always thought it was closer to ham. It was softer and less flavourful in my opinion (She Who Must Be Obeyed would hit me for that comment).

The third was pea meal bacon. Less smokey but a nice chew.

The last is the plastic commercial stuff that comes sliced in a cryovac package. Terrible texture and taste.

If you like chewier bacon like I was raised with, go with dry cure. Don't use a lot of spices, just Tenderquick and brown sugar.

If you want the hammier and a bit more tender bacon, go with Pop's brine. Delicious but a bit more ham like.

Pea meal bacon is great but I haven't made it.

The plastic commercial stuff you can get in the supermarket, if you are crazy.

Disco

 

[susieqz]

thanks, but it's peameal bacon i love most. in ontario there are a zillion ways it's made. some smokey, some not.

if you google it you will find a claim that it's not smoked, just cured.  that's plain wrong.

how do you avoid the ham taste in the bacon of your early days?

i can make ham. i don't want back bacon to taste like ham.

oops. sorry. you already answered me.