Back Bacon (Canadian Bacon)

[Thundarstick]

Ok, I've got loin in the cure and was wondering from my Northern brothers if I should bake it(smoke in the cure), or slice and cook like side/belly bacon? Any one have experience for me either way?

[Ford SD]

Ok, I've got loin in the cure and was wondering from my Northern brothers if I should bake it(smoke in the cure), or slice and cook like side/belly bacon? Any one have experience for me either way?


For Smoking in a smoker, depending on how thick it is

smoke on the grill at 180f for 1-1/2 h and then look at it
if pale in colour add another 1/2h

then wrap it in foil and increase heat to 200-250 and take it out when internal temp 145-150
then take it out and allow to cool

you want it moist enough that when you cut it and reheat in a pan its still nice to eat and not dry

for really thick roasts I have used the 3-2-1 method

smoke 3h ..... less time for smaller roasts
cover for 2 h or till internal temp is reached
unwrap add sauce 1h or so

[BJK]

Ok, I've got loin in the cure and was wondering from my Northern brothers if I should bake it(smoke in the cure), or slice and cook like side/belly bacon? Any one have experience for me either way?

If the smoke is in the cure once it's cured it's done. Keep it in the cure longer than you anticipate. It'll hurt nothing and you'll be sure that it's fully cured. What you don't want is to see uncured pork in the middle surrounded by cured. After that I slice it up and freeze in convenient packages, fry as needed.

I've never used liquid smoke but I don't know why that won't work. I always cold smoke it then process as I wrote.

You can also do the same thing with boneless butt. I actually like that a bit better than Canadian Bacon but I don't turn my nose up at either. Butt treated that way is called Buckboard Bacon. It's all delicious.

[Thundarstick]

I was wondering about how well shoulder meat would work!

[GregLaROCHE]

I think smoking improves just about everything.

[Thundarstick]

I removed it from the brine, rinsed it off, and sliced some up for the fry pan tonight. I'd say my first attempt turned out quite good, and reminds me a lot of country ham. It's just a little salty when eaten plain, but it's great on a sandwich!

[gbrown]

I removed it from the brine, rinsed it off, and sliced some up for the fry pan tonight. I'd say my first attempt turned out quite good, and reminds me a lot of country ham. It's just a little salty when eaten plain, but it's great on a sandwich!

I've made it with tenderloin, but not loin. What was the weight of the loin you used? I usually buy whole loins for boneless pork chops and roasts. Did you cut the roast into smaller pieces or just use a big chunk? Also, how long did you leave it in the cure?

[Thundarstick]

I cut the loin in half so each end would fit into a one gallon zip-lock bag. The small end stayed 6 days and I just removed the large end today (9 days). Both seem about the same when cooked. I've been slicing thinly and just cooking until color change in the meat, and the fat is clearing. As stated before, it reminds me more of country ham than bacon, but that just may be because it's so lean. I will definitely be doing this again!

[BJK]

Sounds like you did it right. Yes, it's nothing like belly bacon. If you make buckboard bacon it will be like a cross between the two but you don't want to crisp it up anymore than you crisp up Canadian Bacon.