The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.
Canadian bacon is a cured and smoked pork loin. It is leaner than regular bacon and is typically served on Eggs Benedict, which we just made for Easter. Making Canadian Bacon at home is not hard but it does take about a week, so you will want to plan ahead.
This recipe makes for a sweet, savory, herbaceous Canadian Bacon. Seasoned with maple syrup and sage. You can play around with the herbs and spices in the brine as much as you want as long as you don’t change the ratio of the salt, sugar, curing salt, and water. I smoked this on my Traeger. If you don’t have a smoker, you can substitute some of the salt for smoked salt and cook it in the oven. Or omit the smokiness altogether. It will still be delicious.
This recipe calls for a little bit of curing salt, optional. If you want to try this recipe but don’t want to purchase a pound of this stuff, and you are one of my subscribers, shoot me an email with your mailing address and I’ll send you a little bit.
I hope you enjoy this fun DIY kitchen project. Let me know how it worked out for you in the comments and feel free to share this with others.
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Home-Made Canadian Bacon, it’s easy.
- Prep Time: 4 days
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 100 hours
- Yield: 2 1/2 lbs 1x
- Category: Charcuterie
- Method: Cured and Smoked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Sliced thin, this Canadian Bacon is delicious with Eggs Benedict, Hawaiian Pizza or in anything you would use ham in.
Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs center cut pork loin
1 qt boiling water
1 qt ice water
80 g (1/2 cup) salt
50 g (1/4 cup packed) brown sugar
75 g (1/3 cup) maple syrup
28 g (4 teaspoons) Curing Salt #1 (optional but recommended)
8 g (1 small handful) fresh sage sprigs
8 g (1 small handful) fresh thyme sprigs
10 g (1 Tablespoon) whole peppercorns
25 g (10) crushed garlic cloves
Instructions
Add all ingredients to the boiling water except the pork loin and ice water. Stir and simmer until the salt and sugar have thoroughly dissolved and the herbs and spices have had a little time to steep. About 5 minutes.
Remove the brine from the heat and add the ice water. Stir to melt all the ice. Check the temperature. If it is room temperature or colder, it is ready to use. If it is still pretty warm, let it cool for a bit to room temperature.
Once cooled, place the pork loin in a gallon size zip lock bag. Pour the brine over the pork loin. Seal it up and place it in the refrigerator (on a sheet pan in case it leaks).
After 2 days, flip the bag and return to the refrigerator.
On the 4th day, remove the pork loin from the brine. Submerge it in fresh water for 30 minutes. Then remove it from the water and pat it dry all over.
Place the pork loin on a sheet pan, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 1-2 days to dry and form a pellicle (if you’re not smoking it, you can skip this step).
Preheat your smoker (or oven) to 200 F, place the cured loin on the center of the rack and insert your probe thermometer into the center of the meat. Set it to alert you when the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145 F.
When the internal temperature reaches 145 F, remove the loin from the smoker and allow it to cool. Refrigerate it until you are ready to use it. TIP: if you want nice clean slices, it needs to have cooled all the way before you slice it.
Notes
IMPORTANT
Curing Salt #1 goes by many names – Prague Powder #1, DQ Curing Salt #1, Insta Cure #1, Pink Salt #1. This is a mixture of salt and sodium nitrite for smoked and slow-cooked meats. It is dyed pink so it is not confused with table salt – which would be dangerous. Curing Salt #2 is for uncooked cured meats like salami. It is a combination of salt and sodium nitrate.
Do not substitute Himalayan Pink Salt or Morton Tender Quick for Curing Salt #1– they will not act in the same way. I’m sure there is a way to use Morton Tender Quick for curing hams, but you would need to follow a recipe specific to that product. I have never used it.
In some products, the use of curing salt is necessary to prevent botulism. This is not one of those products so curing salt is optional. However, it is what gives cured meat its rosy hue, extends its shelf life, and prevents an oxidized flavor that otherwise develops after a couple of days.
I have used Morton Tenderquick for the past 15 +years for bacon 🥓, hams and other smoked meat for my beans and greens, Great product.
Cure #1 should be about 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat, right? I understood that an excessive amount of nitrite won’t be able to convert to NO2 if not going through raw, uncured meat.
4 tsp of Cure #1 would be great for about 20 pounds of ham.
But, your recipe sounds delicious, I’ll make that cure adjustment though 😉
Hi El Sos,
Sorry for the slow response here, I’ve been on hiatus from this blog and am just getting back at it.
1 teaspoon of curing salt #1 is good for about 5lbs IF dry-curing. For a brine, though, the general recommendation is 3 oz of curing salt per gallon of brine. This recipe as written calls for 1 oz per half gallon so less as a ratio than the general recommendation. Because this is cooked and cooled relatively quickly, the cure is not needed for safety which is why I recommend a lesser amount than the general recommendation. Any less than this amount though and you may find the cure does not penetrate all the way through the meat, in this case you’ll get a gray-ish center in your sliced meat which isn’t very appealing.
On a side note: The CDFA Meat Processor’s Training Manual lists about 9 grams of sodium nitrite per gallon (2 lbs per 100 Gallons) of brine as the maximum allowed. Keep in mind that Curing Salt #1 contains only 6.25% sodium nitrite so 28 grams of curing salt equals 1.75 grams of sodium nitrite. If you or anyone else reading want a fun read😉, that manual can be found here:
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/mpes/pdfs/processinginspectortrainingmanual.pdf
Hope this helps clarify for you and other readers and that you enjoyed this recipe!