Maple Cured Canadian Bacon Food

MAPLE-CURED CANADIAN BACON RECIPE

Steps:

• To make the cure, combine 1 quart of water, kosher salt, maple syrup, brown sugar, pink salt, bay leaves, garlic, and peppercorns in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Transfer to a large container and stir in remaining 3 quarts of water. Place in refrigerator until completely chilled. Fully submerge pork loin in cure and let sit in refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
• Remove pork from cure and place in large container. Add enough fresh water to fully submerge loin. Let sit for 30 minutes, then remove pork from water and pat dry with paper towels.
• Fire up the smoker or grill to 225°F (107°C), adding chunks of smoking wood when at temperature. When wood is ignited and producing smoke, place pork in and cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 140°F (60°C) when inserted into thickest part of the pork loin, about 2 to 3 hours.
• Let pork cool for 30 minutes. Slice and pan fry before serving.

MAPLE-CURED CANADIAN BACON

Steps:

• Stir together water, salt, brown sugar, Instacure, and vanilla in storage tub until solids are dissolved, about 3 minutes, then add maple syrup and stir until dissolved. Add ice and stir until cure is cold (ice may not be completely melted; keeping liquid cold slows salt absorption).
• Add pork to cure, then weight with a large plate to keep submerged. Chill, tub covered with a lid or plastic wrap, 36 hours.
• Rinse pork and pat dry, then discard brine.
• Prepare grill and smoke bacon:
• Open vents on bottom of grill and on lid. Remove lid and top rack from grill, then center disposable roasting pan on lower rack. Add 6 cups hardwood sawdust to pan.
• Light 5 briquettes in chimney starter. When briquettes are fully lit (covered completely with gray ash and glowing), transfer with tongs to sawdust, spacing evenly.
• When sawdust begins to smolder, replace top rack and arrange pork pieces on rack about 1 inch apart. Cover grill with lid, then insert thermometer into a vent hole in lid to monitor air temperature, which should be 80 to 120°F. (If temperature rises above 120°F, remove 1 or more briquettes or uncover grill slightly until temperature falls. If temperature falls below 80°F, light 1briquette and add to sawdust.)
• Smoke pork, adding 1 cup sawdust to roasting pan and stirring with tongs every 11/2 hours to ignite unburned sawdust, 8 hours. Cool completely, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until ready to use.
• Cut finished bacon crosswise into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick slices (or roast whole; see cooks' note, below) and fry in a nonstick skillet over moderate heat, turning, until browned. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Available at The Sausage Maker (888-490-8525).

SUGAR CURED SMOKED PORK LOIN "CANADIAN BACON"

Steps:

• rinse pork loin, then place one of the garbage bags in the other open them both as wide as possible place the loin inside the bags, mix the cure rub together pour over the loin making sure to get a even coat on the whole loin, then tie the bags in a knot and place in the fridge for 5 days, after the 5 day period is up then wash the loin clean, place in a smoker or pit with chips poored over the fire source cook at 220 degrees for 4 hours or the desired internal temperture of 150-160 degrees, remove from heat source wrap in foil or cover for at least 30 minutes before serving slice to desired portions it will never be dry if you follow these directions and it is even better on a roll or bread the next day.