Canadian Bacon

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How to: Make Real Canadian Bacon at Home

Day One...

You'll need to gather your curing ingredients: Morton's Tender Quick, Brown Sugar and Montreal Steak Seasoning

You'll need 1 tablespoon Tender Quick, 1 teaspoon brown sugar and a Teaspoon or so of Seasoning for each 1 pound bacon. Once measured, blend together.

Cut your boneless pork loin into four one pound pieces and get your Jaccard Meat Tenderizer ready.

Jaccard the loins in three stabs per side...this allows the cure to penetrate quickly and thoroughly.

You'll need to rub each piece with the spice blend thoroughly.

I like to tie the pieces to keep a nice round shape during the smoking process. These days I use Silicone Food Loops to do the job.

Now we have to cure under refrigeration each piece for 24 hours in separate zip style bags.

Don't forget to soak some wood chips before you go to bed.

Day Two

After 24 hours...remove the pieces from the fridge and rinse very thoroughly....Let them sit to dry for 1/2 hour or so. There will be some specks of pepper from the seasoning.

Once they have dried a bit, put them into a prepared smoker and close the lid tight.

Mine took four hours to reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Time will fluctuate with wind and outside temperature. Try not to open the lid too often, slows down the whole process.

Let them cool on the rack until you can remove them without burning yourself and allow to cool to room temperature before storing or freezing.

Enjoy your Canadian bacon in sandwiches or with a fried egg breakfast. Also makes a great hash. Make your own Canadian bacon for a real treat.