How to Make Homemade Canadian Bacon - Recipe
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I’m new to Walton’s…Having a hard time getting Information, probably not doing it right,so can you email me…It won’t even let me log in …Thanks Instructor51
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I need some help and suggestions on making Buck Board Bacon out of Pork Shoulder, injecting…
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How to Make Canadian Bacon
Learn how to make Canadian Bacon with Walton's and Meatgistics. Watch the video, read the guide, and then post your questions or comments below.
What Is Canadian Bacon?
Canadian Bacon is made from a pork loin that is cured, smoked and then used in everything from breakfast dishes to pizza toppings. It’s is simple to make and when done properly it will keep about as long as regular bacon but for best results should be used in about a week if kept in a refrigerator or 6 months in a freezer, after that it will start to break down. Some people will make this without a cure but doing this is not recommended and it won’t be true Canadian Bacon at that point.
Meat Block
10 lb Pork Loin
Additives
Blue Ribbon Maple Bacon Cure
Bacon Taste BoosterProcess
Before we prepare our solution you need to be sure that you are using water that is between 40° and 45° and the water cannot be hard water, it must be potable and low in microbial levels. You can either buy distilled water or you can hold water in a cooler overnight to allow any gasses to bleed out.
Injecting -
We are going to inject our pork loin with the Blue Ribbon Maple Bacon Cure and we will add Bacon Booster to increase the bacon taste and to help fight off rancidity in the cooler. For regular Bacon we would use 2 lb of this cure for a 100 lb of bellies for a 10% pump, but since the fat content of a loin is so much lower than a belly we actually want to pump it to 18%. Our pork loin weighs 10 lb so we need to pump it until it weighs 11.8 lb and since we need a cover solution anyway we are going to dissolve 1 lb of cure and 3 oz of bacon taste booster in 2 quarts of water for our injection. After we inject it we are going to cover it in a 50% strength solution to allow the cure to equalize within the meat and make sure it fully cures.To make a 50% strength solution we have two options, we can either dissolve another lb of the cure in 1 gallon of water or we can weigh what we have left over from our injection solution and add that weight in water and use that as our 50% strength cover. Since we injected it and this cure contains Sodium Erythorbate we only need to hold this product overnight in a stark bucket liner and then it will be ready to smoke.
Brining/Pickling -
If you want to brine/pickle we recommend you use Country Brown Sugar Cure, you just have to modify the usage a little to get the correct parts per million. You will want to use 1.52 pounds of the cure to a gallon of water to get 120 PPM of ingoing nitrite. Fill the container with the cure before you put the pork loin in, this will allow it to suspend and cure evenly. Move to a cooler at 38° degrees and hold for 3-5 days. After it has sat for 3-5 days fill a meat lug with clean cold water, let it sit in that for 20 minutes, empty the container and fill it up with more cold water and let it sit for another 20 minutes to rinse of any excess salt. If you try and skip this step your bacon is going to be too salty. If you are wanting a less salty product then repeat this step a 3rd time.Note
The Smoke Schedule will be the same for either curing method. There are 2 ways to smoke Canadian Bacon, we can cook it to 132° if it is going to be pan fried or cooked again before serving, if you are not going to cook it again before eating then cook it to 145°.
Thermal Processing & Smoking
Stage 1 - 120° with no smoke and dampers closed for 30 minutes
Stage 2 - 135° close dampers down and add smoke
Stage 3 - 150° for 30 minutes
Stage 4 - 165° for 30 minutes
Stage 5 - 180° until internal temp reaches 132° or until 145° 1Cooling
Once it has reached the desired temperature remove it from the smoker, put it in an ice bath for about 20 minutes and let it sit out for an hour at room temperature before moving to the cooler. Now you can slice it into pieces as thick as you want and all it needs is to be reheated in a pan or oven to be enjoyed at anytime.
Wrap up
Making Canadian Bacon is very easy, it’s actually a fair amount simpler than making regular bacon as Pork Loins are more available to most people than pork bellies are.
Foot Notes
1. I realize I said 158 degrees in the video but I meant 145. So to be clear if you are not going to be pan frying this, or heating it again before eating then you need to cook it until it is 145 degrees. (Return to text)
Additional Tips
- Try different rubs on the outside of your loin, doesn’t matter if you add heat or something sweet, either one will add a nice kick to the taste.
Other Notes
Next time I make this I am going to take the meatgistics user Raider2119s advice and try to coat the outside of the loin with ground up yellow peas, this would make it peameal bacon which is traditionally how the Canadians Make it.
Watch WaltonsTV: How to Make Canadian Bacon
Jonathon I decided to try one now & had just set it in the brine using the Maple Bacon kicked up a notch slightly with some other flavors. However, I just realized that I erred & used the calculations for the regular bellies. The loin I have is only about 4.61 pounds as that was about as big as they were here & I decided to start with less rather than more. I gather I should have used about 7-8 ounces of Maple Bacon vs the belly amount. I have used the normal amount for buck board, but it does have more fat. Am I correct in the cure correction that I need to add? Wish I had some of the enhancer already, but afraid this loin cannot wait much longer.
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calldoctoday Are you saying you were planning on using less for the Buckboard bacon than a belly because of the belly’s higher fat content? If so, I don’t think you need to make an adjustment. If you were saying you made enough of the solution for an entire belly but only have your buck board, as long as you didn’t inject it, and you have the correct amount of cure per gallon of water you will be okay, it can only hold what it can hold. Where you can get into trouble is if you use too much seasoning per gallon of water. In that case you have created a strong brine than necessary and that can cause problems. Power-User Any of you guys want to chime in?
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calldoctoday Are you saying you were planning on using less for the Buckboard bacon than a belly because of the belly’s higher fat content? If so, I don’t think you need to make an adjustment. If you were saying you made enough of the solution for an entire belly but only have your buck board, as long as you didn’t inject it, and you have the correct amount of cure per gallon of water you will be okay, it can only hold what it can hold. Where you can get into trouble is if you use too much seasoning per gallon of water. In that case you have created a strong brine than necessary and that can cause problems. Power-User Any of you guys want to chime in?
Jonathon I am not making buckboard this time. I am making Canadian. I used the same ratio (not the whole two pounds) relative to the loin on hand. Reading your post it looks like I messed up, but still may be able to recover by mixing in more Maple Bacon. That is what I am trying to confirm. It sounds like a need to up the mix to about 7-8 ounces per gallon vs the apx 2 oz. used, based on the normal belly mix for that amount of meat block (apx 4.61 lbs.).
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Gave the Canadian Bacon a second hot bath today before I sliced it up and put it to bed. Soaked it for about 20-25 minutes in just under 200 degree water. Much better results now, flavor is still there.
johnsbrewhouse Have you got any thoughts on this Canadian Bacon I am working on? Looks like you have done it a time or two.
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Jonathon I decided to try one now & had just set it in the brine using the Maple Bacon kicked up a notch slightly with some other flavors. However, I just realized that I erred & used the calculations for the regular bellies. The loin I have is only about 4.61 pounds as that was about as big as they were here & I decided to start with less rather than more. I gather I should have used about 7-8 ounces of Maple Bacon vs the belly amount. I have used the normal amount for buck board, but it does have more fat. Am I correct in the cure correction that I need to add? Wish I had some of the enhancer already, but afraid this loin cannot wait much longer.
calldoctoday I am just trying to make sure that I understand. You used a cure amount that was needed to rub bellies as a pickle for a loin for CB. Now you want to adjust the brine and want to make sure of the amounts?
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calldoctoday I am just trying to make sure that I understand. You used a cure amount that was needed to rub bellies as a pickle for a loin for CB. Now you want to adjust the brine and want to make sure of the amounts?
YooperDog Yes, I used the proper amount of Maple Bacon cure relative to the meat block of the loin, not realizing I may need to up it a bit based on the notes provided by Jonathon. I had always used the same as for the bellies for the butts when doing buckboard, but did not realize you have to up it a bit. I used about two ounces of the Maple bacon cure along with a bit of a kick-up of sugar, salt, & bourbon (as I had also done in past attempts at Buckboard that always turned out very well). So, I am trying to confirm that I need to possible quadruple the cure amount per the gallon of water for the loin or confirm how much I should have used for the apx. 4.1 pounds of loin. The amount I used was perfect for bellies or butts, but apparently not for loins (Canadian) as I am understanding this. I just put it in the brine today.
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johnsbrewhouse Have you got any thoughts on this Canadian Bacon I am working on? Looks like you have done it a time or two.
calldoctoday I brine mine with my own brine with additions of maple flavoring or maple sugar instead of brown sugar if you are trying to make maple flavored. My standard brine is 1 gallon water, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 sugar (brown, maple, white) add your flavoring and 1/4 tsp sure cure per lb. of meat, then it all goes into a 2 gallon zip-loc bag and into the refrigerator for 14 days. Rinse twice then, back into the bag with water overnight and onto the smoker the next day. You can use ham spice seasoning with your sugar, it does contain some sugar, gives that ham flavor as well. Imitation Bacon seasoning was surprising as well when I used it too, it might work well with maple flavoring.
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calldoctoday I brine mine with my own brine with additions of maple flavoring or maple sugar instead of brown sugar if you are trying to make maple flavored. My standard brine is 1 gallon water, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 sugar (brown, maple, white) add your flavoring and 1/4 tsp sure cure per lb. of meat, then it all goes into a 2 gallon zip-loc bag and into the refrigerator for 14 days. Rinse twice then, back into the bag with water overnight and onto the smoker the next day. You can use ham spice seasoning with your sugar, it does contain some sugar, gives that ham flavor as well. Imitation Bacon seasoning was surprising as well when I used it too, it might work well with maple flavoring.
johnsbrewhouse That seems to make me think I am good as is. I used about two ounces of the Maple Bacon cure from Walton’s & then deuced it up a bit with the Bourbon, etc. All that was in a gallon of water & a 4.61 lb loin. I see you brined yours for 14 days rather than five too. That makes me think I could stretch it by at least a few days if need be. Thanks a billion for the tip, I really appreciate it. PS: How did you do your smoke? Did you do it as recommended above or something different?
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johnsbrewhouse That seems to make me think I am good as is. I used about two ounces of the Maple Bacon cure from Walton’s & then deuced it up a bit with the Bourbon, etc. All that was in a gallon of water & a 4.61 lb loin. I see you brined yours for 14 days rather than five too. That makes me think I could stretch it by at least a few days if need be. Thanks a billion for the tip, I really appreciate it. PS: How did you do your smoke? Did you do it as recommended above or something different?
calldoctoday Loins are a whole lot thicker than bellies and require a lot longer for the brine to penetrate. I do the same with my hams, I don’t inject when I do the brining. Just remember to turn daily. I also net my loins to keep their shape better.
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calldoctoday Loins are a whole lot thicker than bellies and require a lot longer for the brine to penetrate. I do the same with my hams, I don’t inject when I do the brining. Just remember to turn daily. I also net my loins to keep their shape better.
johnsbrewhouse Thanks again. How about your smoke schedule for the Canadians, how are you doing that?
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johnsbrewhouse Thanks again. How about your smoke schedule for the Canadians, how are you doing that?
calldoctoday No schedule, my Treager just smokes away. I put it on the smoke setting for a couple of hours, then push it up to 250 degrees until I hit 160 degrees internal. That the only trouble with an older Traeger, no real temperature control except by thermometer. I have a new board with dual thermometers plus the internal, but yet to put it in.
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YooperDog Yes, I used the proper amount of Maple Bacon cure relative to the meat block of the loin, not realizing I may need to up it a bit based on the notes provided by Jonathon. I had always used the same as for the bellies for the butts when doing buckboard, but did not realize you have to up it a bit. I used about two ounces of the Maple bacon cure along with a bit of a kick-up of sugar, salt, & bourbon (as I had also done in past attempts at Buckboard that always turned out very well). So, I am trying to confirm that I need to possible quadruple the cure amount per the gallon of water for the loin or confirm how much I should have used for the apx. 4.1 pounds of loin. The amount I used was perfect for bellies or butts, but apparently not for loins (Canadian) as I am understanding this. I just put it in the brine today.
calldoctoday I am not sure what notes Jonathon provided, I will try to look them up. So you are making a pickle vs a rub? Overall your ‘cure’ should remain the same for the meat block based on weight but the volume of your pickle e.g. 1 gal, 2 gal will dictate the amount of seasoning needed for that volume. It sounds like you need to adjust your pickle seasoning based on the volume created minus the amount you used. If I understand correctly. Are you injecting the loin or just going to let it sit in the pickle a number of days. CB is pretty straight forward, just need to get the pickle correct. I inject if I am pressed for time, but prefer to just let it wait it’s time.
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calldoctoday I am not sure what notes Jonathon provided, I will try to look them up. So you are making a pickle vs a rub? Overall your ‘cure’ should remain the same for the meat block based on weight but the volume of your pickle e.g. 1 gal, 2 gal will dictate the amount of seasoning needed for that volume. It sounds like you need to adjust your pickle seasoning based on the volume created minus the amount you used. If I understand correctly. Are you injecting the loin or just going to let it sit in the pickle a number of days. CB is pretty straight forward, just need to get the pickle correct. I inject if I am pressed for time, but prefer to just let it wait it’s time.
YooperDog Just doing a pickle/brine. Used apx 2 oz Walton’s Maple Bacon Cure, based on normal ratio for bellies or butts, with one gallon of liquid. Loin is apx 4.61 pounds. Just put it in the brine/pickle today. I did not inject it, but I can if that is recommended. I deuced it all up with a little more Maple, Apple Juice, herbs, pickling salt, brown sugar, & Bourbon for the extra flavor. Have done the butts (buckboard), bellies, & hams before like this (injected the hams too) very successfully, but did not realize the Canadian was so different relative to what I am reading. Was intending to brine apx. 5 days, but based on johnsbrewhouse tried & tested productions, will let it brine a little longer.
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YooperDog Just doing a pickle/brine. Used apx 2 oz Walton’s Maple Bacon Cure, based on normal ratio for bellies or butts, with one gallon of liquid. Loin is apx 4.61 pounds. Just put it in the brine/pickle today. I did not inject it, but I can if that is recommended. I deuced it all up with a little more Maple, Apple Juice, herbs, pickling salt, brown sugar, & Bourbon for the extra flavor. Have done the butts (buckboard), bellies, & hams before like this (injected the hams too) very successfully, but did not realize the Canadian was so different relative to what I am reading. Was intending to brine apx. 5 days, but based on johnsbrewhouse tried & tested productions, will let it brine a little longer.
calldoctoday okay sounds like you have a pretty good handle on it. I would let it sit there and enjoy the soak, I only inject them if I plan on smoking them the next day. Like johnsbrewhouse I prefer to use maple sugar vs syrup for maple flavor and sweetness.
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calldoctoday okay sounds like you have a pretty good handle on it. I would let it sit there and enjoy the soak, I only inject them if I plan on smoking them the next day. Like johnsbrewhouse I prefer to use maple sugar vs syrup for maple flavor and sweetness.
YooperDog OK, well, that is good to hear. I was worried that I needed to up the cure a bit, based on what I read from Jonathan at the beginning of this section for Canadian Bacon. Thank you.
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calldoctoday No schedule, my Treager just smokes away. I put it on the smoke setting for a couple of hours, then push it up to 250 degrees until I hit 160 degrees internal. That the only trouble with an older Traeger, no real temperature control except by thermometer. I have a new board with dual thermometers plus the internal, but yet to put it in.
johnsbrewhouse Thanks. Well, that beats opening the lid every now & then to cool things off combined with dampers, etc. It is all a working science, there is no question about it!
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