I made some canadian bacon last year as Christmas gifts, and they were a big hit.<br /><br />This year I plan on adding smoked chedder and smoked salmon to the basket.
Right now, mine is curing.
I'll try to measure the temps, when I smoke it to have something more accurate. Based on my notes from last year, I came up with the following recipe.
Title: Canadian Bacon
15 lb Whole Pork Loin
2 One Gallon Zip Bags
***Per Gal Zip Bag
***2.5 oz Tender Quick
1/2 c Dark Brown Sugar
2 t Maple Flavoring
1 T Liquid Smoke
1/4 c Maple Syrup
It's easiest to add all of the ingredients to the two zip bags before you handle any of the raw pork.
Trim off all visible fat from the outside of the loin. Cut Lengthwise, then cut each of the long strips in thirds.
Place 3 pieces in each zip bag. (I also find this size is good for vacuum sealing) Leave the pork to cure for 10-14 days in a refrigerator. After the first day, you will have enough liquid in each bag so that you can squeeze out all the air. Once or twice a day, squish the bags around a little, and turn over. When your ready to smoke them, take the out of the cure, and place the pork into a large pot of ice water, and soak for 1-2 hours. Remove from the ice water and dry off. Make sure you dry them off or they won't take up as much smoke.
Smoke at 220F for about 3-4 hours. It will hit a plateau at about 150F, I usually smoke it for another 1/2 hour once it does.
**********************************************
Most Pork loins that I find at the store weigh in at 15-18 lbs. There is enough Tenderquick in this recipe for 20 Lbs. This smoke is hotter than a traditional cold smoke, but this is how I like it. It's comes out fully cooked, and tastes great without any additional heating.
Original Post