Hi Meathead. Looking for some clarification on curing time for Canadian bacon- the instructions seem contradictory. Is it three weeks or one? If it matters its a 2 lb center cut pork loin
Thanks for catching that. I have checked my notes and made the correction. It should read "Canadian bacon is made from loin meat and is often called back bacon. It is much leaner, perhaps 10:1 meat to fat, and, because it is thicker, the curing time will be about two weeks instead of one week. In the US, it is called back bacon. Order boneless loin (not tenderloin) if you want to make this. In Canada you can also find peameal bacon which has been rolled in cornmeal. Just follow the Maple Bacon recipe on the left side of the page, and leave out the maple syrup."
I have used the Canadian Bacon recipe from Michael Rhulman's book Charcuterie and it calls for only a 48 hour cure time. I have used his recipe a number of times and the cure certainly seems to have penetrated completely in that short time. Longer doesn't hurt anything but may not be necessary.
Wet cure using salt, sugar, Prague powder #1 & spices. Boneless pork loins, at least the ones commercially available, are pretty much all the same thickness. I have read your article on curing as well as many other treatises on the subject. Not at all trying to be controversial, just reporting another fairly well respected source (Rhulman) and my results. Seemed like a short time to me, but the end product certainly seems to be "cured" throughout in well under a week.
Comment