# Curing your own Ham/Canadian Bacon



## 99Tarbox (Aug 11, 2012)

Iâ€™m curing three pork loins.  Of course, cured loins are Canadian bacon, but donâ€™t tell my wife, she doesnâ€™t like Canadian bacon.  So, Iâ€™m calling them hams.  The recipes are the same, but would need scaled up, for a full bone in ham.  Anyway, the three recipes Iâ€™m following are:

*Herb cured  (brine cured)*
½ gallon of water
1 cup of kosher salt
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons pink salt
1 bunch of fresh sage
1 bunch fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed.

*Spicy Smoke Roasted Loin (dry cured)*
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 teaspoons pink salt
1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoon chile powder
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons Spanish or Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon ground white pepper

*Blackstrap Molasses Country Ham (dry cure, but not air dried)*
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 teaspoons pink salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1/4 cup black rum
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
pinch of cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon toasted and ground coriander
1/2 tablespoon juniper berries, crushed with the side of a knife 

I'll post pics as build the cures.  All three will be smoked.


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 11, 2012)

Made the herb brine.  It is in the freezer to cool since I want to get all three loins on salt tonight.


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 11, 2012)

The loins are up!  The brine loin is pretty easy, dump it in the bag, fill it with brine, and get all the air out of the bag.  Easy as pie.






The other two are fun as well.  I use food savers for my dry cures, but ziplocks would also work.  The trick is to ensure you get cure against the meat.  The loins will make their own brine over the next couple of days.  

The Spicy Smoke Roasted Loin cure is very dry.  once I poured it into the food saver, I shook it up till the loin was covered.  I tried to distribute what wouldn't stick around the bag as much as possible.  As I said, it will create its own brine pretty quickly, so all the spices will be soaked shortly.  










While the Blackstrap Molasses cure is dry in the curing sense of the word, it was very much liquid.  Once I poured it into the food saver I tried to make sure it was evenly distributed over the loin.  Sealing the food saver was a bit trickier...mine doesn't have a liquid mode...but I got it sealed.










All of them went into the fridge and I'll check on the them and flip them daily.


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## Paymaster (Aug 12, 2012)

More good info! Thanks!


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## gobbleinwoods (Aug 12, 2012)

The only time I made Canadian Bacon I used this recipe which I found to be too salty and had to soak the slices before I reheated them to eat.


5 quarts of ice cold water
6 Oz.  brown sugar
2 Oz. insta cure (it is also called prague powder #1 or speed cure)
8 Oz. of salt. 


You can bet I will try these soon.


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 12, 2012)

gobbleinwoods said:


> The only time I made Canadian Bacon I used this recipe which I found to be too salty and had to soak the slices before I reheated them to eat.
> 
> 
> 5 quarts of ice cold water
> ...



I used one very similar myself when I first started.  I discovered that when the curing is complete, if you soak the item you are curing in fresh cold water for an hour or so, the saltiness goes away.  I do that with my bacon, chickens, etc.  These will get the same treatment.  The only thing I don't do that with is the corned beef since I will be cooking it in a big pot of water with potatoes and carrots.


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 12, 2012)

The brined ham is resting nicely in the fridge as are the two beefs corning.  Below that you will see the two dry curing hams.  They are coming along well too.  Both have quite a bit of brine.  The spicy ham has liquefied all of the dry cure and it is evenly spread.  The molasses cure will need a bit more attention and flipping, the amount of liquid allowed more air than I care for, but it will be fine as long as I keep flipping it.  If you were doing this, you would notice the meat goes from being soft flesh to quite firm over the next few days.  More tomorrow.






Molasses on the left, spicy on the right


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## nkbigdog (Aug 12, 2012)

Ok ya peaked my curiosity


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## flyfisher76544 (Aug 12, 2012)

nkbigdog said:


> Ok ya peaked my curiosity



Absolutely!!! My wife loves Canadian Bacon so keep us posted!!


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## flyfisher76544 (Aug 12, 2012)

Ohhhh, what is pink salt and where did ya get it?


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 12, 2012)

http://www.americanspice.com/prague-powder-no-1-pink-curing-salt/

Prague Powder #1, also referred to as Tinted Cure or Pink Curing Salt, is used for all types of meats, sausage, fish, and jerky curing. One of the most popular curing salts, Prague powder #1 contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% sodium chloride as per FDA and USDA regulations. A critical component in the meat curing and sausage making process, Prague Powder #1 is essential to prevent food poisoning. Additionally, Prague Powder #1 provides a distinct flavor and helps to prevent product discoloration.


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## Altamaha Stalker (Aug 12, 2012)

Another awesome info thread! Another bookmark too!

You got it going on, man!


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## flyfisher76544 (Aug 13, 2012)

99Tarbox said:


> http://www.americanspice.com/prague-powder-no-1-pink-curing-salt/
> 
> Prague Powder #1, also referred to as Tinted Cure or Pink Curing Salt, is used for all types of meats, sausage, fish, and jerky curing. One of the most popular curing salts, Prague powder #1 contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% sodium chloride as per FDA and USDA regulations. A critical component in the meat curing and sausage making process, Prague Powder #1 is essential to prevent food poisoning. Additionally, Prague Powder #1 provides a distinct flavor and helps to prevent product discoloration.



Thanks! Waiting on some updates.


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 13, 2012)

The brine "ham" is doing very well.  Firming up nicely.






The Spicy and Blackstrap are also doing well.  Both have created quite a bit of liquid.  Wish I had more air out of the Blackstrap, but it is doing fine.  I flipped it again, so it is soaking on the fat side tonight.


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## Altamaha Stalker (Aug 13, 2012)

I am going to have to try to make the Canadian Bacon! 

Great thread Tarbox!


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 14, 2012)

Day three.  The pork stays in till I'm happy!  Prolly be this weekend, but they are doing well.


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 15, 2012)

They haven't revolted yet!  The fleshing is really firm.  Might take em out tomorrow.  We'll see!


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## VANCE (Aug 16, 2012)

very cool

thanks for sharing the process


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 16, 2012)

Time for them to escape!  They will sit in clear water for an hour, then back in the fridge overnight to get smoked tomorrow.






Blackstrap, spicy and hern brined, in that order


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## Altamaha Stalker (Aug 16, 2012)

If you hear a knock at the door, it may be me!

I can't wait to see the finished product!

Great how to thread!


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 16, 2012)

Come on over!  Corned beef is about done!


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## BBQOutdoors77 (Aug 17, 2012)

You are da man!!!  Thanks for the info!!! 

Address please?


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 18, 2012)

Didn't get to the smoker last night, so they are on today!  I slathered them up good with honey before setting them on the grill.  We'll see how long it takes to get to 160 degrees!  I'm smoking it with one part apple wood, two parts cherry.


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 18, 2012)

The one thing I hope you've noticed is the difference between the wet cured and the dry cured hams.  The wet cured retains more water and is much plumper than the other two.  The meat will be a bit more dense, but still moist in the cry cured.


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 18, 2012)

Done!  Let em cool a bit, then on to tasting!


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## 99Tarbox (Aug 18, 2012)

All three taste great!  I wish the spicy was a bit more spicy, but has a good flavor.  I can certainly taste the molasses in the other.  I've done the herb several times, so I knew what that would taste like.  All three are very juicy!


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## flyfisher76544 (Aug 19, 2012)

Loos great!!!! Thanks for the thread!


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## Paymaster (Aug 19, 2012)

Well Done Tarbox!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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