# Curing meat: Am I doing this right.



## ACC (Apr 27, 2013)

Iâ€™m dry curing a pork loin to make some Canadian bacon. It is my first time doing this. I cut the 7+ lbs. loin in half and placed each half in its own 1 gallon zipper baggie. I placed the baggies in an aluminum pan and put them in the frig set at 37 degrees. When I went to flip the loin halves on day 2 of the cure period, there was a lot of fluid present. The zippers on the baggies had come open and fluid had spilled out into the aluminum pan under the bags. I flipped them and did not try to close the zippers. I did put a piece of Saran wrap over the end of the pan where the ends of the loin pieces were exposed to refrigerator air.

First, I assume that the presence of fluid is normal. Am I correct?

Second, should I swap out a glass pan for the aluminum pan? I read today that I should not have used an aluminum pan because nitrite and aluminum will react with each other. 

Third, should I do anything with the fluid? Should I pour it back into the baggies? Should I pour it down the drain?


----------



## bigfishtx (Jul 17, 2007)

Did you use a brine solution?


----------



## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

If you do a search on "Canadian bacon" here on 2Cool's search, there is a post by Dick Hanks that is about 10 posts down from the top of that topic. It is titled "Canadian Bacon" with around 63 posts and 19,946 views. There is a whole lot of info about making cured pork. Especially Canadian bacon. It may even answers some questions that you haven't thought of. 

I can't figure out how to link that post to this one? ? ?sad_smiles


----------



## BadBob (Dec 16, 2010)

Dick Hanks said:


> If you do a search on "Canadian bacon" here on 2Cool's search, there is a post by Dick Hanks that is about 10 posts down from the top of that topic. It is titled "Canadian Bacon" with around 63 posts and 19,946 views. There is a whole lot of info about making cured pork. Especially Canadian bacon. It may even answers some questions that you haven't thought of.
> 
> I can't figure out how to link that post to this one? ? ?sad_smiles


if your go to that thread you highlight the url and copy (www.blablabla.com) then you paste it into the little globe with the chain link below it (insert link)


----------



## BadBob (Dec 16, 2010)

https://www.2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=1229729&highlight=canadian+bacon


----------



## kweber (Sep 20, 2005)

they're gonna start shooting at me soon because I keep posting...
https://meatsandsausages.com/
so much good info and 
probably the best site I've come across


----------



## kweber (Sep 20, 2005)

Dick Hanks said:


> If you do a search on "Canadian bacon" here on 2Cool's search, there is a post by Dick Hanks that is about 10 posts down from the top of that topic. It is titled "Canadian Bacon" with around 63 posts and 19,946 views. There is a whole lot of info about making cured pork. Especially Canadian bacon. It may even answers some questions that you haven't thought of.
> 
> I can't figure out how to link that post to this one? ? ?sad_smiles


gonna rat that out...
as I have more time when it'd cold here.. ac on low..
I'm looking into such things....
the jagerwurst thing is on the fore-front...
we have juniper!
so a jagerwurst hot smoked in my little haus
could be geshieczen


----------



## ACC (Apr 27, 2013)

Boy, did I come to the right spot. That Dick Hanks thread is right on point. My plan was pretty much what Dick posted in post #3 of his Canadian bacon thread, except I used brown sugar in a 2 to 1 ratio. From the thread, I conclude: 
1.	The production of fluid is a normal part of the curing process.
2.	Some of the nitrites and nitrates needed for curing the meat are now in the fluid which had escaped from the baggies.

I moved the loin pieces, in their baggies, to a larger glass pan. Hopefully, with the extra space the zippers will not pop open. The glass pan also eliminated any possible chemical reaction with aluminum. Since the loin pieces are the same weight, I poured Â½ of the escaped fluid into each baggie.

Kweber, that is a good website with a lot of information.

Thanks everyone for the help.


----------



## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

I also started to use brown sugar in a 2 to 1 ratio ratio as well. Turns out just a tad sweeter, which we both like. Looks like you are doing it all correctly. 

ACC.... Post up some picture of your finished product in this thread or the long "Canadian Bacon" thread.


----------



## ACC (Apr 27, 2013)

Sure, I'll post some pics.

I need some advice on calculating cure time. The loin pieces have flatten out and are basically 2 inches thick and 4 inches wide. Do I cure them 8 days (4x2) or 16 days (4x4)?

I'm thinking of 10 days. 1/4" penetration per day for 2" of thickness, plus 2 day safety margin.


----------



## Leftyonly (Apr 23, 2016)

Rule of thumb is 1/4â€ per day penetration. If your meat is 2â€ thick, then you only need 1â€ of penetration from either side to reach the middle. Thatâ€™s 4 days. No harm in curing longer though.

I cured my 3â€ diameter pork loins for 7-9 days.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## ACC (Apr 27, 2013)

I let them cure for 7 days. Then rinsed and cold soaked for 30 minute. I rubbed them with mostly black pepper with a little garlic and onion, and left in refrigerator overnight. Pecan smoked the next day.

All in all, it came out pretty good. I prefer the taste of the cured loin (Canadian bacon) over the ordinary smoked loin. It is still a little tough but what can you expect at $1/lbs. I cut it into 1/8â€ slices and itâ€™s ok. I was surprised that I did not experience a stall during the smoking. On the next one, I think Iâ€™ll smoke at 180 degrees so that Iâ€™d have longer to add more smoke flavor.


----------



## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

Looks like a good start ACC! What temp did you smoke this one at? How long in the smoker? Was there a good smoke flow? What was the internal temp when you pulled it?

I think that 180 will be too low when you smoke you next one. Maybe we can help you some after getting answers to the above questions. There usually isn't a "stall" with the internal temps that the Canadian Bacon is finished at. What you want for a finished internal temps will depend on how it will be used also. I'm pretty sure that I covered some of this temp info in my long "Canadian Bacon" post.


----------



## ACC (Apr 27, 2013)

My smoking information is not very helpful. My plan was to smoke the cured loins at 225 until one reached an internal temperature of 140 or so and the other reached 155. I expected it to take 3-4 hours. Thatâ€™s not what happened.

I started out at 275. It took 1Â¼ hours for the temp to drop to 230. During that time it was all invisible smoke - none of the flavor imparting light blue smoke. At the 1 1/4 hr mark, the internal temperature was already 145. I left them on the pit to get some good smoke, plus I did not trust the thermometer reading. Next, a heavy storm came through. By the time I could open the pit again the loins had been on the smoker for 3 hours and the internal temp was 168. The internal temperature was confirmed by 2 other thermometers.

The Canadian bacon tastes very good. However, it does not have much smoke flavor. I like smoke. I think Iâ€™ll cook the next one at 180-200 so that it will be in the smoke longer. Iâ€™d like to take it off the pit at 145 degrees.


----------



## Gizzmo (Oct 24, 2015)

kweber said:


> they're gonna start shooting at me soon because I keep posting...
> http://meatsandsausages.com/
> so much good info and
> probably the best site I've come across


Great website!


----------

