Canadian Bacon and the art of Charcuterie

Pork loin out of the brine, trussed and ready to go!

Today I'm making Canadian Bacon. A wicked expensive deli meat that's created from one the most inexpensive cuts you can buy. And there in lies the purpose of this post, to introduce you to the fascinating world of Charcuterie. Charcuterie is the French word for the art of curing and preserving meats. Techniques in this art include brining, smoking, drying and curing. It deals not only with whole cuts, but sausage making, pates and terrines. Although the roots of Charcuterie are in the preservation of meats, it is in the rendering of inexpensive cuts, trimmings and even offal into sublime culinary creations that makes it attractive to the frugal cook as well as those who prefer to make the best use of the entire animal. For a Texas carnivore like me, the highest form of Charcuterie is the art of smoking. In this post I'll take you through the process of making Canadian Bacon without going into a lot of detail. Think of it as a guided tour. If your interested in exploring further, I'll provide some resources at the end to get you started.

First this pork loin was cured with a combination of salt, sugar, and curing salt(pink salt #1). Cures can be dry or wet, in this case it was a brining solution. Home curing offers the advantage of adding herbs and spices to the brine which are usually not present in store bought versions. In this case I added a healthy amount of garlic and fresh sage. Brining times vary by recipe and cut, in this case it was 48 hrs followed by twelve hours drying time in the fridge. Once the meat was cured and trussed it was time to put it in the smoker.

 

I'm using a vertical propane smoker with a variable temperature control. Smokers like these are fairly affordable, I payed under $200 for mine and it does a good job at hot smoking. Hot smoking should not be confused with BBQ which uses temperatures between 250 to 325 degrees. I still use a barrel pit for that purpose. Hot smoking requires a temperature range of 160 to 200 degrees.

Cold smoking at temperatures below 100 degrees is used for raw cured products such as cheese, dry sausages, and fish. I can cold smoke with this unit, but only on cold winter days. If you are interested in cold smoking you might consider a more expensive electric pellet type smoker. Or, if your handy, you can buy the pellet smoke generator by itself($150) and install it on your propane smoker later.

Doing it yourself also gives you a choice of which woods to smoke with. Some folks also like to add pungent herbs like fresh rosemary to the smoke box for some recipes. In this case I'm using a blend of cherry and apple wood which give a subtle flavor to the pork loin. If I where cooking ribs or brisket I would use one of the three native oaks that grow on my property for a deeper, more robust smoke flavor.

Another must have is an accurate temperature probe. For things to turn out correctly you need to monitor both the temperature of the smoker and the meat accurately. This one also has an alarm that sounds when the preset temperature is reached. Very handy! Finally after 3 hours of smoking, voila!

 

Now that's what it's really all about! If your ready to dive into Charcuterie I recommend Corned Beef as a great place to start since it doesn't require smoking or any fancy equipment. Meat Head Goldwyn has a great recipe on his amazing ribs website here. He doesn't have a lot a Charcuterie stuff but he has probably the most complete knowledge base for everything BBQ and grilling, including great articles on how to choose a grill or smoker. He also has a great article on nitrate/nitrite safety which demonstrates why I think feeding your children uncured hot dogs and deli meats is risky business. If your ready to go further and try sausage making and cold smoking I highly recommend "Charcuterie, The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing" by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. I can't say enough, the writing is beautiful, passionate, the techniques are clear, and the recipes are comprehensive. Most important of all, the information on food safety is thorough and reliable. Hope this wets your appetite? Take your cooking to the next level and try Charcuterie!