Today in the Kitchen

[garys]

I guess I'm just old fashioned, but to me, a pork chop needs to have a bone as part of it. I buy the bone-in chops for grilling.

I buy the whole pork loin to make Canadian bacon. I make my own Canadian bacon instead of buying the standard bacon. Regular bacon is usually 85-90% fat, and fat is not only bad for us, but it tastes bad too. Canadian bacon made from pork loin is about 95% lean meat which should let you live a little longer.

[Ed in Tampa]

I guess I'm just old fashioned, but to me, a pork chop needs to have a bone as part of it. I buy the bone-in chops for grilling.

I buy the whole pork loin to make Canadian bacon. I make my own Canadian bacon instead of buying the standard bacon. Regular bacon is usually 85-90% fat, and fat is not only bad for us, but it tastes bad too. Canadian bacon made from pork loin is about 95% lean meat which should let you live a little longer.

Gary would you explain the process you use? Love Canadian bacon, very expensive here. Pork loin fairly reasonable

[garys]

I slice the loin into 2" thick slabs and soak it in brine made of 1/2 cup of Morton Tenderquick and 8 cups of water. Let it sit for 5-6 hours and drain it off. Then, I smoke it with hickory chunks for 1/2 hour.
After that, the slabs are ready to slice, but slicing it thin is a difficult so I put it on a cookie sheet and drop it in the deep freeze for 3 hours or until it is partially frozen and firming up. Once partially frozen, it slices much easier. Then, I vacuum pack it in small packages and keep it in the deep freeze until gone.
It is great on pizza or with eggs or pancakes for breakfast, and the best part is that you end up with Canadian bacon for around $2.50 a pound instead of paying store prices.

[Ed in Tampa]

I slice the loin into 2" thick slabs and soak it in brine made of 1/2 cup of Morton Tenderquick and 8 cups of water. Let it sit for 5-6 hours and drain it off. Then, I smoke it with hickory chunks for 1/2 hour.
After that, the slabs are ready to slice, but slicing it thin is a difficult so I put it on a cookie sheet and drop it in the deep freeze for 3 hours or until it is partially frozen and firming up. Once partially frozen, it slices much easier. Then, I vacuum pack it in small packages and keep it in the deep freeze until gone.
It is great on pizza or with eggs or pancakes for breakfast, and the best part is that you end up with Canadian bacon for around $2.50 a pound instead of paying store prices.

How are you smoking it? In a smoker or rigged up smoker? 1/2 hour is not that long have you tried a longer smoke time? What temp do you use in the smoker or is this a cold smoke?
Your recipe sounds good and you can be sure I will try it. THANKS!!!!

[garys]

I smoke all my meats in my charcoal grille. Just put a few charcoal in one end and when they are burning nice, drop a couple of water soaked hickory chunks on top of them. That makes a thick cloud of hickory smoke. The meat goes over on the other end in the grille so it stays as cold as possible. I don't want to cook it, but just put a nice hickory flavor into it.

I like a light smoke better than a heavy one so I do it for only 1/2 hour. If you like more, just leave it in longer.

[ERLover]

I smoke all my meats in my charcoal grille. Just put a few charcoal in one end and when they are burning nice, drop a couple of water soaked hickory chunks on top of them. That makes a thick cloud of hickory smoke. The meat goes over on the other end in the grille so it stays as cold as possible. I don't want to cook it, but just put a nice hickory flavor into it.

I like a light smoke better than a heavy one so I do it for only 1/2 hour. If you like more, just leave it in longer.

I buy my smoked meat from here, 4th generation, 2 brothers and a sister run it with employees, one brother manages the front end the other the back end and they do there own smoking. I was talking to them about smoking at home, like on a Binks smoker, which is hot, if hot smoking, once the meat gets that seal/crust on it it will not gain any more smoke taste, where cold smoking will still penetrate deep into the meat.
http://www.houseofhomemadesausage.com/

[ERLover]

@ rpd> doing yours Thursday night, but I am looking at the recipe you posted/use and I cant figure out her comment, "Since I get my soy sauce from Sam's I increase it X 4." Why or is it a watered down store brand. Instead of Kikoman.

[garys]

Shops like that are great because they stay in business for a long time. I bought my sausage too years ago when I found a shop that made the sausage I really liked. But, like happens so often, they eventually went out of business and the sausage was no longer available. Then my search for another good shop started over.
Finally, I decided to put together my own recipes and make my own sausage. Now I use my recipes and don't have to depend on someone else to provide the seasoning or the sausage. This way, I get the sausage I really like. It is more work, but I have all the control over what goes into it. And, in the end, it is cheaper too.

[ERLover]

Shops like that are great because they stay in business for a long time. I bought my sausage too years ago when I found a shop that made the sausage I really liked. But, like happens so often, they eventually went out of business and the sausage was no longer available. Then my search for another good shop started over.
Finally, I decided to put together my own recipes and make my own sausage. Now I use my recipes and don't have to depend on someone else to provide the seasoning or the sausage. This way, I get the sausage I really like. It is more work, but I have all the control over what goes into it. And, in the end, it is cheaper too.

I agree on the sausage, but they smoke there own bacon, Ring Baloney, Smoked Butt, ect, I use there SB in Pea Soup, Ham and Scalloped Potatoes, and by itself and it is just me and mom so dont need a half of a ham. One weighs about 3lb and I cut it into 3rds, freeze and 1lb is good for any of those mentioned.

[ERLover]

Maybe the MS would come up with a Blender/Cuisinart attachment!!!