# Irish Bacon



## wyogoob

The recipe for Irish bacon is different than Canadian Bacon. I have the two cured meats in the same thread "Canadian Bacon" . It's a little confusing and there's no real recipe in that thread called "Irish Bacon" So here here's my recipe, Irish Bacon Rev-3. Nothing better, let me tell ya.

*Irish Bacon*

5 lb - pork loin, about 12" long
I gallon - water
1 lb - brown sugar
10 level tbsp - salt
2 level tsp - InstaCure #1 or Prague Powder #1 
6 tbsp - black peppercorns
4 tbsp - juniper berries 
1 tsp - parsley
1 tsp - ground thyme
1 tsp - ground Rosemary
3 - bay leaves

*Wet brine:*
Multiply or divide ingredients as needed to cover meat.
Mix all ingredients with 1/2 of the water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 10 minutes.
Strain ingredients from the brine, add the rest of the water and then set aside in fridge to cool.
Pump cold cure into the loins from each end. (Optional)
Submerge loins in the cure in a bucket or zip lock bag.
Place meat in fridge and cure for 10 days (5 days if pumped with cure) 
Remove meat from brine and rinse with cold water. Drain and let dry at room temp for 1 hour.
Place cured loins in elastic netting if desired.
1 gallon of this solution will cover 4 loins, 10" to 12" long.

*Smoke:*
2 hours - no smoke at 120° - vent 100% open
6 hours - smoke at 140° - vent 50% open
2 hours - no smoke at 175° or until internal temp is 152° - vent 25% open
Let smoked loins stand at room temp for an hour before use.

*Notes:*
A 5 lb pork loin is around 12" long. If you want cut them in half to cure in 1-gallon zip lock bags. 
At 140° internal temp the cured meat can be packaged and stored as boiling or slicing bacon.
Mix it up: substitute the brown sugar with molasses or maple sugar.
This recipe is similar to the Wiltshire cure, popular in the UK and Ireland.
It's my rendition of a Canadian Bacon recipe from Len Poli.
Oak sawdust, popular with Brits and Irishman, is my favorite for this one.
The juniper berries add a unique flavor to the meat.


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## Bax*

Goob, how would you describe the difference in taste between Irish bacon and Canadian bacon?


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## wyogoob

*Difference between Canadian and Irish Bacon*



Bax* said:


> Goob, how would you describe the difference in taste between Irish bacon and Canadian bacon?


Normally Canadian Bacon is not all that flavorful, not much in it besides salt and sugar (hopefully maple sugar). Canadian Bacon wet cure looks like tea and the cured meat tastes like ham.

Irish Bacon on the other hand has a boiled cure made with black pepper, juniper berries, Rosemary, in addition to salt and sugar. My Irish Bacon wet cure is jet black.

The original recipe in the Canadian Bacon thread is kinda my version of Canadian Bacon. It's a wet cure that's is more of a Wiltshire cure, more Brit or Irish, than Canadian. It's like ham but with a noticeable, but not over-bearing, sweet, pepper/juniper flavor.

FYI: Many Europeans call the loin "bacon".

.


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## High Desert Elk

I shall have to try this.


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## BeaverDam

That looks incredible! What smoker do you prefer?


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## wyogoob

*doesn't matter*



BeaverDam said:


> That looks incredible! What smoker do you prefer?


I prefer a homemade smoker made out of an old refridgerator but gave mine away 35 years ago when I moved from Illinois to Wyoming. :smile: I made, or helped make, a number of smokers and cookers thru the years. But I'm happy with my little insulated 25-pounder.

I've been using an electric smoker made by the Sausagemaker for 20 years or so.



No offense to anyone, but it's not the smoker you use but it's how you use it.

.


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## wyogoob

You don't have to smoke the *(&% out of your Irish Bacon. Here's some lightly smoked with oak:


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## BeaverDam

Very good looking smoker! I have been planning on building one for a while now. Looking at these recipes gives me some motivation to get the material put together for that project.


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## wyogoob

*there are 3 kinds a people*



BeaverDam said:


> Very good looking smoker! I have been planning on building one for a while now. Looking at these recipes gives me some motivation to get the material put together for that project.


Thanks.

I recommend insulated and tall enough to hang 24"-long sticks of salami. A vent on the top middle of the smoker is bad for black smokey condensate drips.

Gas, electric, charcoal; who cares. If you don't watch the BBQ shows on TV and stay off the dumb outdoor forums, it doesn't matter.

Good luck on your build. There's some good threads on DIY smokers here. Try the search engine.


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## Dunkem

wyogoob said:


> The recipe for Irish bacon is different than Canadian Bacon. I have the two cured meats in the same thread "Canadian Bacon" . It's a little confusing and there's no real recipe in that thread called "Irish Bacon" So here here's my recipe, Irish Bacon Rev-3. Nothing better, let me tell ya.
> 
> *Irish Bacon*
> 
> 5 lb - pork loin, about 12" long
> I gallon - water
> 1 lb - brown sugar
> 10 level tbsp - salt
> 2 level tsp - InstaCure #1 or Prague Powder #1
> 6 tbsp - black peppercorns
> 4 tbsp - juniper berries
> 1 tsp - parsley
> 1 tsp - ground thyme
> 1 tsp - ground Rosemary
> 3 - bay leaves
> 
> *Wet brine:*
> Multiply or divide ingredients as needed to cover meat.
> Mix all ingredients with 1/2 of the water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 10 minutes.
> Strain ingredients from the brine, add the rest of the water and then set aside in fridge to cool.
> Pump cold cure into the loins from each end. (Optional)
> Submerge loins in the cure in a bucket or zip lock bag.
> Place meat in fridge and cure for 10 days (5 days if pumped with cure)
> Remove meat from brine and rinse with cold water. Drain and let dry at room temp for 1 hour.
> Place cured loins in elastic netting if desired.
> 1 gallon of this solution will cover 4 loins, 10" to 12" long.
> 
> *Smoke:*
> 2 hours - no smoke at 120° - vent 100% open
> 6 hours - smoke at 140° - vent 50% open
> 2 hours - no smoke at 175° or until internal temp is 152° - vent 25% open
> Let smoked loins stand at room temp for an hour before use.
> 
> *Notes:*
> A 5 lb pork loin is around 12" long. If you want cut them in half to cure in 1-gallon zip lock bags.
> At 140° internal temp the cured meat can be packaged and stored as boiling or slicing bacon.
> Mix it up: substitute the brown sugar with molasses or maple sugar.
> This recipe is similar to the Wiltshire cure, popular in the UK and Ireland.
> It's my rendition of a Canadian Bacon recipe from Len Poli.
> Oak sawdust, popular with Brits and Irishman, is my favorite for this one.
> The juniper berries add a unique flavor to the meat.


 I was lucky enough to get some of Goobs heavenly goods, just made a quick dinner out of the Irish Bacon, mashed spuds(lots of butter), homegrown tomato. Wow that Irish bacon has such a pleasant mild sweet flavor!! Not like any ham I have tasted--so good.


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## wyogoob

Thanks Dunkem.

The "Irish" part is linked to the type of cure. Its the Wiltshire cure, a unique flavor in ham, lots of juniper berries and brown sugar....maybe a secret ingredient or two.

The "bacon" part is like Canadian Bacon, the loin. Canadians and Europeans call the loins and some other cuts "bacon". The cut of meat on hog we use for bacon is called "rasher" in the British Isles.

How exciting is that?

.


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## Dunkem

wyogoob said:


> Thanks Dunkem.
> 
> The "Irish" part is linked to the type of cure. Its the Wiltshire cure, a unique flavor in ham, lots of juniper berries and brown sugar....maybe a secret ingredient
> 
> The "bacon" part is like Canadian Bacon, the loin. Canadians and Europeans call the loins and some other cuts "bacon". The cut of meat on hog we use for bacon is called "rasher" in the British Isles.
> 
> How exciting is that?
> 
> .


 *()**()* Exciting!! The piece I got was from the shoulder end of the loin, one of my favorite cuts of pork. Oh and it is gone, my wife who really does not like ham ate like she was at a hog trough:shock:


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## wyogoob

Dunkem said:


> *()**()* Exciting!! The piece I got was from the shoulder end of the loin, one of my favorite cuts of pork. Oh and it is gone, my wife who really does not like ham ate like she was at a hog trough:shock:


I'll bring another one down when I pick up the stuff.

.


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## caddis8

I have made this twice. Once with 3 loins for a test run. I didn't have enough black peppercorns, so I used mixed. Really good.

2nd Run, we cured two cases of pork loins because we ran out to fast on the first batch. This stuff eats really smooth. Like you can eat a whole bunch without knowing it. It's sweet and smoky. 

Goob for the win.


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## Steve G

I am so envious of your talent.


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## JC HUNTER

wyogoob said:


> I'll bring another one down when I pick up the stuff.
> 
> .


Wanna pick up some stuff from my house too?


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## caddis8

I got ambitious a couple weeks ago. I'm hosting an annual dinner and decided that I would try to cure a butt and a picnic roast with this. I injected the heck out of it two weeks ago, I tried to find a vacuum seal bag big enough to contain the brine, but failed in my efforts. What I had didn't seal and left my wife unhappy. It has been soaking in the fridge for two weeks. I just put them in the smoker for tomorrow's dinner. Will post results. I've been wanting to try this for a while.


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## hunting777

caddis8 said:


> I got ambitious a couple weeks ago. I'm hosting an annual dinner and decided that I would try to cure a butt and a picnic roast with this. I injected the heck out of it two weeks ago, I tried to find a vacuum seal bag big enough to contain the brine, but failed in my efforts. What I had didn't seal and left my wife unhappy. It has been soaking in the fridge for two weeks. I just put them in the smoker for tomorrow's dinner. Will post results. I've been wanting to try this for a while.


How did it end up??? I am soaking some in the brine right now.


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## caddis8

Full Report

Making 2 batches of brine is a lot of brine. I normally can make less brine because I can inject and then vacuum seal the loins for Irish Bacon. I didn't have vacuum seal bags big enough to fit in. I really like sealing them so there aren't spills or drips. My wife is a little unhappy with me from some drippage and spillage in the garage fridge. 

The Process. 

I don't strain the stuff out as the recipe says and just leave everything in there to soak. I don't know if it makes a difference or not, but it saves me a step. I injected every inch or so throughout to make sure brine went all through the meat. I turned the meat over a couple of times. 

I used cherry and hickory. I would have used all cherry, but I didn't have enough so I put some hickory in also. I started at 200 ish and let it go for 4-5 hours. It was pretty windy on Friday so I had to work a little harder to create smoke and keep temps up. Pic 1. After that, I wrapped in foil and cooked at 325 until internal temp hit 200, the magic fat melting stage. I then let rest for an hour. 

I couldn't help but try a couple of snorts as I was waiting because it smelled so amazing. I sliced thick is like prime rib and then cut that into chunks. 

I think I preferred the shoulder roast to the picnic roast because of the amount of fat and skin on the picnic roast. I'll admit, the picnic roast looked prettier on the grill. 

The taste is slightly different from Irish bacon and I think that has to do with the fat content in the meat. 

Overall, excellent. It was in the top 5 hams I've ever had. 

I would highly recommend doing this for Easter weekend coming up, and you still have time to do that. Find a vacuum seal bag big enough because it's a lot of brine and can tend to spill or splash if you need to turn or rotate. 

I don't think I'd do anything different next time. Very good. Some hams can get salty, but this was just right. Not too much salt. 

I'm cooking beans and ham right now, actually.


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## CPAjeff

Wow - looks awesome!


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## gdog

Inspired by caddis8 digging up Goob's Irish bacon recipe, here's 9 lbs of pork loin starting day 1 of 5 for the brine....at the top of the page!


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## caddis8

Oh I never bury that stuff. I've got a dwindling supply in my freezer. My friend and I did 60 lbs of the stuff (two cases) last year. He sold some, I ate lots. Paid for our habit. I could maybe turn that stuff into an IV drip. It may kill me, but it would cure me! (that was bad)


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## wyogoob

gdog said:


> Inspired by caddis8 digging up Goob's Irish bacon recipe, here's 9 lbs of pork loin starting day 1 of 5 for the brine....at the top of the page!


Good job hitting the top of the page.
.


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## hunting777

Smoked mine on Saturday 5 LBS. done by 5 PM and completely gone by 9 PM. That is such a great tasting pork. Very good flavor. Even my wife liked it. She usually hates pork. I did smoke mine till it hit a safe eating temp @ 160 Deg. and ate sliced. specially good with hot mustard and crackers!!!


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## gdog

Time to smoke. If you don't want to spend $60 for one of those big orange meat netting deals, you can just cut the bottom off a 2 liter of pop and use that. Works great.


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## caddis8

That's a good idea. I took at 4" pvc pipe and rounded the edges and that works great for loins. Slide the netting up and around drop it in, and push a little and out it comes wrapped! 

I love that stuff. Goob is a wizard.


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## gdog

I need a new smoker. Temp fluctuations from the electric element turning on/off are up +20 degrees difference. Impossible to keep reasonable low level temp with it kicking on/off/on/off and the temp gauge is way off. Plus getting smoke at low temps with the smoker doesn't happen. Might try one of those A-Maze-N pellet trays. The Irish Bacon turned out great, but took a lot longer than it should have.


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## nukenbu

I was lucky to find this thread, thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe! Your photos and descriptions inspired me to make Irish bacon. What's more, I want to say that I've been looking for the right bacon recipe for a very long time. And your feedback tells me that I finally found it. Frankly, I've never cooked smoked bacon before, this will be the first time, so I'm a little excited. But there is one problem, when I was in London, I was tested for various allergens (more info is here intolerancelab.co.uk) and found out that I was allergic to pepper. And I wanted to know if I cook bacon without pepper, will the taste differ much?


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## wyogoob

hunting777 said:


> Smoked mine on Saturday 5 LBS. done by 5 PM and completely gone by 9 PM. That is such a great tasting pork. Very good flavor. Even my wife liked it. She usually hates pork. I did smoke mine till it hit a safe eating temp @ 160 Deg. and ate sliced. specially good with hot mustard and crackers!!!


If pork is cured properly it doesn't have to be cooked to 160° internally. 152° is fine.


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