Bacon, Canadian, Charcuterie, Meat, Pork

Peameal Bacon

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Slices of homemade peameal baconIt’s always confused me that Americans call back bacon “Canadian bacon,” when it’s much more associated with Britain than Canada.  To my knowledge the only uniquely Canadian form of bacon is peameal bacon: cured pork loin rolled in ground split peas, which keeps the surface of the meat dry and inhibits microbial growth.  Sometime over the past century cornmeal has taken the place of peameal, but the name hasn’t changed.

This week I made two forms of peameal bacon: the contemporary favourite – lean, centre-cut pork loin, fat trimmed down, brined and rolled in cornmeal – and a rustic recontruction, inspired by the fantastic book The Art of Living According to Joe Beef.   I left an inch or two of fatty side meat on the loin, and after curing, rolled the meat in coarsely crushed yellow split peas.

In the end, the crushed split-peas were too coarse, making for a tooth-snapping bite.  The cornmeal had a better texture, but once the bacon had hung out in the fridge for a few days, the cornmeal absorbed moisture and lost its crispiness.

Use as you would back bacon.  Makes great sandwiches and bennies.  Below is a dish I call eggs ‘St-Lawrence’: toasted English muffin, aged cheddar, peameal bacon, maple mustard, and poached egg, served with brown beans.

Eggs St. Lawrence: English muffin, cheddar, peameal bacon, poached eggs, brown beans.

Peameal Bacon

Ingredients
This is basically the same brine I use for all of my hams…

  • 4 L cold water
  • 350 g kosher salt
  • 42 g FS Cure #1 (~5% sodium nitrite)
  • 250 g brown sugar
  • crushed garlic
  • bay
  • thyme
  • 5 lb section of pork loin, with at least 1/2″ fat cap left on, preferably from the rib section, and preferably with a good amount of the “side meat” or belly left on

Procedure

  1. Combine all the brine ingredients (that is, everything in the recipe above except the pork…) in a heavy pot.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until all of the salt and sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and chill to fridge temperature.
  2. Submerge the pork loin in the brine, weighing down with ceramic plates if required.  Keep in the fridge for 12 hours for every pound of meat (eg. 36 hour for 3 lbs of loin, et c)
  3. Remove pork from brine and rinse under cold water.  Pat very dry with paper towel.
  4. Roll loin in coarse cornmeal.
  5. Lay pork on a wire rack and put in the fridge uncovered overnight to dry out the surface.
  6. The next day preheat an oven to 425°F.
  7. Roast the pork at 425°F until the cornmeal crust has started to turn golden brown.  Reduce oven temperature to 250°F and continue cooking until internal temperature of pork is 150°F.
  8. Remove pork from oven and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating.