Apple-Smoked Canadian Bacon for Äppelfläsk

Alright, let's make some Äppelfläsk!

As you can see in the recipe here:

http://foodsoftheworld.activeb...lflsk_topic3211.html

The primary ingredient for the modern version of this time-honoured Swedish peasant dish is Canadian bacon (cured and smoked pork loin); I figured that a rural home in Sweden would probably cure its own bacon, and set out to do exactly that.

The instructions for making Canadian bacon are pretty well laid out here, so there's no need to review them in-depth:

http://foodsoftheworld.activeb...bacon_topic2882.html

Using Mad Hunky's Tenner Quack (which is a clone of Morton's Tender Quick) as a curing agent, I cured a 2-pound section of pork loin for the required amount of time. When the curing was done, I dusted the pork loin with a freshly-cracked medley of peppercorns:



And let the loin rest for a while to develop a pellicle, which is a slightly-dry, slightly-tacky exterior that aids in smoke flavouring and penetration.

I then turned my attention to smoking the pork loin, using a new product that I had just recently acquired, the A-MAZE-N Pellet Smoker (also known as the AMNPS), which I ordered from my friends Marty and Tanya at www.owensbbq.com:

http://www.owensbbq.com/products.html

This handy little unit is perfect for cold-smoking of meats, fish, jerky, sausages and other charcuterie; I am sure it has many other uses as well, and am looking forward to discovering them as I continue my food-smoking projects.

Since this traditional Swedish dish features apples as well, it was only natural that I chose to smoke my Canadian bacon in apple. The AMNPS is designed to use convenient wood pellets, so I loaded up it up with some made from applewood:



The AMNPS is designed to be used in some sort of enclosure; anything will do, as long as it will protect the unit (and the meat) from the elements and allow air-flow in and out. For this project, I made use of a most convenient enclosure, my 18.5-inch Weber Kettle. I placed the AMNPS on one side of the bottom of the kettle, then lit one end of the "maze" with a propane torch:



Once the smoke was going good:



I placed the pork loin on the rack above the smoke on the opposite side of the kettle:



I then covered the kettle and left it entirely alone for several hours while the sweet, rustic apple smoke penetrated and infused itself into my pork loin.

I was a little under the weather that day from a nasty virus, so I am not sure exactly how long the AMNSP produced smoke; I know it was at least 8 hours, but it could have been more, because I fell asleep. When I woke up, the smoking process was finished, so I wrapped the Canadian bacon in plastic wrap and placed it in the refrigerator for one week, so that the smoke could mellow and equalise throughout the loin. I don't know if this step is necessary, but I can certainly vouch for the results, because this Canadian bacon was the tastiest and "best-smoked" Canadian bacon I had ever made. Three cheers for Owens BBQ and the AMNPS!

Worthy of note is that this Canadian bacon was entirely cold-smoked, and not brought "up-to-temperature" (usually around 150-155 degrees internal), so it was not a "ready-to-eat" product and required cooking. I could have brought it up-to-temperature, but because the recipe instructions called for frying the Canadian bacon, I chose not to so that I would not run the risk of over-cooking it. This was indeed the right choice for this application.

When the time came to prepare the äppelfläsk, things went pretty smoothly; here we are with the goods for a double recipe:



A note on the apples: the recipe calls for tart apples; normally, I would immediately think of Granny Smith apples, but I wanted to expand my horizons a bit, so I chose an apple I had never tried before: Braeburn apples. These were an excellent choice, with a sweet-tart, almost spicy taste; I'm a fan of them, now!

Note that since I crusted the Canadian bacon with pepper, I did not add any to the recipe; I also did not add any salt, since the salt-cured loin brought plenty of its own.

First, I ran the Canadian bacon through my slicer:



I tried to find a happy medium between "robust" and "not too thick," and think I did pretty well:



Next, I sliced the onions into thin half-moons:



The recipe calls for rings, but it seemed to me that the half-moons would be easier to handle when eating, so that's what I went with.

Since I did not want the apples to turn brown, I waited until I actually needed them to cut them up for the recipe; this departs from the instructions above, but it makes sense to me.

Ready to put this dish together, I fried the slices of Canadian bacon in a little butter, aiming for a decent sear on each side, without burning the meat:



It's here that my decision not to bring the Canadian bacon up-to-temperature paid off; had I done so, it is very possible that the meat would have started burning - or at least blackening - before it could get a nice, even sear. As it was, things went along very well.

Once all of the Canadian bacon was cooked and transferred to a tray in the oven on the lowest setting to keep warm, I tossed the onions into the cast-iron skillet, working them as the caramelised and released their moisture to naturally de-glase the pan:



I tossed the onions around in the pan until they were fairly well-cooked; I didn't know what to expect when I added the apples, so I made the decision not to give them a deep caramelisation, for fear of burning them. As it turned out, there was no need to worry about this, since the apples released plenty of moisture that could keep the onions from burning.

Speaking of the apples, while the onions were cooking, I sliced them into sections; the recipe says to cut them into thin rings, but as with the onions, this seemed like awkward eating, so I decided to go with the sections. Either way will work just fine, of course.

Once I judged the onions to be just right, I added the apples:



I tossed them around to mix them in well with the onions, then added the bacon back to the pan, covered it, and reduced the heat so that everything could simmer a bit while the apples softened up. After about 10 minutes, here's what I ended up with:



Talk about husmanskost ~ this is it, for sure!

The meal was ready, so I plated up and served it with some plain, white bread to sop up any juices:



I can't think of enough good things to say about this dish - it was great! The salty-sweet-tart combination of the Canadian bacon and apples were in wonderful harmony, with the onions lending an outstanding savoury element. Everything went together beautifully, with a rustic sophistication that must be experienced to be appreciated. The fact that I had cured and smoked my own Canadian bacon for this project only made the meal even more satisfying. Of course, you don't have to make your own Canadian bacon to try this; however, if you are so inclined, it does, in my opinion, add to the experience.



Everyone in the family did enjoy this dish very much; there were no complaints and no leftovers, and it will definitely be made again. I can't think of anything that I would do differently, so in my opinion, it must have gone pretty well.



Thanks for taking the time to look at this ~ now please, go out and try it! You will not be disappointed, and will certainly get a first-hand view of what the concept of husmanskost is all about.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask, and smaklig måltid!

I think I gain 5 pounds every time I read one of these posts.

Isn't that the absolute truth!!