by Ianinfrance » Mon Nov 23, 2009 11:05 am
Hi Rich..
First of all, can I say that I'm guessing here.
What I would do, personally if I wanted a maple cured bacon would be very much like what I'd do if I wanted a honey cured one. I'd get the "smoked bacon" cure from Sausagemaking here and after rubbing with that, rub with some maple syrup. This isn't a case for "Grade A light", but something with a bit more concentration like e "B" medium. I'd rub the belly of pork with that, and then cure in the usual way.
As for how much.... I really don't have a clue, but given that canadian bacon is often a lot sweeter than british bacon and that Franco's smoked cure must use about 1.5% by weight of sugar, I'd want to use enough maple syrup to add another 1% sugar. The average sugar content of maple syrup is 2/3 so to give 1% extra sugar, you would use 1.5% syrup, or 15 g per kilo. (1/4 oz per pound would be close enough).
Hope that helps or spurs someone who knows what to do to come back with something that isn't pure guesswork.
All the best - Ian
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