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Recipe: Chef Cowan’s Peameal Bacon Sandwiches

I spent most of my time at this year’s Porkapalooza BBQ Festival over at the food stage where I learned a number of tricks and tips from a chefs and home cooks teaching everything from how to perfect to a pork burger to Diva Q sharing a recipe for Asian Inspired Sesame Pork Loin Skewers.

When Chef Andrew Cowan hit the stage, he shared his love of peameal bacon sandwiches – an iconic sandwich from his hometown of Toronto. While the brine time is long for curing the pork loin, this is a simple  recipe that is perfect to make ahead of your next BBQ. Who doesn’t love a bacon sandwich?

Peameal Bacon Sandwiches

2kg whole piece of locally sourced pork loin
1 1/2 cup coarse cornmeal
1 tbsp of salt

For the brine:
4L water
1 cup kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp salt cure #1

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients for the brine in a pot and bring to a boil. Allow to cool so it doesn’t cook the pork loin when it’s submerged. Add pork loin to the brine and refrigerate for 4-5 days

2. After 5 days take pork out of the brine, allow to dry in fridge uncovered for 2 hours.

3. Combine cornmeal with salt. After pork is dry roll in cornmeal mixture until pork is very well coated all around, place back into the fridge overnight, uncovered, to allow a good crust to form

4. Cut thick slices of bacon, grill or pan fry. Serve on soft kaiser bun with really good mustard, some lettuce and tomato.