• In a non reactive pot, put all the ingredients inside (except the meat). Bring it to a boil until the sugar and salt has melted. Let it cool and transfer to the curing container.
• Clean and rinse the meat thoroughly. Pat dry with paper towel.
• When the brine is at room temperature submerge the meat into the water and place a dish on top or anything heavy to hold the meat under the brine. Refrigerate for 1 day. ***You can add 20% longer time if you want to. The meat will be saltier and absorb more nitrite if safety is a concern***
• After the cure, rinse the ham with clean water to wash off access salt. Dump the brine water out, and bring fresh water back to the bowl. Fully submerge the ham in clean water for 30 minutes to let de-salt the ham. Pat dry.
• Now the ham needs to be smoked or baked. Below are your options.

To Smoke

• Smoke the ham at 325°F for 2.5 hours until the internal temperature is 150°F in the deepest part of the center.
• Serve. Unfortunately, you can’t cut into your Canadian Bacon just yet, if you do, it will dry it out and won’t be as fantastic as it should be!  Its very important to let it rest on the counter uncovered until the internal temperature gets down to 100 degrees. Afterwards you can slice into discs and sear it on the grill or in a medium hot frying pan with a little bit of oil.

To Bake

• preheat oven to 350°F.
• Take ham out of the brine, and rinse the meat with water to take the access salt out of the ham. Pat dry.
• ***OPTIONAL*** To add more flavour to the baked ham, you can roll your ham in some freshly grind peppers, chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder.
• Wrap ham with aluminum foil and place on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, remove the foil and increase oven temperature to 425°F. Return pan to the oven and roast for 12-15 minutes or until roast is golden brown. Check internal temperature with a meat thermometer that it has reached 150°F in the deepest part of the center.
• Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
• Serve. Unfortunately, you can’t cut into your Canadian Bacon just yet, if you do, it will dry it out and won’t be as fantastic as it should be!  Its very important to let it rest on the counter uncovered until the internal temperature gets down to 100 degrees. Afterwards you can slice into discs and sear it on the grill or in a medium hot frying pan with a little bit of oil.