4 cups cold water
2/3 cup real maple syrup
3 1/2 T Morton kosher salt
2 t Prague powder #1 cure
1 t peppercorns, lightly crushed
1 t mustard seeds, lightly crushed
1 bay leaf, broken into small pieces
1 1/2 to 2 pound boneless, lean piece of pork loin
Cliff’s dry rub
Mix together the water, maple syrup, salt, cure, and spices. Stir until the salt is dissolved.
Leave the layer of fat on the top of the pork loin.
Suck up some of the brine into a brine injector, and inject the loin every inch or so.
Place the loin in a gallon ziplock with the remaining brine.
Zip it and put it in a deep bowl, just in case it leaks.
Refrigerate for 4 days, up to 7 days.
Remove the loin from the brine, rinse and pat it dry.
Rub with Cliff’s dry rub, then hot smoke with maple wood @250 to an internal temperature of 145 F.
Slice that bitch up and fry the slices for breakfast!
The Johnson Family Cookbook