Gaming out my first SVQ pork loin cook

[DaveD]

Hi folks, next up in my meat-smoking journey is a 2.3lb/1kg Kurobuta pork loin roast that I picked up from Snake River Farms. My basic game plan is to sous vide to 140ishF/60ishC, then quickly chill in an ice bath back to fridge temps. Then, put a good pork rub on it, probably MMD, and use the smoker at about 225F/107C to bring it back to 120/50 for serving, allowing the roast to pick up smoke and along the way.

I'm just trying to get some ballpark ideas of how long these various steps might take. The sous vide is the easiest, it's probably about 4-5 hours. But I don't have a sense for how long the chill might take, nor for how long it might take to bring the roast back to temp in the smoker. Would appreciate any input.

Might work out that the best approach is to do the sous vide & chill the day before, and then smoke it up the following afternoon for dinner, depending on these timings. Thanks!

[DaveD]

Hey, I now realize that my questions are answered in the following article on the free side:

Clint Cantwell's procedure

Short answer is the chill should take about half an hour, and the reheat about 90 minutes if reheated at 325F/163C. I'll probably do it a bit cooler, to give a bit more time for smoke uptake, but it won't take more than a couple of hours or a little more, it would seem.

Figured I'd leave this up here rather than just sheepishly delete my post after having RTFM'd my way to the answers

[Draznnl]

RTFM?

[DaveD]

Read The, uh, Friendly Manual

[bbqLuv]

I have nothing more to add, except Happy Grilling to you and PBR too.

[rickgregory]

A few thoughts/questions:

1) How are you sesaoning it going into the SV?
2) Do you NEED to do both steps on the same day for some reason?

I ask #2 because unless your schedule dictates that, you can SV a day or two ahead, shock and chill, then refrigerate. There are 2 reasons to do this. First, convenience. You only have to smoke it on the day you're eating. Second, it wil be thoroughly chilled and might get you more time in the smoke.

[DaveD]

rickgregory , simple seasoning in the SV, probably just some pepper & garlic powder and a bay leaf after having dry-brined. And no, absolutely don't need to do it all on the one day, which is kinda why I was looking to scope out the times involved. This particular weekend, it'll work out great to do the SV & chill on Friday, then smoke for Saturday dinner - going to be a front coming through Thurs night into Fri morning, with rain, but Saturday will be near perfect for outdoor action.

[rickgregory]

Sounds good. I'd definitely do the SV day before. An hour or two should work but I'd go ~3 or so just because, margin of error. I'd not go more than 4 since it could affect texture.

[DaveD]

Update on my pork loin cook.

The cut is not like most pork loins I've seen - it's quite the rectangular solid as opposed to any kind of quasi-cylindrical thing. Has a substantial fat cap on the side not shown in these photos, which I left intact. Don't think this is suitable for scrunching up and tying off with twine, so I am just going for it as-is.

Dry brined overnight, then did the sous vide yesterday at 140F/60C for a little under four hours, then quenched in the ice bath and popped it in the fridge.

Before and after brining:



Bit of garlic powder & black pepper seasoning, then into the SV with a glug of EVOO and a bay leaf.




Chilled and ready for the fridge.


I'll be firing up the smoker this afternoon to bring it to IT of about 125F/52C, probably run at 275F/135C or so (Clint C's procedure is 325F/163C for 90 min on a 2-zone grill, I don't want it quite so hot and fast). Plan is to serve with some steamed broccoli and jasmine rice More later today!

[DaveD]

The loin went into the smoker about 90 minutes ago now. First 30 minutes were on the low-T "smoke" setting of my Pit Boss vertical p-smoker, then set to 275F/135C. At 90 min I lowered the set point to 225F/107C so that it'll come in a little more gradually to my target internal of 125F/52C. Some action shots!

Rubbed and ready:


After 30 minutes on "smoke", IT 49F/9C:


30 more minutes later, IT 56F/13C:


And another 30, IT 86F/30C:


Got some rice pre-soaking in the cooker and some broccoli crowns cut up in the steamer...

[DaveD]

And it's a wrap. I am not convinced this is even a pork loin -- maybe a slab of pork belly? That fat cap was half the thickness of the piece, in the end. Absolutely delicious, moist and tender, but really not what I was expecting. Had to cut away big strips of fat from each slice.

But absolutely scrumptious!

[fzxdoc]

That pork loin turned out great. Congrats.

I agree that the shape is weird-looking compared to the many, many pork loins I have cooked. Nice looking dinner, including the Pinot Noir.

Kathryn

[Sweaty Paul]

Beautiful! Starving!

[WI Bubba]

That looks just like the pork loins I get. They should not be confused with pork tenderloin.

https://www.allrecipes.com/article/h...20the%20animal.

[DaveD]

Oh, I know the dif between loin and tenderloin, to be sure. Got a 2-pack of those when I ordered this cut, in fact. I guess I was expecting something shaped like this:

[WayneT]

I’m inspired by this thread so purchased a 7.8 lb pork loin roast and had the butcher cut it in half. Slathered some evoo on half, salted, added a bay leaf (I liked that touch) and vacuum sealed it. Dry brined for 1.5 hours then put in my SV at 140F for 4 hours. That’s where it is now. Afterwards, I chill down then smoke to IT of about 125F. Then I’m thinking of searing it on my gasser at about 700F to get a nice carmelization. Any reason I shouldn’t do that last step?

I also like the jasmine rice idea but will accompany with stewed apples and a Riesling.

Edit: I’ll use apple pellets in my PB grill for a more fruity, delicate smoke that should work well with the stewed apples and Riesling.

[DaveD]

WayneT , I can't think of a single reason not to sear it... I might have done the same if this piece hadn't been 50% or more fat...!

[WayneT]

Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I’ll dial back the IT after smoking to 120F for some margin of error when searing. Got about 30 minutes left in SV before contrast pool dunking. 🤣

[DaveD]

If your loin is more "normal" than mine, i.e. roughly cylindrical, you may not get your IT all the way to 140F/60C just from a fast sear (assuming that's your approx target temp). That's just intuition though, this was my first loin cook, and obviously it was not what most loins typically look like... Good luck, looking forward to seeing your outcome!

[WayneT]

Yes, mine is more typical loin roast shape with about 5% fat cap which I left on. My IT after ice bath was around 85F so I’m smoking at 225 to give it more time to uptake smoke. After 45 minutes it’s at 97F so I’m hoping it will get to 120 in another 45. I may have to crank up smoker to 250-275F. Stay tuned. I’ll post some final pix when it’s done.

Edit: I also used the Meat Church Honey Hog rub instead of the MMD.