Adventures in lunchmeat: pork loin sous vide que

[DaveD]

Hey folks, in my ongoing effort to dial in some standard home-made lunchmeat, my next attempt is a boneless pork loin, which I plan to do in a similar fashion to what I've done with the turkey and roast beeves I've tried thus far: sous vide for a goodly amount of time, then chill to fridge temps, then reheat to serving temp in the smoker.

I've read Meathead's writeup on the free side, and his approach, like many I've seen elsewhere, suggest a SV step lasting several hours. Is there a point of diminishing returns for the SV time on a loin? For the two beef cuts, I did them at medium-rare temps for well over a day, but both of those cuts feature plenty of fat and connective tissue. In a much leaner loin, is doing that counterproductive? What's the ideal time for SVing a pork loin in your experience? Thanks! More details here later in the week when I do the cook.

[jfmorris]

I've done several SV pork loins, and cooked them at 140-145F for 4 to 6 hours. You are just looking to get consistent doneness throughout the meat here. There's no connective tissue that will benefit from an extended cook.

I did a few this way wrapped with a bacon weave, and using a vacuum bag held the shape of the bacon through the SV process. I then seasoned with a dry rub and seared in a 500F oven or on the grill to get the bacon crisp and have color on the outside.

[johnec00]

I haven't made lunch meat from uncured loin, but frequently make pork loin ham using a process posted here:

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/recipes-technique-food-cooking/pork-recipes/1060680-pork-loin-city-ham-sandwich-slices


I would think similar will work for loin without the cure. As far as longer SV times, we've found no advantage and it makes the meat a bid mushy and difficult to slice.

[DaveD]

OK, thanks for the input here - figured that I was on the right track to not do an overly long SV step.

So I started the process today, with this here Wild Fork "Pork New York Roast" pork loin, which is apparently from the top of the loin section. It's a great shape for slicing for sandwiches, nice and regular. I dry brined it overnight and cleft it in twain because it was not going to fit in my SV bags as a whole piece in any reasonable way. And this way I can do two different seasonings. The weight reads 4.3lb/2kg, and I didn't trim anything from it, no need.








Didn't quite get them exactly the same, one is 2lb, the other 2.3, oh well. I hit one with pepper and garlic powder, and the other with my foodie pal Jenni's pork rib rub, vac sealed them up and into the meat jacuzzi at 137/58 for about six hours. Then patted them dry, wrapped them tightly in Saran wrap, and into the fridge for the night.






Tomorrow morning I'll bring them up to 130/54 in either the SnS kettle or the Pit Boss pellet smoker, depending on how much time and gumption I have tomorrow morning - working from home at the moment so I have some virtual meetings to work around. Following Meathead's process, I'll run at ~350/175, so it probably will take an hour or less to get to temp (which makes the pellet rig appealing for so short a cook). Then slice as thinly as I can manage with my slicing knife for lunchtime sammiches, and vac seal up the slices in two-sandwich increments.

More tomorrow

[DaveD]

Aaaaaaaaaaand wouldn't you know it, my calendar has had last-minute changes and I now will not be able to reheat these pieces today after all. So they'll sit in the fridge until tomorrow instead. I'm not concerned, I'm sure it will be fine. But gratification will have to be delayed...!

[Draznnl]

We’re on the edges of our seats here. C’mon Dave.

[jfmorris]

Man. Some people and they're PRIORITIES!

If you don't have time to smoke, I recommend a sear in a hot skillet or 500F oven or under the broiler, to get some color on it. Then slice. You are making lunch meat after all, and you really don't have to reheat the core to slice it and use it for sandwiches. You just want some color and sear on it.

[DaveD]

Draznnl and jfmorris Sorry guys! Could not be avoided, the calendar changes were essentially command performances, they were must-do. I'm in no hurry, and a day in the fridge will do no harm. I do want to reheat in a 350/175 smoker, as called for in Meathead 's method to give a nice surface, and I had planned from the start specifically not to do a sear for that reason. I am staying the course!

[Draznnl]

Allllll riiiiiiiiiiight. 🤪🤪

[DaveD]

Don't worry, we're on track for doing the reheat tomorrow morning.

[DaveD]

OK, here's the deliverables on the pork loin. Came out really great. Took about 75 minutes to hit the target from fridge temps, running in the SnS kettle with B&B oak/hickory coals and a couple of small chunks of cherry wood, running at about 300/150, which crept up to ~350/175 toward the end. Got some lovely color and good smoke uptake. The SPG piece on the left in these shots, JIAB on the right.






The very ends were a touch dry, but once past that the meat was super tender and juicy, very flavorful. Made some simple sammiches with some home-made bread courtesy of my lovely bride. Very delicious.





Definitely did not need to sear this at all, the smoky surface is wonderful as is. Chalking this experiment up as an unqualified success

[DaveD]

Andrrr I don't freeze it at all, after slicing up the cut, I just vac-seal up portions suitable for making two sandwiches at a time and leave them in the fridge. Vac sealed like that, they keep for several weeks, and we easily go through what I make in that amount of time, so no need to freeze. Good luck!

[Andrrr]

Even better! Thanks so much.

[Sweaty Paul]

Nicely done!

[DaveD]

Hey, back again for the final Adventure In Lunchmeat until we move in about four weeks. Another pork loin, but since my previous posts I've taken to just searing after SV, not using the smoker. It has come out juicier this way for sure.

Very similar cut to the one I posted about back in Feb, dry brined about nine hours, then SV at 140/60 for about 20 after dousing with an ad hoc blend of coarse black pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and sage. Patted dry and seared on the gas grill. I posted our evening meal from this cook in SUWYC the other day; this is the lunchmeat step.





The cuts sat in the fridge covered in Saran for about a day and a half before I sliced 'em up yesterday. Our first round of sandwiches were fabulous, the pork is just so tender and tasty.

[fitzoo7]

Did it lose some smoke flavor? How long did you sear it for?

[DaveD]

fitzoo7 I didn't smoke it at all, so it had none to lose... The sear put a nice surface on it, very tasty.

[fzxdoc]

That's quite the sandwich. I bet it tasted great.