Smoked Pork Loin sliced in a roaster advice to keep moist

[dirtman]

I am smoking 60 lbs of pork loin (not tenderloin) today/tonight for an employee's wedding. I have cooked a lot of pork loin and I'm confident when keeping whole and slicing as I serve. I have always kept them whole and placed in warming drawer or cambro and sliced the whole loins and people come through the line. The bride is requesting it to be in roasters do the layout of the reception hall. Does anyone have a good "sauce" not bbq but something to help retain the moisture? Apple juice and some of the rub or?

I brined the meat early this morning, will add rub and minced garlic and will smoke the meat at about 165 degrees for 2.5 hours and turn the pit up to 240-250 for the remainder until the internal is 145 on the thin side guessing the fatter end will be in the upper 130's to 140 and rise after removing from the pit. I will hold on the smoker at 170 or in a warming drawer whole until slicing.

I will pull off the smoker about 5:45 and slice them as close to serving time as possible. I'm thinking about slicing and immediately covering the aluminum pans with cellophane to trap moisture. Any other tips to retain moisture or a better plan?

Thanks in advance!

[mountainsmoker]

Pork loin is so lean I would catch all the juices I could in a pan with a little water under them. You don't say what your instrument of torture is but do add moisture to the air. I would not cook them at 165 that is just over the save side of 160 that the USDA recommends for bacterial growth. Take the temp to 200 and cook them there for the whole time or do your boost to 225 if you want. Just watch your temp and timing.

For a sauce defat the juices you have caught and if you have enough use them. If not combine them with a simple Caroling vinegar sauce as it will add juiciness without overwhelming the flavor of the pork.

[dirtman]

Your turkey looks delicious in your signature!

[dirtman]

I'm cooking on a Mak 3 Star General pellet grill. I'll search for Carolina Vinegar Sauce as I'm not familiar with it. Thanks!

[mountainsmoker]

Here is one I have used from Stephen Raichlen.

https://barbecuebible.com/recipe/eastern-north-carolina-style-sauce/

I leave out the hot pepper flakes and adjust the hot sauce(the wife doesn't like really hot things). Then if I have some drippings I will substitute the vinegar with an equal part drippings always keeping some of the vinegar in.

Western Carolina adds some ketchup to the recipe. We are a diverse breed down here. LOL

[dirtman]

The link was broken googled Stephen Raichlen Carolina sauce. Is this right?

VINEGAR SAUCE
2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar, or more to taste
5 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
4 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

[mountainsmoker]

That is the Western Carolina sauce. Mr. Bones has the right one below. I didn't explain why I leave out the pepper flakes, to me it is just a presentation thing at home if I feel I'll put them in.

[Mr. Bones]

Above referenced url yields:

Eastern North Carolina-Style Sauce

Recipe Notes

• Yield: 6 cups

Ingredients

• 5 cups distilled white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons salt, or more to taste
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons hot red pepper flakes, or more to taste
• 3 tablespoons hot sauce, such as Tabasco or Texas Pete

Recipe Steps

Step 1: Put the vinegar, salt, sugar, black pepper, hot red pepper flakes, and hot sauce in a large nonreactive bowl, add 1 cup of water, and whisk until the salt and sugar dissolve. Or, place the ingredients in a large jar and shake to mix.

Step 2: Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or hot red pepper flakes as necessary. The sauce can be refrigerated for several weeks. Bring it to room temperature before using.

[mountainsmoker]

You got it Mr. Bones.

[Ahumadora]

dirtman yes, you are on the right track.At the end of the day it is a very lean cut and internal temp is what will dry it out. Use it's own juices and make a thin mop for serving is about all you can do.

[Bkhuna]

I'm in the no tomato, vinegar and hot pepper camp for pork sauces. My old neighbor from Aydenn NC says ketchup is for kiddies

Then there's my favorite, South Carolina Gold which harkens back to the influx of Germans in colonial South Carolina.

[mountainsmoker]

Yea as a side sauce maybe, but not for a basting sauce. There is only a small area of SC that uses the mustard sauce. It can be good but it can also be over powering. Here is one sauce from Big Bob Gibson 's an award winning BBQ champion.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/carolina-mustard-sauce-352995

[dirtman]

Thanks for the advice all! I ended up not needing a sauce as they were cut at serving as I had tons of problems with this cook. I cleaned my Mak 3 star last weekend in preparation, tested it for about 5 minutes and all was well. Unfortunately something was amiss, the pit got really hot and prior to realizing it they were more burnt than I felt comfortable serving. I had enlightened time so I headed to the store and started over using only one side of the Mak 3 Star and my 2 Star. I was over confident and headed out for a bit and received a text of a flameout on the 3 star. I scrambled to get it all done and I had to cut the loins into chops to get done. It wasn’t my best work. Only took one photo of round 2 as I was moving them off the 3 star.