Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Whole Pork Loin

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Whole Pork Loin

    Hey I have a few whole pork loins I plan to cook on my Traeger smoker grill.

    A friend of mine marinates his overnight in a red wine and I forget what else.

    Any fave ways of cooking this ? Should I sear it before cooking? They are pretty lean in my experience, is there a risk of drying it out if I smoke it for too long ?

    Thanks !




    #2
    Here’s what I do .....

    Wet brine the loin. I use brine from Meathead/Doc Blonder. I cut this in half, I don’t need a full gallon for a pork loin. Put the loin in a gallon ziplock, add the brine to it, squeeze the air out, stick it on a cookie sheet and into the fridge. At least 1 hour, can go 24 hours. Here’s the brine itself

    I fire up the grill and get to 250F, adding some wood for smoke. On a Traeger, you may need to start at the smoke setting, then push to a higher temp in order to get smoke flavor.

    LIberally add your rub to the loin. I like Memphis Meat Dust personally.

    Put the loin on at 250F with good smoke going

    Cook until internal temp is 145F, pull, slice and serve :-)

    Comment


    • Dadof3Illinois
      Dadof3Illinois commented
      Editing a comment
      +1
      I’ve also Sous Vide these from frozen for 6 hours at 145 then ice bath and fridge until ready to grill.

    • Jfrosty27
      Jfrosty27 commented
      Editing a comment
      +2. A winner every time.

    #3
    Couple of comments about this ..... pork loin is fairly lean, don’t cook at too low a heat or take the temp past 145 or you will get a dry piece of meat. One solution to that is to stuff the loin. I just just use good old Stovetop and stuff it, but you can do whatever you like.

    Wine, vinegar, etc are acidic. Submerging meat in acidic liquids for any length of time may leave you with mushy meat, which is not all that great an idea. If you want the flavors your buddy does, don’t add all the stuff beyond the basic salt brine until, maybe, 20-30 minutes prior to cooking.

    Put the meat on straight from the fridge. Just stop long enough to pat it dry, add your rub, and then get it to the grill. Moist cold meat takes on smoke better.

    Comment


    • zzdocxx
      zzdocxx commented
      Editing a comment
      Come to think of it, I think he uses orange juice as well. But yes it does come out a bit soft.

      Also, his pork loin is always a dark color all the way through the inside (from the wine?). The ones I am seeing on line are all pretty light colored on the inside.

      ???

      So, no need to sear then ?
      Last edited by zzdocxx; September 20, 2020, 06:40 PM.

    • ecowper
      ecowper commented
      Editing a comment
      zzdocxx I don’t bother searing, I like the crust I get with method above. You can sear if you want to, but I’ve not really noticed much difference.

      I would say that long amounts of time in wine and orange juice is going to leave the meat soft/mushy. As noted, if you want that particular addition to the flavor, I would do it right before going on the grill, maybe 25 minutes or so.

    • zzdocxx
      zzdocxx commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks for the input, I think I shall forego the overnight wine/OJ marinade.

    #4
    Here is one of my favorite things to do with a pork loin: Steven Raichlen's Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin Ruben!

    Traditional American barbecue meets authentic ethnic grilling in this deli-inspired heirloom pork loin recipe from Steven Raichlen.

    Comment


      #5
      I have one in the freezer. I plan to stuff it and tie it back up before I cook it.

      Comment


      • zzdocxx
        zzdocxx commented
        Editing a comment
        I think that is a little advanced for me yet.

      #6
      I do pretty close to what ecowper suggested though I don't brine and run at 275ish. Here are a couple pics, the one shows what the Memphis Dust looks like on the outside when done, the other shows the inside color and moistness. I pull it off the pit at 140-142 and let carryover bring it to 145 at slicing.

      Click image for larger version

Name:	judge pk tloin 04.jpg
Views:	471
Size:	89.7 KB
ID:	914310

      Click image for larger version

Name:	judge pk tloin 05.jpg
Views:	488
Size:	141.5 KB
ID:	914311

      Comment


      • Uncle Bob
        Uncle Bob commented
        Editing a comment
        Thank you both

      • zzdocxx
        zzdocxx commented
        Editing a comment
        Looks delish.

        When I take mine out of the vac pak I'll see if they need to be tied up like that ?

      • Uncle Bob
        Uncle Bob commented
        Editing a comment
        Yeah, that had just a bit more taper than I like for even cooking, so I drew in the one end to make it more uniform across it's length.

      #7
      We do a honey glassed loin. Very nice.

      Comment


        #8
        We have done quite a few pork loins over the last few months. They cook quick enough for a weeknight dinner and a whole 8 lb loin can feed a couple families if needed. I keep it simple and dry brine it overnight, hit it with some rub before cooking, and then smoke it at 275 or so until it hits 145 degrees. It usually only takes 2 hours to get there.

        Any decent pork rub will do. I have been liking this one a lot lately: https://spiceology.com/products/sasquatch-bbq-erubtion

        For the last 15-20 minutes of the cook I also like to glaze the loin with a bit of sauce. Again, most any sauce will work. I also like using an apple cider syrup from a local farm as a glaze: https://www.atholorchards.com/produc...-cider-syrup-1

        Comment


        • zzdocxx
          zzdocxx commented
          Editing a comment
          Sounds good.

          Mine are small though, I'm not sure the weight, or how many are in each vac pack ?

          Looks like time constraints will have me winging it later today.
          Last edited by zzdocxx; September 21, 2020, 03:36 PM.

        • JoeSousa
          JoeSousa commented
          Editing a comment
          zzdocxx Are you talking pork loins or pork tenderloins? Two very different cuts. A whole pork loin is usually 8+ lbs. Pork tenderloins are much smaller (usually 1 1/2 lbs each) and usually come two to a pack.

          If you are talking tenderloin (based on asking how many are in a pack I would think that is the case?) those can easily cook in under 20 minutes. Cook them until they are ~140 degrees and then sear them nice and hot for a couple minutes.

        #9
        Wait a sec, hold the presses !

        Just realized I have been in error.

        They are actually pork TENDERloins.

        There are four of them, coming to a total weight of 4.85lbs.

        Does this change anything ? ? ?

        Comment


          #10
          I cook them exactly like I cook pork loins. They go faster, though. Be prepared. Also, that wet brine gets more important in my mind.

          Comment


          • Jfrosty27
            Jfrosty27 commented
            Editing a comment
            +1 on that. Same approach. Just shorter cook time. And watch the internal temp closely. They can go from perfect to over done in s flash.

          • Uncle Bob
            Uncle Bob commented
            Editing a comment
            And they have quite a bit of taper in their shape which will require folding and tying to even up the shape. Alternate is to trim off the tapers and bundle them, but that leaves you with some small chunks of naturally shaped pieces.

          • zzdocxx
            zzdocxx commented
            Editing a comment
            Thanks guys.

            I can see the advantage to tying them up and I do have some butcher's twine.

            Got to get started, gonna see what I can do.

          #11
          Sous Vide with herbs and olive oil then sear on hot charcoal fire.

          Comment


            #12
            Project Smoke Recipe: Bourbon Brown Sugar Smoked Pork Loin


            Last edited by Old Glory; September 21, 2020, 04:56 PM.

            Comment


              #13
              I also threw a "London broil" on the Traeger I had cut from an inside round primal cut a few months back. The first one of those I cooked came out very tough. This one not tough, but not much flavor either. Nowhere near as good as prime tri-tip, but that's OK. Had a great burrito.

              I put the four pork tenderloins on with a little standard rub and tried to not over or undercook them. The narrow ends I cut off and put on separately. This meat might have benefitted from a marinade, it isn't so flavorful. It is much better (for me) with a little lemon squeezed on it.

              Thing is, I took all this meat out of the freezer to thaw a few days ago. Then I had a very short notice that I was needed to work out of town, leaving tomorrow. So I had to just cook it all up in a trice.

              I used a propane torch to sear everything.

              I'm neither disappointed nor wowed by my results. Pics to follow.
              Attached Files
              Last edited by zzdocxx; September 21, 2020, 09:06 PM.

              Comment


              • fzxdoc
                fzxdoc commented
                Editing a comment
                Looks good. As you know, pork is a good vehicle for sauces or for a lot of rub. Maybe more rub next time?

              • ecowper
                ecowper commented
                Editing a comment
                fzxdoc I often do a mustard based glaze on pork loin or tenderloin

              #14
              Pretty sure I got up to proper temp, checked many places with Thermopen MK4.

              It's OK that the pork is just a smidge pink, right ? Just noticed that looking at the pics.

              Comment


              • Attjack
                Attjack commented
                Editing a comment
                Pink is ok.

              • fzxdoc
                fzxdoc commented
                Editing a comment
                Pale pink is good. That's what I shoot for. Follow the temps Uncle Bob mentions in his post here (#6) and you'll never eat dried out pork again.

                Kathryn
                Last edited by fzxdoc; September 22, 2020, 06:08 AM.

              • Uncle Bob
                Uncle Bob commented
                Editing a comment
                Amen sister.............I probably learned that from you as well.

              #15
              Came out fairly moist though a little salty in places. A glaze or sauce sounds good.
              Last edited by zzdocxx; September 22, 2020, 02:55 PM.

              Comment

              Announcement

              Collapse
              No announcement yet.
              Working...
              X
              false
              0
              Guest
              Guest
              500
              ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
              false
              false
              {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
              Yes
              ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
              /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here