Pork loin

kjball · Post by **kjball** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 7:23 am

Hey guys, I have a boneless loin I'm going to cook up for Wednesday. Looking for any input. My plan is to brine it overnight, cook it on the smoker at about 250 for 2-3 hours, wrapping it in foil once it hits about 125 internal temp.

carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 7:38 am

Kent,
That plan sounds good to me. The "Pros" may weight in, but a I can add couple of things: First, if the pork loin came in a vac pac, read the label. If it says anything like "flavor enhanced" or "enhanced for moistness", then it's already been brined. Almost all of them (and ribs too) from Hormel I've seen are brined at the plant. Doing a brine again may not hurt, but you risk making it overly salty. Rinse them well first at the very least. Keep salt content in mind if you're using rubs on these too.

The FDA says cook pork to a MINIMUM 145F, which is getting into overdone territory for me. I prefer mine around 140F, others prefer more like 135F. Modern pork is very safe so you don't need to cook it so much. It may have a bit of very light pink in the center at these temps, but is still fine.

In general, pork loins are pretty easy, as long as you don't over cook them they'll taste great.

On 07/02/12 08:23, kjball wrote:

Hey guys, I have a boneless loin I'm going to cook up for Wednesday. Looking for any input. My plan is to brine it overnight, cook it on the smoker at about 250 for 2-3 hours, wrapping it in foil once it hits about 125 internal temp.

Bad people drink bad beer. You don't usually see an empty bottle of Rochefort tossed onto the side of the road

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kjball · Post by **kjball** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:09 am

I've done LOTS of loins, always on the grill over indirect heat, but never on the smoker. Done quite a few shoulders and picnic on the smoker. My biggest concern is drying the damn thing out. I typically cook to just north of 140 and let it rest for about 20 minutes.

tony b · Post by **tony b** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 2:41 pm

Wrap it in bacon to keep it from drying out.

You can also spray it periodically with apple juice (or water), like every hour after it starts to look dry on the surface. YMMV.

kjball · Post by **kjball** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:39 pm

good call, Randy on the pre-brined loin. I looked at the ingredients and it clearly has a brine on it. So, what's the consensus, experts? Brine it myself? or is that a waste of time and materials? Tony, I thought of wrapping it in bacon, but per an episode of Pitmasters, It really seemed to prevent good smoke penetration. I will probably do a mop. Next question, are mps and rub mutually exclusive? or can i mop on a rub?

Post by **JimPotts** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:58 pm

Mop and rub away. By the time you start mopping, the rub should be pretty well adhered. Just don't go overboard.

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carrisr · Post by **carrisr** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 6:31 am

Yeah I do both sometimes. I think the wrap in foil will do more to retain moisture than a mop though. There's definitely a joke that could be made there in reference to rubs and mops, but I'll pass. What kind of mop are you using? If it's a sweet sauce you'll want to save it towards the end as it will burn easily.

On 07/02/12 21:39, kjball wrote:

good call, Randy on the pre-brined loin. I looked at the ingredients and it clearly has a brine on it. So, what's the consensus, experts? Brine it myself? or is that a waste of time and materials? Tony, I thought of wrapping it in bacon, but per an episode of Pitmasters, It really seemed to prevent good smoke penetration. I will probably do a mop. Next question, are mps and rub mutually exclusive? or can i mop on a rub?

Bad people drink bad beer. You don't usually see an empty bottle of Rochefort tossed onto the side of the road

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hoboscratch · Post by **hoboscratch** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 8:44 am

here's a good article on the crutch (aka foiling)
http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_tec ... rutch.html

I agree with this guy and never foil my pork. When I stopped foiling my ribs they took longer but got much better.

Now, are you doing a loin roast or a tenderloin? If its pre-brined it sounds like tenderloin. If that's the case, I wouldnt bother slow cooking it, personally. I'd just do what you do with the indirect and throw a bunch of chips on to get the smokiness you desire.

kjball · Post by **kjball** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:42 am

thanks,

It's not a tenderloin, it's a whole boneless loin (think boneless chops) I've always just done them on the grill with some chips in a smoker box, but thought it might be interesting to use the smoker like a wood-fired oven

brownbeard · Post by **brownbeard** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 10:10 am

I would not brine it. You don't want to oversalt it. Also, be careful with smoke. You can oversmoke a pork loin easily. That is a mild piece of meat. I like apple, or other fruit woods for loins. I agree with Randy on temp. I pull my loins at 140, and wrap to rest. Many sites will say to do loins at high temp. I do not.