Smoked Pork Loin

[pikestabber]

I know there are varying debates on whether or not to brine or not brine, inject or not, use dry rub or not, etc. That aside, I have my mind made up I want to brine a boneless pork loin (2 sections about 4lbs each) overnight, and smoke with a dry rub on. Any major problems with that? Would you rinse it after taking it out of the brine, pat it dry, and let come to room temp before smoking? Also, Do I baste throughout with a BBQ mop or leave it alone?

Finally, what temp, how long, and do I just put a meat probe in the whole time until it reaches a certain temp, or do you only put them in for a short time and remove them? Overall, I want a healthy smoke bark, and I want really tender meat (of course).

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

[goblueM]

pork takes to brine extremely well. definitely rinse it after you take it out of the brine.

you could experiment, given that you have 2 sections - dry rub one, not the other, or bbq mop one and not the other, etc

[Chef]

Experience has shown that pre-cooking the Pork in a moist process, e.g. Dutch Oven, w/Beef Stock and spices first, then break into smaller pieces and smoke s short amount of time will give you great results, moist meat with the true smoke flavors you're expecting.

[BobT]

Quote:

I know there are varying debates on whether or not to brine or not brine, inject or not, use dry rub or not, etc.

All a matter of taste I expect.

[Walleyehooker]

Im doing a pork shoulder and a turkey tomorrow and I dont brine either one.Never have brined anything except fish.Im no expert but the only thing I can see a brine doing is make it last longer in the fridge and taste salty.

[thirdeye]

I know there are varying debates on whether or not to brine or not brine, inject or not, use dry rub or not, etc. That aside, I have my mind made up I want to brine a boneless pork loin (2 sections about 4lbs each) overnight, and smoke with a dry rub on. Any major problems with that? Would you rinse it after taking it out of the brine, pat it dry, and let come to room temp before smoking? Also, Do I baste throughout with a BBQ mop or leave it alone?

Finally, what temp, how long, and do I just put a meat probe in the whole time until it reaches a certain temp, or do you only put them in for a short time and remove them? Overall, I want a healthy smoke bark, and I want really tender meat (of course).

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Brining pork loins is an excellent way to go. I also brine all my chops as well. You can also inject loins with the same brine, then submerge them in brine and this cuts the brine time way down.

If you're calling overnight 12 hours, the brine time might be too long, start off with 5 to 8 hours for those loin roasts and see how you like them. Or do one 8 hours and the other 12 hours so you can compare. Following the brine, rinse, pat dry and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or even overnight. I put my meat on a rack or on a couple of plastic chopsticks to keep it off the bottom of the tray. This rest time (called equalization) allows for all the liquids which are in motion in the meat to settle down. The rest is a critical step in most curing and brining techniques. Don't skip the rest.

I get my smoker temp settled down around 200°, add the loins for at least 30 or 40 minutes, then I ramp up the temp to the 325° range to finish. The low temp time delivers flavor and helps with smoke ring formation. The higher finish helps with the bark.

I cook my loins and chops to 145°-150° internal and rest about 10 minutes before slicing. The USDA just lowered it's requirement for pork doneness to 145° (down from 165°) because pork is so much leaner these days. (things like shoulders still are cooked into the high 190° because they are usually pulled) As long as you are up to temp, and all the juices are running clear, the pork will be okay.

The rib end of the loin has a couple of small muscles and a smaller eye, the small muscles will darken during the smoke. This is perfectly normal. The rib end is my favorite end of the loin. The sirloin (or rear) end has a larger eye and is a little leaner.

Here is a standard brining recipe, with my preference in parenthesis. Try and weigh your salt, as different grain sized salts will measure differently in a measuring cup.

Flavor Brine #1:

This ratio of salt to water has been a standard for a number of years.

1 gallon of water

6 to 8 ounces of salt. (I prefer 6 oz., and use kosher salt or canning salt)

1/2 cup of sugar

Flavor Brine #1A aka Lite Brine:

Because a lot of folks watch their salt intake, I started getting inquiries about a brine with less salt. A lite brine so to speak. Many of my brining sources feel that less than 4 ounces of salt per gallon is not strong enough, but I have been experimenting with this base recipe and like the results on pork loin, pork chops and chicken pieces. Since this lite brine has less salt, less sugar is needed. If you want to add a sprinkle of your favorite rub, or maybe a splash of soy sauce, go for it. Because this brine is lite on salt, it's okay.

1 gallon of water

3-1/2 ounces of salt (kosher salt or canning salt)

1 tablespoon(minimum) of brown or maple sugar

Flavor Brine #2:

1 gallon water

6 ounces of kosher salt

1 tablespoon Morton's Tenderquick

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 onion, chopped

¼ cup brown sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons pepper blend or crushed peppercorns

This brine has a different twist from Brine #1. It has less sugar, the addition of Morton's Tenderquick and less salt. Tenderquick has both nitrates and nitrites in a salt carrier. It's purpose is to tenderize, moisturize and color meats. It was designed for home use and differs in strength from professional or commercial curing salts, otherwise known as pink salts or Prague powders. I feel that Flavor Brine #2 is technically still a flavor brine and here's why. It gives us some of the things we like from cured products, namely flavor, a different texture and a hint of pink color to the meat. But it still is not as strong as a curing brine that would be used on something like bacon or ham. In other words, in this low concentration, it can't used for preservation. So I'm going to call it a flavor brine. This is a favorite of mine on chicken breasts and turkey breasts.