BBQing Pork Loin

[SwimRunFly]

This weekend I bought an 11lb Pork Loin to BBQ at my families Fathers day party. I first cleaned up the loin a little (remove all silver) Then I cut it in half and put on a seasoned rub and marinated it two different ways for 12 hours. That morning I brought the meat to about room temp.

I used a gas grill and got the grill temp to 250 degrees and put both loins on the upper racks (indirect heat) setting on tin foil to keep the juices around the loin. I cooked them for two hours open on the tin foil and then I closed the tin foil around the loin and cooked at 250 for another 3 hours. The meat thermometer I placed in the middle of one of the loins read 154 (one person said 140, one grill book I had said 170...so I choose the middle) when I took it out and then I let them set 15mns before I opened and sliced.

The flavor was good but I expected the loins to be more moist then they were.

Any suggestions would be helpful, because I do want to try this again.

Thanks

[thirdeye]

Pork loin is so lean they really benefit from grilling temperatures instead of the lower barbecue temperatures. The marinade is a good idea for adding moisture. As a minimum I brine them for the same reason.

As far a cooking goes, an indirect set-up is fine but I lightly sear them first then move to the indirect zone and cook them around 350° measured at your grate until the internal passes 140°. (A remote cable thermometer works good for this so you don't miss your target temp) Once that happens I pull them off the grill, wrap in foil and rest 15 or 20 minutes. During this time the temp will rise to 145° or 148°. Here is a photo of a loin roast with the ribs still attached, but you can get the idea of how they will come out. If this looks too rare for your tastes, pull off the grill at 145° or a little higher.

[SwimRunFly]

3rd Eye - thanks for the responce. I do have the remorte cable thermometer. Can you provide the specifics of your brining process.

Thanks,

[LABS4ME]

Pork Loin can be cooked to a little lower temp. than other pork without fear of illness. I never worry about mine being on the 'pink' side of done. I usually take mine off around 145 and when resting I'll make sure it gets up into the low 150s. always moist and tender.

Good Luck!

Ken

[thirdeye]

One thing to mention before talking about brining. Select "fresh" pork only. Don't buy the products that have been injected with any solution. Read the label carefully. some have been pumped with up to 12% with liquids.

This is what I call a flavor brine. It will add moisture and carry in flavor to lean cuts of pork or chicken via osmosis. It is not as strong and does not have the curing agents like a brine for ham or bacon. A starter recipe is 1/2 gallon of water, 7 or 8 ounces of kosher salt and 3 or 4 ounces of brown sugar. I call this a starter recipe because you can tickle the amount of ingredients, add optional ones and vary the brine time. Don't go less that 6 ounces of salt or you are defeating the purpose.

Optional things are pepper, crushed garlic, onion slices, lemon slices, apple juice, beer, fresh herbs etc. Warm some of the water to a simmer and dissolve the salt and sugar, add any other spices or herbs to the simmering liquid. This will release the flavors.

Add ice to the remaining water then add it to chill the whole mixture. You want it nice and cold. You can even go to the refrigerator for several hours to really chill it down. (often I make the brine a day ahead) Then, using a non-reactive container, (Pyrex, plastic, zipper bag etc.)submerge the loin in the brine and place in the refrigerator. Brine times will be from 12 to 24 hours. Rinse off, return to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (this lets the flavors and moisture equalize throughout the meat) then grill as usual.

You need to experiment with times to suit your taste. Keep any salt in your rub in small amounts while testing brine times so you can determine if a brine is producing a product that is too salty. This method works for chops and chicken breasts too with brine times of 1 to 3 hours for chicken and 2 to 5 hours for chops.

[SwimRunFly]

3rdeye thats some great info and I will tinker with the ingrediants. Thank you for taking the time to respond. One more question: After Seering, What is the rough estimate of cooking time on the Pork Roast above with your grill @ 350. (if you can estimate per pound). Again I understand that we are looking for an internal meat temp of 145 but I would like to give my wife an estimate for side dish preperation reasons.

Thanks again.

[thirdeye]

I am just horrible when it comes to cooking times because a few degrees difference in the grate temp or a little weight difference can really have an effect on it. On roasts like that or a tri-tip or prime rib I really rely on the cable thermometers. Then I adjust my vent settings/pit temp (within reason) to match my serving time. If something like this gets done way too early I, pull it a few degrees early, wrap in foil then overwrap in a beach towel and set in a cooler that I have warmed up with hot water. It will finish the last few degrees of cooking and then hold quite a while.

But for guessing purposes, maybe an hour to an hour and a half on a loin. The next time you try one, post your times and I'll make a note of it.

[SwimRunFly]

I know what you mean...no problem. Thanks again for your responces and have a great summer!

[NEANGLER]

Since pork now adays has little marbling you need to brine or inject yourself to add some moisture. As stated before by ccoking to only 140-145 this will keep it nice and juicy as well. It will cook on average 5-7 degrees more once you take it out of the oven. There is a fine line in temp from being juciy to being dry and stringy so watch closely! A good estimate on cook time is about 10 - 12 minutes per pound and if you do use a thermeter use the digital one with cable as you do not want to keep probing the loin every so often because use will lose the juices. I have sold pork for 15 years and unfortunatly most people over cook pork and then tend not to like it/ buy it as often. The pumping of water/brine manufacturers do has helped but biggest thing is education on cooking. Check out the Iowa Pork producers or national Pork producers websites for tips and recipes.

[waskawood]

I feel that brining for flavor is great. I also feel that if you have dry meat that wasn't brined it was just plain over cooked. A good sear and cooking to the proper temperature will produce moist meat.

[Whoaru99]

I agree with the others. Pork loin is better grilled (I use rotisserie) than smoked/BBQ. Save that for the pork shoulder/boston butt.

Overcooking is usually the culprit of dry pork. Another key is letting it rest for a while (~15 min) before cutting.

I usually just apply a rub, and rotisserie with the heat up real high for a short time, then turn it down a bit and let it go until done (very slight pink blush is fine with me).

[Whoaru99]

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That looks REALLY good!!!

[BLACKJACK]

From reading the posts I can see I need to start using a thermometer more, I usually just eyeball the meat to see when its done. I do have a themometer that you stick into the thickest portion of the meat but I don't use it much.

Those remote cooking thermometers sound interesting. Did a search on them, they run anywhere from $29-$79. Couple questions - how do you run the wire out of a Weber grill? It seems like the lid would crimp the wire. How long has yours lasted? Some of the reviews were not good, people like them but they didn't last. What kind do you have?

Back to the pork loins. I've also started buying them the last few years and what I'll do is put them on a cutting board, cut off a couple of 6-7 inches chunks for pork roasts that I can either roast in the oven or on the grill, and the rest I'll cut up into pork steaks, and package them into meal size portions with my vacumn packer. During the week those pork steaks with a good McCormick seasoning on them makes a nice, quick supper.

[SwimRunFly]

3rd Eye - I wanted to report back to you after using your advice on my latest Pork Loin. I felt that not searing and cooking to 160 was my earlier downfall! The searing and removing the meat at 143 really made the difference. I have done a few different marinate flavors as well and basting was also another hint that has also helped. You have made a hero out of me in my family's eye's!

Thanks again and Good Eating!