I have seen frequent confusion among Students and members of SMF regarding Pork Loin and Pork Tenderloin. Thought I would give a short tutorial on the difference. Pork Tenderloins are no more than 1 to 1.5 pounds for a Whole one. They run 8-10" long and 3" in diameter. They are low in fat and connective tissue so are very tender, similar to Beef Tenderloin aka Filet Mignon. They are best cooked Med/Rare, 130° to Medium, 140° , Pink Pork being safe and delicious.
At 5 pounds the store is most likely selling Pork " Loin " the 4 to 5" diameter round muscle that runs the length of the Pigs Back. It is attached to the Babyback Ribs and if left on the bone and sliced are sold as the Pork Chops with a more or less single round portion of meat.
To make everything more confusing, companies like Tyson, will label Pork Loin as Tenderloin hoping to fool you into thinking that " it's " hunk of pig will be more tender than it is.
Pork Tenderloin should NEVER be made into Pulled Pork...But...There are people and Q Shops that want to eat or sell, very " low fat " Pulled Pork so they will smoke" Loin " to 205°, falling apart, like any muscle, it will get there eventually. The problem is, Loin is so lean and low in collagen that the result is stringy and dry and has to be mixed with large quantities of thick BBQ Sauce just to be able to choke it down.
So, while Loin can be made into Pulled Pork, it is pretty bad and not really edible if you have had even marginal PP made from Butts or Shoulders...JJ
