Been feeling wistful for a smoke, so I decided to pick up a loin and make magic with it this weekend. The loin was about 10lbs and I decided to cut it in half and do two different flavors. For one half I used an authentic Jamaican jerk pork recipe minus the hot peppers (feeding this to 6 yer olds too, have to make certain concessions). The second one I did using the ridiculously simple recipe I got from this thread: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/111901/pork-loin
Smoked them over a hodge-podge of woods including apple and cherry chips and a few chunks of hickory just for the heck of it. Pulled them out at 140 deg. and let them rest for about 20 minutes. This is what I had:
I sliced them both and found them to be very juicy and had a nice smoke ring.
No fancy plating, but with meat this good going to hungry family, there's no need to be fancy.
And to go with, I finally tried a batch of Dutch's Wicked Beans. These were far and away the best beans I've ever had. I again left out the hot peppers for the kids' sake, but even then they were incredible.
This was partially a dry run for a Jamaican feast cookout I want to hold this summer, and I learned a few things:
Even injecting the jerk mixture into the loin and letting it marinade for @18 hours, the flavor didn't come through as much as I'd like. For more authenticity next time I may smoke the loin as before but cut it, slather it with more sauce then grill it to get a good char. In Jamaica they cut the meat small and cook it that way, not sure if I want to try smoking small pieces from start to finish. any thoughts on this?
Kids or no, the heat is an important part of the flavor, and it didn't taste quite right without it. I'll substitute jalapenos for the Scotch bonnets in the recipe and maybe use less, but the heat is necessary.
Stupid mistake, I put the jerked loin on the grates fat side down. It seemed a bit tougher than the other one, maybe because of this.
I will be buying some Pimento wood for the smoke next time, that may also add a bit more authentic flavor than my regular supply.
When I sauteed the onions and peppers for the beans I did it in the leftover bacon grease. This was, of course, great and I will definitely do the same next time.
There's no such thing as too much bacon in your beans!
Smoked them over a hodge-podge of woods including apple and cherry chips and a few chunks of hickory just for the heck of it. Pulled them out at 140 deg. and let them rest for about 20 minutes. This is what I had:
I sliced them both and found them to be very juicy and had a nice smoke ring.
No fancy plating, but with meat this good going to hungry family, there's no need to be fancy.
And to go with, I finally tried a batch of Dutch's Wicked Beans. These were far and away the best beans I've ever had. I again left out the hot peppers for the kids' sake, but even then they were incredible.
This was partially a dry run for a Jamaican feast cookout I want to hold this summer, and I learned a few things:
Even injecting the jerk mixture into the loin and letting it marinade for @18 hours, the flavor didn't come through as much as I'd like. For more authenticity next time I may smoke the loin as before but cut it, slather it with more sauce then grill it to get a good char. In Jamaica they cut the meat small and cook it that way, not sure if I want to try smoking small pieces from start to finish. any thoughts on this?
Kids or no, the heat is an important part of the flavor, and it didn't taste quite right without it. I'll substitute jalapenos for the Scotch bonnets in the recipe and maybe use less, but the heat is necessary.
Stupid mistake, I put the jerked loin on the grates fat side down. It seemed a bit tougher than the other one, maybe because of this.
I will be buying some Pimento wood for the smoke next time, that may also add a bit more authentic flavor than my regular supply.
When I sauteed the onions and peppers for the beans I did it in the leftover bacon grease. This was, of course, great and I will definitely do the same next time.
There's no such thing as too much bacon in your beans!
