My first Smoked Pork Loin, 6 Pound, over a Foot Long.

Thanks so much for the compliments.  I cannot believe that as I got closer to the middle, the smoke ring actually got thicker on the top side.  I bet it is close to an inch thick on top and 1/4 inch on the bottom.  I got really lucky with this one.  I did not know enough when I bought it, but this one had a nice thin layer of fat on one side.  So I cooked it with that side up.  I also did not put salt or pepper on the bottom since I figured the flavor would run down anyway. 

1/2 is already gone.  my next door neighbor's daughter came over and asked if she could have some.  I sliced it as thin as I could with a knife without it tearing apart to try to make it last.  I did not realize that she was going to take her plate over to the neighbor across the street.  An hour later, I had their two kids over asking if they could have some. 

Between myself, my wife, my neighbor, her daughter, and the two kids across the street, less than 1/2 is left.  They said it was the best pork loin they had ever had.  I say I got lucky because this is my first one and I consider it beginner's luck and a nice cut of pork.  When I got close to the center, the liquid sat in the meat.  The only way I can explain it is it was like liquid, moist, jelly type moister within the pork.  The fat rendered and kept all the moisture inside it and somehow kept the moisture in the meat also.  I do not mean the jelly type moisture as a bad thing, it made it so juicy. 

Anyway, looks like I will be cooking the big slab of ribs Thursday because as much pork loin as my wife ate tonight, if she repeats it tomorrow night, it won't last longer than a day or two. 

When I do cook the ribs, it will be my first slab of ribs that I attempt.  I hope I have beginner's luck with those too. 

After the ribs are cooked, I am fresh out of meat so looks like I will be making a trip down to a butcher that cuts his own meat or contacting a local farmer who does the same. 

I think I should start buying wholesale and charging the neighbors a fee at the door.  lol 

Thanks everyone.  I can tell you one thing, I could not do all of this without everyone's help and advice.  I was completely clueless a week ago before my smoker came in and I joined this website.  Now it seems like I learn something new everyday from you all.  I am actually excited when I get up in the morning to see what everyone wrote throughout the night. 

In another forum, someone mentioned that I should try a meatloaf or a fatty.  I did not even know what a fatty was until a couple days ago.  lol  still not sure if I could make one as I would be afraid that the flattened hamburger would tear open on me when rolled.  I have that problem with regular hamburgers, as I flatten them out, the outer edges crack open and it takes me forever to work on into a patty.  Definitely my inexperience on the grill and what-not showing. 

Gratz brandon91, how did it turn out?  Do you have Q-Views to share?  I would love to see them.  I wish I had gotten a picture of the thing before I even started so you all could have seen that fabulous fat cover on one side.  I am not sure if all of them are this way or not, but I will be looking for it in the future.  I think that had a lot to do with the flavor, juiciness, and larger smoke ring. 

Like I think I stated earlier or in another forum, I have a large slap of frozen ribs that I just put in the fridge tonight to thaw out.  Then I will have smoked all the meat I bought at Kroger about 10 days ago.  In stead of going to Kroger this time, there is a butcher shop just one city over and I received a phone number to call a guy here in town who raises grain fed, no hormone or antibiotics and whatnot.  All natural, including their food.  No genetic corn or soybean.  That is the kind of beef I want to get my hands on.  Same with the pork.  Farm raised, farm grazed, pure non-adulterated meat. 

I will keep you all posted.  I plan on doing the ribs Thursday or Friday.  I have never smoked ribs so this will be my first attempt.  I have grilled them a few times but that is all. 

Wish me luck and again, thank you all so much for the compliments.  It means a great deal coming from experienced and novice smokers than it does those who do not know anything about it. 

SQWIB said:

Not luck... you did everything right.
Good man for pulling right before it hit 145 probably carried over to 150.
You can even pull a tad sooner just as long as you reach 145 during the rest.
Loins do great foiled for their rest.
Thanks for sharing.

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SQWIB, I thought about taking it off at 140, but being so new, I kept thinking about the possibility of making someone sick by having undercooked pork.  lol  Next time, I will pull it at 140 and then rest it 30 minutes. 

Thanks for saying it was not luck, but considering I do not have my maverick thermometer and I have to use the therm that came with the masterbuilt that is never accurate, I have to attribute some of it to luck.  I also had a very hard time keeping the temp steady because I start off using charcoal and only turn on the gas to get the charcoal going.  I have found that with just charcoal, my smoker tries to creep up to 275 but I can control that with the vent in the back and with adding a water tray for steam.  It was a very windy day and I do not have a wind break built around the smoker yet so after the first couple hours, when the charcoal started to lose heat, that is when I turn on the propane, but try to keep it at a very low flame.  In the wind, it was darn near impossible to do that so I ended up just letting the charcoal cook it the entire time.  Since I have adopted the "if your look'n, your not cook'n" school of thought, I was able to keep the charcoal above 225 so during the entire smoke, the first 2 hours was probably 250 and the last 2 hours was closer to 225.  I am just glad this was a short cook.  If it had been something like a brisket that took me 9 hours, I would have been in trouble due to the wind. 

Anyway, thank you again for the advice.  I plan on taking it out at 140 next time and resting it for 30 minutes.  I actually had to let this one rest for an hour because I was waiting on my wife to get home before I sliced it.  So the ends probably would have been just as juicy as the middle if I had pulled it at 30 minutes rest and off the smoker at 140.