Pork loin recipe and brine

trundle888 · Apr 11, 2017

Hey,
I want to try smoking a pork loin in my new smoker. My last pork lion was a complete failure but I'm putting that down to the faulty Bradley smoker I used.
Can anybody suggest any good recipes for a pork loin. Currently my plan is to coat it in maple syrup for an hour or so, then cover in my BBQ rub and let it sit over night. Anybody have any different suggestions?
Also should I brine it before applying rub and cooking? I've read a lot of different things about to brine or not to brine. Does it really make a big difference?
Thanks

gr0uch0 · Apr 11, 2017

trundle888 said:
Hey,
I want to try smoking a pork loin in my new smoker. My last pork lion was a complete failure but I'm putting that down to the faulty Bradley smoker I used.
Can anybody suggest any good recipes for a pork loin. Currently my plan is to coat it in maple syrup for an hour or so, then cover in my BBQ rub and let it sit over night. Anybody have any different suggestions?
Also should I brine it before applying rub and cooking? I've read a lot of different things about to brine or not to brine. Does it really make a big difference?
Thanks

You may want to steer clear of large doses of sugar until about the last half-hour of a cook--they can impart a burnt taste if left on for long periods of time, including sauce. Brining shouldn't make a large difference, unless you're buying farm fresh products: most packing houses will already inject some type of solution to help improve shelf life from processing to transport to store bunkers, and I find it to be largely a waste of time and money. Think about principles of osmosis. I'd recommend keeping it simple for your first efforts (salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika if you want some additional color) until you figure out your rig. I like to go hotter with loins since they're not a real fatty cut, will dry out and get tough with lower & slower cooks, run between 275 and 300, and cook to an internal temp of about 140-145.

noboundaries · Apr 11, 2017

When you buy the pork loin, check to see if it has been pre-brined. If you see anything on the pork loin label about a salt solution, (see attached picture of a pork butt), don't brine it. It will taste too salty.

Brining can definitely add flavor and character to the finished product. It can also make the meat more forgiving if overcooked. Make sure your brine complements your desired flavor profile. Seems like you're looking for a salty-sweet profile, which works really well with pork. Adding white or brown sugar to your brine will help with that.

I've used maple syrup on a loin before and found that it all just slides right off during cooking, often taking the rub with it. Look online for maple glaze recipes. I always smoke loins and tenderloins in an aluminum pan to catch the all the drippings. Catches all the flavor of the glaze and rub that does slide off and easily spoons over the sliced loin.

145°F internal temp for finished loin. A loin will smoke cook nicely at any temp between 225°F and 350°F, with time being your variable.

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noboundaries
Apr 11, 2017

trundle888 · Apr 11, 2017

Thanks guys!
Not going to bother brining.
The package for the pork is long gone, but I will look out for that next time.
No maple syrup, just a generous coating of my BBQ rub.
Cook it in a foil pan.
Pull it at 140°, rest for half an hour. Covered or uncovered? Towel over the top to keep in the heat?
How long, roughly I know, would a 3lb loin take at 225°?
Thanks again

gr0uch0 · Apr 11, 2017

I'd recommend the pan go underneath the rack to catch the drippings, not having the loin actually sitting in it. The smoke can't get all the way around the loin, and it ends up with more of a braising effect than a smoke. Pull at 140, and it's your call as to wrapping or not. I typically don't, as these can be sliced fairly quickly after removing from the heat. If you do wrap, try and use butcher paper (not waxed) instead of foil: foil won't breathe, and I don't like a mushy spice crust. I'd ballpark the time at about 3 hours (give or take), but cook to internal temp. Good luck.

SmokinAl · Apr 12, 2017

Here is a very simple, but tasty way to smoke a pork loin.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/244199/pork-loin-tender-juicy-steps-q-view

Al

trundle888 · Apr 14, 2017

So my pork loin was ok, cooked up well, but I'm thinking I need to use a different rub. I used the rub I use on beef brisket and baby back ribs. It is great on those but the rub is almost too powerful (not sure if that makes sense) for pork. Does any one have any pork rub suggestions?
I had my pork in the smoker for 2 1/2 hours at 225°, pulled it at 140°. As I was letting it test it reached 144°, after about 18 minutes but then it dropped to 143° so I carved it after 20 minutes rest.
The meat was properly cooked, juicy and had a little smoke ring.

image.jpeg

trundle888
Apr 14, 2017

image.jpeg

trundle888
Apr 14, 2017

Also how much wood should I be using? I have read on here I should be looking for TBS. Today I was worried about filling the chamber with too much smoke. Starting out I used 3 pieces of hickory and added one more piece about an hour in when the smoke seemed to stop. Does this look the correct amount?

image.jpeg

trundle888
Apr 14, 2017

gr0uch0 · Apr 14, 2017

trundle888 said:
So my pork loin was ok, cooked up well, but I'm thinking I need to use a different rub. I used the rub I use on beef brisket and baby back ribs. It is great on those but the rub is almost too powerful (not sure if that makes sense) for pork. Does any one have any pork rub suggestions?
I had my pork in the smoker for 2 1/2 hours at 225°, pulled it at 140°. As I was letting it test it reached 144°, after about 18 minutes but then it dropped to 143° so I carved it after 20 minutes rest.
The meat was properly cooked, juicy and had a little smoke ring.

Sure looked pretty tasty from here--I'd say that was nicely done. What you said regarding the rub does make sense. The meats you referenced had nearly double (ribs) up to many times (brisket) the amount of time on the smoke to mellow out. Loins are quick, and you don't have time in your favor for the flavors to mellow. You may want to try with something simple next go--salt, pepper, onion powder, gran/powdered garlic, paprika, and some brown or raw sugar if you want a little sweetness. My advice? Take a whole loin, quarter it, and experiment with different rubs. You've only got one cook, one fuel cost, and one loin expense, yet you can have 4 different playgrounds to see what is your favorite. My $0.02.

trundle888 · Apr 14, 2017

My current rub is salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, chilli powder, cayine pepper, brown sugar, cumin, mustard powder and paprika.
Also I put a foil tray the rack below my pork and there was no drippings, looked like a single drip that then evaporated and left a crust.

gr0uch0 · Apr 14, 2017

trundle888 said:
My current rub is salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, chilli powder, cayine pepper, brown sugar, cumin, mustard powder and paprika.
Also I put a foil tray the rack below my pork and there was no drippings, looked like a single drip that then evaporated and left a crust.

Last first: unless there's an exceptionally large fat cap, you typically don't find much in the way of drippings on these, as a loin has minimal amount of internal fat, and why they cook up pretty quickly. Back to your rub: the chili powder, cayenne (to some extent), cumin, and mustard are all pretty strong, pungent spices. Consider dialing all of them way back--or eliminating altogether--on your next cook. Like I'd mentioned, quarter a loin and experiment: I can tell you what I like and is the bomb to my palate, yet it may make you want to heave before you can get up from the table. I like some rosemary on mine, yet many don't, as it's very strong, aromatic, and can be off-putting. But do as many as you can at the same time (within reason) so you're not killing yourself time wise and with charcoal/stick expense. Think about it: you can get 4 different loin sections done in an afternoon with one burn, or take 4 different Saturdays and 4 cook costs to accomplish the same thing. I know what my vote would be. Good luck.

trundle888 · Apr 14, 2017

Thanks gr0uch0, I like those ideas.
Think Il make a small new batch of rub dialling back on those spices, maybe il half them and keep everything else the same and try that on a quarter or third of a loin.

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Pork loin recipe and brine

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