Smoking Pork Loin

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spyrus

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 9, 2007
1
10
i'm smoking a pork loin for the first time, i usually do a boston butt, but someone bought this cut by mistake, so smoking i'm a going, it's a big loin over 6 pounds, i'm worried about it drying out, i use a barrel smoker and indirect heat. and a wet marinate before i cook. my barrel usually stays in the 275 range, i use a meat thermometer to confirm it's done, but want to approximate time. about an hour per pound will that do it?
 
I don't think a 6lber will take that long but you really need to go by temp. not by time.

Some people wrap the loin in bacon to keep it from drying out.

I've used roasted marinated red peppers to achieve the same effect.
 
I've only done a couple of loins so I am by no means an expert on this.

One of the things you can do is to butterfly the loin and put stuffing in it. The moisture in the stuffing will help keep the loin from drying out. You can also wrap it in bacon. As the bacon cooks the fat will render out and baste the loin without you ever opening the smoker.

I'm sure some other folks who have done more loins than I have will be by soon with more advice.

Btw, welcome to SMF! When you get a chance head over to Roll Call and introduce yourself so everyone can say "hi".
 
inject that baby with some of the marinade, i inject with alot of marinade

as Ron said, go by temperature not by time, every meat that you smoke has its own traits

i personally dont wrap in bacon, have smoked,roasted,grilled loins and they never come out dry, just remember to take it out b4 it comes out to your desired internal temperature
 
I agree with both Teacup and Ron. I won't get into the inject or not inject question but I agree on cooking to temp. I also don't think there has been a case of Tric in commercial Pork, for many, many years. The old days of having to cook to such a high internal temp, are largely gone, unless cooking your own personally raised animals.

So I believe that cooking Pork at a hotter temp, for a shorter time is the key to nice and moist meat. I will take it off when it is just past pink or maybe still has a tinge of pink. In commercially raised and processed Pork, there is no risk to this. The juices will be running. If you do as Teacup does and inject, it will be even more pronounced and you will not believe the wonderful flavor you will have.

Skip
 
From
www.theotherwhitemeat.com

What about trichinosis?
Because of modern feeding practices, trichinosis is no longer a concern. Although trichina is virtually nonexistent in pork, if it were present, it would be killed at 137 degrees F. That's well below the recommended end cooking temperature for pork, which is 160 degrees F.


You can cook to a temp. lower than 160° and be fine.
 
iv'e only done acouple of loins but each one was delicious and moist when i pulled them out at 155. both wrapped and not.
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I use Jeff's rub then on the smoker when temp is 200-225*. Let smoke about 1.5-2 hours then apply apple juice every hour until 155-160* internal temp. Take off smoker, wrap in foil and towel, then into cooler for a short rest. Then place on bar in kitchen and GET OUT OF THE WAY. My two girls will run me over gettin to it. Good luck!
 
My family raises hogs. The best part is I can walk in and pick out a pig still walking around, carry him off to slaughter, and take him home.


Since pigs are seldom raised outside trichinosis is very rare. In fact, in Vietnam pork is eaten raw because trichinosis has never lived there.

Freaked me out when I went to see a friend who owned a small Vietnamese restaurant and they made a sushi looking thing out of raw ground pork. Needless to say, I'll eat any sushi you throw at me, but I couldn't do that.

I typically cook loins a bit closer to the firebox at say close to 280* and take off at 150*.
 
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