Another what did I do wrong post.

[randycandy]

Hey guys, the meat itself wasn't too bad, a little on the dry side. The outside of the loin, it looked like the rub and smoke penetrated about 1/8" into the meat, is what was real nasty. Bitterness is the exact word I would use. Thanks for everyone sharing your knowledge!

 

[turnandburn]

You mentioned it was too salty, that's why I suggested the fry test. Using cure or not, if it's too salty then that's a problem, not one that's typically fixed by smoke conditions. Unless you have a proven recipe, you gotta do a fry test or you just may end up with too salty of a product.

Make sense?

he had already rubbed and smoked it, he didnt find out it was salty and bitter until after the fact. do you rub eveything down and then cut a piece off and fry test it?

 

[thoseguys26]

he had already rubbed and smoked it, he didnt find out it was salty and bitter until after the fact. do you rub eveything down and then cut a piece off and fry test it?

When I first started smoking I fry tested almost everything but now I only fry test my cured meats because I have my rubs & marinade times down. It's a vital step whether you're starting out or experimenting.

randycandy, Can't wait to see you nail it on the next one!

 

[randycandy]

Did you rinse the rub off the loin before smoking? Did you do a fry test? I don't fry test always, but with pork loins, Canadian bacon, pork belly bacon, or pork butt bacon, I always fry test. Salt can make or break a smoke. Next time, fry test and if its too salty, soak in water for an hour or so while changing the water out with fresh water a couple times and fry test again after to make sure.

Most likely you had to much salt in the rub / or combined with / to long of a brine, plus, without desalinating it & doing a fry test; additionally - your chips were too much and burnt at high temps causing the white smoke as said above..

This confuses me. I was supposed to rinse the rub OFF the loin before smoking ? Is this correct? If you don't put your meat in the fridge over night do you then leave the rub on while smoking? Does this just apply to Pork? Please clarify:)

 

[turnandburn]

This confuses me. I was supposed to rinse the rub OFF the loin before smoking ? Is this correct? If you don't put your meat in the fridge over night do you then leave the rub on while smoking? Does this just apply to Pork? Please clarify:)

No, you were supposed to leave the rub on. You did what u were supposed to. That's why I stepped in because it got way confusing after that post of his..because it was making no sense and i knew i was not the only one getting confused as to why he was suggesting to rinse the rub off or do a fry test or soak in water to desalinate. Most everyone only does a fry test when working with CURED meats, not to check how salty your meat is after a rub down. But everyone does their own things. To each his own i guess.

 

[daveomak]

The fry test..... rinse the meat when you are curing it with Morton's Tender Quick, is to determine if it needs a rinse/soak to remove some salt....  TQ has a lot of salt....  It is designed for curing meat that will not necessarily be cooked...  Sooo  it needs a lot of salt to remove the moisture in the meat so it won't spoil...   It has nitrite and nitrate in it for a long term (months) curing at 45-60 degrees...   Some folks choose to use it for short term curing of meat (7-20 days).....   that is why the fry test for saltiness.....  

When using cure #1, I weigh the cure and weigh the proper amount of salt for a 2% salt / meat ratio....  some meats I add 2 1/2% salt others 1 3/4% salt..... all depends on what I'm looking for in saltiness......   No need to do a fry test when using the above method...    I do rinse and dry the cured product and refer for a few days for equilibrium to happen, then smoke.....

There are soooooo many methods folks use for stuff, it can get TOTALLY CONFUSING .........  Don't feel alone....  I get confused daily.....

Dave

 

[thoseguys26]

This confuses me. I was supposed to rinse the rub OFF the loin before smoking ? Is this correct? If you don't put your meat in the fridge over night do you then leave the rub on while smoking? Does this just apply to Pork? Please clarify:)

Typically you don't rinse of a rub that doesn't contain cure #1 or #2. I initially assumed you had cure in your rub - sorry for the confusion.

Your method was solid and that method is the standard around here but don't think you're always supposed to keep the same rub on from start to finish, because that would be silly.

I've experimented with many bizarre spices from around the world and there are a lot that can be used in a dry or wet rub/marinade that do not taste the same after heat and/or smoke is applied.

Dave O said it best, there are soo many methods out there, just keep researching and experimenting until you find yours!

 

[randycandy]

After taking in all the comments I've come to the conclusion that what I did wrong the most was over smoking the loin, using too many wood chips along with having my exhaust port closed off.  Maybe I put to much rub on also, not sure. There have been comments about that loin being pretty lean, another factor to consider. Next time I try a loin, I will try brinning it over night then add my rub right before I smoke it. I'll use a small amount of cherry and apple wood chips at a time with my exhaust port halfway open. I'll cook it till I reach an IT of 145*, pull it out, foil it for 20 minutes, then serve it. (I just received my maverick et-732 so I should be good to go). My next smoke will be what ever I find on sale. Thank You
 

 

[millerk0486]

Good air flow will resolve the bitterness. If you think your loin was too salty, you may want to rethink on Brining it over night. I used to brine chicken, but it kept turning out too salty. Once I eliminated the brine, the chicken was fine. It may be a different story with your pork loin, but if you feel that it was too salty last time, you may want to either exclude the salt bath or cut back the length of time for it.

 

[randycandy]

Hey miller. I'm not so sure it was too salty. I think the whole problem with the loin was that it was mostly bitter. when I cut a slice of the loin off, you could see what looked like a brownish "skin"

all the way around the meat that maybe penetrated 1/8" into the meat. This "skin" was inedible. I had to cut it off and eat the inside. The inside was on the dry side, not bad but nothing great.

When I tested the IT and seen it was 145 to 150* I took it out and wrapped it in foil. Come to think of it, while wife was preparing potatoes, it might of sat in the foil for 40 min. I'm assuming I left it in the foil too long and dried it out some. Like you guys say, live and learn.
 

 

[eman]

A loin is not one of the easiest things to smoke and keep moist. Only way i will smoke a loin is to stuff it and bacon wrap it.

 Butts are a lot more forgiving as far as moisture.

 

[jeffed76]

Did you brine it? I smoked a loin recently for 3.5 hours and it was food and juicey, but I brined it for 20 hours. I always brine my chicken too, just not as long.

 

[turnandburn]

Definitely bacon wrap.