Brining and injecting

[Columbian73]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum, and looking for advice. I've been smoking for years, but never brined or injected. I have a huge Costco pork loin in the freezer just begging to get in the smoke and make us all happy.
Three questions:

Will a four-inch diameter loin take forever to smoke at my usual 225-250 temperature, and if so, should I cut it up first?
What sort of device do you use to inject brine etc. into meat?
How important is brining?

Thanks for any help.

Tim

 

[Bigtank]

225-250 will work fine, I would rub the loin with my favorite rub for pork (I like Cimarron Docs Sweet) smoke to an internal temp of 135. Wrap it up and let it rest for 20-30 minutes, slice and serve with your favorite BBQ sauce on the side. (If you want sauce) Don't slice it up before cooking. Brining is not necessary in my opinion. There many injections you can use to add flavor, anything from garlic butter to apple juice.

 

[Columbian73]

Thanks Tank. That would be simpler. But I do wonder how I would inject something into a piece of meat. I'm real light on hypodermic needles these days.

 

[Bigtank]

I have this one, if using spices in your injection go easy on the spices and make sure they're ground very fine. I would start with apple juice if it was me.

 

[DougE]

The injector comes with it, and they last a long time.

 

[chilerelleno]

I highly recommend wet brining pork, especially loin cuts.
Simple brine is 1/4c kosher salt per quart of water, you can add other flavors if you like.
Same for injecting, good to go.
It'll keep your loin moist and juicy even if you overcook it a bit.

Suggest no higher than 145° internal temp, you can pull it off at 140° tent it and let it rest.
225°-250° is ideal for me, lower temp will allow for longer smoke. Loins cook pretty fast at that temp range, and too fast at higher.

 

[zwiller]

The leaner the cut the more important it is to brine or inject. Good ideas and info already. Injecting is fast and more uniform but wet or dry brining work well too if you give it time to do the job. If you've not run TonyC's I suggest that with the bonus of getting the injector. Very bold flavor and would work well on a smoked loin. Inject the day before to do it's thing.

 

[Columbian73]

Thanks for the info, guys.
Got to try this soon.

 

[Delta 1]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum, and looking for advice. I've been smoking for years, but never brined or injected. I have a huge Costco pork loin in the freezer just begging to get in the smoke and make us all happy.
Three questions:

Will a four-inch diameter loin take forever to smoke at my usual 225-250 temperature, and if so, should I cut it up first?
What sort of device do you use to inject brine etc. into meat?
How important is brining?

Thanks for any help.

Tim

Jeff has something to say about brining. His advice works on the brining and I can vouch for that.

 

[sarge 653]

Thanks Tank. That would be simpler. But I do wonder how I would inject something into a piece of meat. I'm real light on hypodermic needles these days.

Get a meat injection syringe.You can get one at walmart

 

[schlotz]

Definitely agree with brining. I would let it brine for 8-10 hours, then smoke it.