First 3.5lb pork loin

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Buckeye02

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May 26, 2020
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Ohio
Ive searched the threads looking at different pork loin cook ideas. But couldn't really find what I was looking for. My question is to inject or brine? And how long to let it sit either way before throwing on the smoker? I'm not planning on eating this until tomorrow evening so I have plenty of time. Thanks in advance for the advice/help!
 
If you're gonna brine, you'll want to let it soak for a minimum of 24hrs IMO. Injecting you can get away with overnight set, some inject, rub, and throw them on. I personally don't brine or inject my butts, but like I tell everyone who asks me about how I do things. The important thing is to cook what tastes good to you. That and experiment. Try brining for 24 hours, if you don't think it was long enough, next time go 36/48/72 hours and see what you think. Keep going until you find your personal que preferences.

Good luck!
 
I used to immersion brine loins, but now I prefer to inject a LiteBrine. One of my favorites is 0.7 to 1 gram of salt for each ounce of apple (or apple/white grape) juice. I roughly inject 1 ounce per pound, and expect some to leak back out. 2 hours of dwell time works, 3 or 4 hours works a little better. Take the internal to 140* and plan for it to rise a few degrees. I will lightly season after injecting so it can go to work while the loins are in the bag. Then add a final seasoning before going on the pit.
 
If you're gonna brine, you'll want to let it soak for a minimum of 24hrs IMO. Injecting you can get away with overnight set, some inject, rub, and throw them on. I personally don't brine or inject my butts, but like I tell everyone who asks me about how I do things. The important thing is to cook what tastes good to you. That and experiment. Try brining for 24 hours, if you don't think it was long enough, next time go 36/48/72 hours and see what you think. Keep going until you find your personal que preferences.

Good luck!
Thank you!
 
I used to immersion brine loins, but now I prefer to inject a LiteBrine. One of my favorites is 0.7 to 1 gram of salt for each ounce of apple (or apple/white grape) juice. I roughly inject 1 ounce per pound, and expect some to leak back out. 2 hours of dwell time works, 3 or 4 hours works a little better. Take the internal to 140* and plan for it to rise a few degrees. I will lightly season after injecting so it can go to work while the loins are in the bag. Then add a final seasoning before going on the pit.
Ok thank you!
 
I'm kind of partial to butterflying the loin and stuffing with fetta cheese and spinach, or with apple pie filling.


Chris
 
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FWIW, and just IMO, And being your first ... I would err on the short side of brining time ... too little still works and you can try longer next time ... too much and it’s ruined by being too salty or too mushy. To me, even 24 hr sounds like a lot, but can’t say I’ve ever tried going that long with a true brine (just with a soy/vinegar marinade - that still is a bit salty - on thick country ribs) ... might be fine tho.
 
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Ive searched the threads looking at different pork loin cook ideas. But couldn't really find what I was looking for. My question is to inject or brine? And how long to let it sit either way before throwing on the smoker? I'm not planning on eating this until tomorrow evening so I have plenty of time. Thanks in advance for the advice/help!


You gotta love this Step by Step:
Smoked Stuffed Pork Loin (Apple)

Bear
 
FWIW, and just IMO, And being your first ... I would err on the short side of brining time ... too little still works and you can try longer next time ... too much and it’s ruined by being too salty or too mushy. To me, even 24 hr sounds like a lot, but can’t say I’ve ever tried going that long with a true brine (just with a soy/vinegar marinade - that still is a bit salty - on thick country ribs) ... might be fine tho.
You know.... so many cookbooks or Internet flavor of the week cooks often mention 3 or 4 hour marinade times, and most of us go longer. I think they recommend shorter times because some people might not be willing to try a recipe that takes too long.

Anyways, many marinades have ingredients whose molecules are too large to be absorbed very far in the meat, so I treat them as a surface seasoning. A long time favorite for chicken or pork chops is Italian salad dressing, I love the stuff.... but if you have a 3/4" pork chop it never reaches the center.
 
Think im just going to go with this. I did this on some chops and they tasted pretty good. So hopefully that'll work. Maybe an injection next time. Thanks for all the input guys!
 

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Yeah, I wasn’t thinking that short ... but maybe more in the 12hr/overnight range. But that’s still by guess and by golly. And yeah, brining mechanisms WAY different from marinating..
 
Yeah, I wasn’t thinking that short ... but maybe more in the 12hr/overnight range. But that’s still by guess and by golly. And yeah, brining mechanisms WAY different from marinating..
I'm not sure how the marinating is going to work but I know it gave the chops a really good flavor. Would it be counter productive to inject some apple juice and red wine vinegar in it before i throw it on the smoker? Or am I just over thinking it? I done a bad batch of country style ribs so I think im just paranoid now lol
 
I'm not sure how the marinating is going to work but I know it gave the chops a really good flavor. Would it be counter productive to inject some apple juice and red wine vinegar in it before i throw it on the smoker? Or am I just over thinking it? I done a bad batch of country style ribs so I think im just paranoid now lol

Don't be paranoid, because I have found boneless CSRs are one of the hardest things to get right. I never brine or inject anything, but it certainly isn't going to hurt to inject some AJ.

Bear
 
Don't be paranoid, because I have found boneless CSRs are one of the hardest things to get right. I never brine or inject anything, but it certainly isn't going to hurt to inject some AJ.

Bear
Ok good deal. Thank you!
 
I can't complain being my first pork loin. Tender and juicy. But think I'll go with an injection next time. Bark had great smoke and flavor. But after that just tasted like a porkchop that had been cooked in an oven. Cooked at 250 and smoked with apple and mesquite chips in a MES30. Pulled off at 140 and let sit for 40 min before slicing.
20200704_164912.jpg
 
Well on the good side you obviously had some juices in your favor. Injection is always a plus. Because whole loins are such a good value we would cook 8 to 10 for safety meeting lunches at work and serve sliders on Kings Hawaiian rolls. I injected them early that morning, but would not put them on the smoker till 9:30 and by 11:30 I had them in the hot box waiting to slice at 11:45. This is a slice from the rib end, it's a little fattier and has some additional muscle groups with more myoglobin that darken more than the main muscle.
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This would be toward the center or more toward the sirloin end.
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Well on the good side you obviously had some juices in your favor. Injection is always a plus. Because whole loins are such a good value we would cook 8 to 10 for safety meeting lunches at work and serve sliders on Kings Hawaiian rolls. I injected them early that morning, but would not put them on the smoker till 9:30 and by 11:30 I had them in the hot box waiting to slice at 11:45. This is a slice from the rib end, it's a little fattier and has some additional muscle groups with more myoglobin that darken more than the main muscle.
View attachment 452418
This would be toward the center or more toward the sirloin end.
View attachment 452419
Those look killer!
 
Don't be paranoid, because I have found boneless CSRs are one of the hardest things to get right. I never brine or inject anything, but it certainly isn't going to hurt to inject some AJ.

Bear
Most times with CSRs I marinate for a long time (24+ hours) with Equal parts soy, vinegar, water ... and garlic, lemon, onion, pepper. And cook low/slow. Grilled before but usually pretty tough that way. Going to try in the SV hot tub next time, and betting will come Out much better.
 
Most times with CSRs I marinate for a long time (24+ hours) with Equal parts soy, vinegar, water ... and garlic, lemon, onion, pepper. And cook low/slow. Grilled before but usually pretty tough that way. Going to try in the SV hot tub next time, and betting will come Out much better.


I make them about the same way as Thick cut (2") Boneless Pork Chops, and they come out Great:
2" Thick Boneless Pork Chops

Bear
 
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