I got the bug to try this a few weeks ago when there were a bunch of new threads about it. I read a lot and asked some questions and came up with a plan. I decided to try two different styles to see which I would like better.
I started with an 8# pork loin which I cut in half. I wanted to do a sweet one and a spicy one. I cooked up a gallon of Pop's brine and took half of it and mixed in about a quarter cup of Chef JimmyJ's Tasso rub. The other half i added about a quarter cup of maple syrup and a quarter cup of honey. I injected both with about 10% of their weight. Then into their brines and into the fridge for ten days.
After reading Sqwib's excellent thread on CB I had a plan. I pulled them out Friday night and rinsed them off. I sliced a few thin slices and fried them up, they were a tad salty so into some fresh water and back in the fridge for a couple of hours. After another rinse I patted them dry with some paper towels and rubbed some of JJ's Tasso rub all over one and left the other naked.and laid them on a wire rack and into the fridge for an overnight rest to form a pellicle.
Saturday morning I got the GOSM fired up and loaded up my AMNPS with 3 hours of Bourbon Barrel pellets followed by another 3 hours of Pitmaster's Choice pellets. While it was heating up I mixed up a glaze of honey and brown sugar (Thanks for the idea Sqwib) and brushed it all over the sweet one. I was shooting for 170* in the smoker for the first 3 hours and when it leveled off at 167* I said that's close enough so in they went. After about 2 1/2 hours the sun hit my smoker and the temp started rising a bit so I just let it go. At 4 hours I bumped it up a bit and it held a steady 195* for the rest of the smoke. It went for about 7 hours when they finally hit 145* IT so off they come. I wrapped them in plastic wrap and then foil and let them rest on the counter for a couple of hours then put them in the fridge for overnight.
Bourbon Barrel followed by PMC:
Right before they went on the smoker:
Out of the smoker getting ready to get wrapped:
Sunday afternoon I sliced them up and finally got to taste them. Both are very good and very different. The one with the Tasso rub is good but I was going for a very spicy flavor with some heat and it has a sweet flavor with a mild spiciness to it. If I do it again I will leave the sugar out of the brine and increase the heat in the rub. The sweet one is really good, it tastes like honey ham. Both are really tender and juicy, I couldn't believe how much juice was running out when I was slicing.
Sweet:
Spicy (Tasso rub) You can really see where it was injected:
I was really surprised at the juiciness:
It's all vac/sealed and in the freezer now except what is TDY with me tomorrow. I'm going to have to do some more and get the spicy right where I want it but i will enjoy eating until then!
Thanks for looking!
I started with an 8# pork loin which I cut in half. I wanted to do a sweet one and a spicy one. I cooked up a gallon of Pop's brine and took half of it and mixed in about a quarter cup of Chef JimmyJ's Tasso rub. The other half i added about a quarter cup of maple syrup and a quarter cup of honey. I injected both with about 10% of their weight. Then into their brines and into the fridge for ten days.
After reading Sqwib's excellent thread on CB I had a plan. I pulled them out Friday night and rinsed them off. I sliced a few thin slices and fried them up, they were a tad salty so into some fresh water and back in the fridge for a couple of hours. After another rinse I patted them dry with some paper towels and rubbed some of JJ's Tasso rub all over one and left the other naked.and laid them on a wire rack and into the fridge for an overnight rest to form a pellicle.
Saturday morning I got the GOSM fired up and loaded up my AMNPS with 3 hours of Bourbon Barrel pellets followed by another 3 hours of Pitmaster's Choice pellets. While it was heating up I mixed up a glaze of honey and brown sugar (Thanks for the idea Sqwib) and brushed it all over the sweet one. I was shooting for 170* in the smoker for the first 3 hours and when it leveled off at 167* I said that's close enough so in they went. After about 2 1/2 hours the sun hit my smoker and the temp started rising a bit so I just let it go. At 4 hours I bumped it up a bit and it held a steady 195* for the rest of the smoke. It went for about 7 hours when they finally hit 145* IT so off they come. I wrapped them in plastic wrap and then foil and let them rest on the counter for a couple of hours then put them in the fridge for overnight.
Bourbon Barrel followed by PMC:
Right before they went on the smoker:
Out of the smoker getting ready to get wrapped:
Sunday afternoon I sliced them up and finally got to taste them. Both are very good and very different. The one with the Tasso rub is good but I was going for a very spicy flavor with some heat and it has a sweet flavor with a mild spiciness to it. If I do it again I will leave the sugar out of the brine and increase the heat in the rub. The sweet one is really good, it tastes like honey ham. Both are really tender and juicy, I couldn't believe how much juice was running out when I was slicing.
Sweet:
Spicy (Tasso rub) You can really see where it was injected:
I was really surprised at the juiciness:
It's all vac/sealed and in the freezer now except what is TDY with me tomorrow. I'm going to have to do some more and get the spicy right where I want it but i will enjoy eating until then!
Thanks for looking!
