Need some pork loin advice

[vaalpens]

A few weeks ago there was a good deal on pork loin at Costco ($3 off) and a bought two of them. I basically divided the loins into 3 pieces, with the two ends kept whole for roasting/smoking, and the center piece sliced into pork chops.

This weekend I smoked one of the loins: 4 Hour brine with Dr Pepper and Kosher salt. Then lightly seasoned with Italian seasoning (no salt). Made a glaze out of mostly cherry preserve. The roast was done at 275F, and basted every few minutes towards the end of the smoke. I had two probes in the meat. The loin was removed and rested when one probe was reading 149F and the other probe 142F. I wasn't concerned if it was going to be a bit dry because I had a nice glaze.

This is what it looked like when I started slicing into it:

The meat was very juicy and the taste was good. The problem was that the meat was tough and felt dense. I'm not sure if it was the brine or what, but this is definitely not how I like my pork loin. I know fat can make the probe read higher than what it should be, but could it be that the brine and moist gave a false probe reading? I don't think the meat was over done. Could it be underdone due to a false reading?

Next time I am going to just put a rub on it and smoke it at 225F until an IT of 145F. A few weeks ago I did a rack of pork with just a rub up to an IT of 145F, and it was so tender.

 

[thirdeye]

Your method sounds about right. Maybe you pulled it a little late, but the brine should have given you a buffer. However, the higher your pit temp, the more carry over you can expect.

• How was the 275° pit temp measured? If you were actually cooking at 300°, your carry over may have taken the internal higher that you wanted
• Was the meat probe accurate within 5° ?
• Was the loin natural or enhanced?

 

[vaalpens]

Your method sounds about right. Maybe you pulled it a little late, but the brine should have given you a buffer. However, the higher your pit temp, the more carry over you can expect.

• How was the 275° pit temp measured? If you were actually cooking at 300°, your carry over may have taken the internal higher that you wanted
• Was the meat probe accurate within 5° ?
• Was the loin natural or enhanced?

Thanks for trying to help. Regarding your questions:

• I had a probe inside the smoker and I recorded 6 readings: 266, 282, 274, 280, 289, 276
• I have not verified the 2 probes, but normally they are very accurate based on a check with my Thermapen. This time I did not verify the IT with my Thermapen.
• Bought from Costco, but i don't have the original packaging anymore. I assume it is natural.

We tried some of the loin chops schnitzel style 2 weeks ago, and they were great. It is probably not the meat.

 

[DanMcG]

The problem was that the meat was tough and felt dense.

I not a fan of loin just for that reason. It probably not your cooking but a tough pig.

 

[daveomak]

The ONLY way I eat pork loin now is.....
Inject with salt, sugar, no salt vegetable stock, STPP and cook to ~135F and hold for 1 hour+....
It's moist and very tender...

Pork loin... faomheart style.... Canadian bacon, made in America... Recipe added

Kevin and I traded stuff awhile back.. Well, maybe a few years back... time seems to run amok anymore... He got some weird spices and I ended up with some lovely stretch netting.... It seems meat prefers to be tied up when smoking.... So this loin was whispering my name the other day when...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[chilerelleno]

I prefer a longer brine time, 8-12 hours, overnight.
Gives the salt more time to do it's jobs, i.e. tenderize and pull moisture in.

I also try not to go over 140° IT pull temp, and let the IT carry over on it's own.
If I know I'm going to reheat later I only go to 130°-135° IT.

If your temps were all correct I'd say you overcooked it at 149°, and on third of a loin that means the whole thing is overcooked.
The brine kept some juiciness to it, but the texture was that 149° plus carry over.
The glaze brings no dog into the fight.

Yes, could have just been a tough pig.
But my money is on overcooked.

Just my $0.02.

 

[thirdeye]

Thanks for trying to help. Regarding your questions:

• I had a probe inside the smoker and I recorded 6 readings: 266, 282, 274, 280, 289, 276
• I have not verified the 2 probes, but normally they are very accurate based on a check with my Thermapen. This time I did not verify the IT with my Thermapen.
• Bought from Costco, but i don't have the original packaging anymore. I assume it is natural.

We tried some of the loin chops schnitzel style 2 weeks ago, and they were great. It is probably not the meat.

The carryover probably got you. The rib end of a loin is a little fattier, it's the end where you can see other muscle groups in the last few inches. I generally inject my loins either with a LiteBrine of .75g to 1g of canning salt to 1 ounce of water or apple juice (or apple/white grape juice), and let rest in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours.

 

[vaalpens]

I not a fan of loin just for that reason. It probably not your cooking but a tough pig.

Thanks.

I thought it would have been easier since I did rack of pork without any brine to an IT of 147/145 and it was very tender.

 

[vaalpens]

The carryover probably got you. The rib end of a loin is a little fattier, it's the end where you can see other muscle groups in the last few inches. I generally inject my loins either with a LiteBrine of .75g to 1g of canning salt to 1 ounce of water or apple juice (or apple/white grape juice), and let rest in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours.

Thanks for the advice.

I think I am just going to go without a brine next time, just so I can compare the results against the good results I saw with a rack of pork.

 

[vaalpens]

I prefer a longer brine time, 8-12 hours, overnight.
Gives the salt more time to do it's jobs, i.e. tenderize and pull moisture in.

I also try not to go over 140° IT pull temp, and let the IT carry over on it's own.
If I know I'm going to reheat later I only go to 130°-135° IT.

If your temps were all correct I'd say you overcooked it at 149°, and on third of a loin that means the whole thing is overcooked.
The brine kept some juiciness to it, but the texture was that 149° plus carry over.
The glaze brings no dog into the fight.

Yes, could have just been a tough pig.
But my money is on overcooked.

Just my $0.02.

Thanks for the advice.

I combined a few recipes, with the brine recipe only calling for a 1-2 hour brine time. The next time if I brine, I will definitely do it overnight.

There was actually a lot of juiciness. We had a few pieces the next day also, and there was still a lot of juice.

I have 3 more of those loins, so I will probably use them as a learning experience, until I get to a nice tender result.

 

[vaalpens]

The ONLY way I eat pork loin now is.....
Inject with salt, sugar, no salt vegetable stock, STPP and cook to ~135F and hold for 1 hour+....
It's moist and very tender...

Pork loin... faomheart style.... Canadian bacon, made in America... Recipe added

Kevin and I traded stuff awhile back.. Well, maybe a few years back... time seems to run amok anymore... He got some weird spices and I ended up with some lovely stretch netting.... It seems meat prefers to be tied up when smoking.... So this loin was whispering my name the other day when...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Thanks for the advice. That loin really looks appetizing. I will have to expand my smoking capabilities a bit before attempting one of those. Hopefully one of these days/months I'll be able to do it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[pops6927]

4 hours on a CC pork loin or any part of a pork loin is barely time to absorb a tenderizing infusion to it - I would have gone 4 days vs. 4 hours! Of course under refrigeration! You are talking the spinal column of a pig, weight-bearing and under a lot of sheer weight to hold itself up to the task! It is lean and mean for a reason!

 

[vaalpens]

4 hours on a CC pork loin or any part of a pork loin is barely time to absorb a tenderizing infusion to it - I would have gone 4 days vs. 4 hours! Of course under refrigeration! You are talking the spinal column of a pig, weight-bearing and under a lot of sheer weight to hold itself up to the task! It is lean and mean for a reason!

Thanks for the advice. Next time, if I brine, I will definitely at a minimum brine it overnight.

 

[vaalpens]

Just a quick update regarding my attempt to figure out why the pork loin came out tough.

This week we decided to try another loin just to see how it turns out with a few minor changes:

No brine this time
First I used a yellow mustard binder, followed by a good dose of Jeff's original rub
Wrapped it with plastic wrap and left it overnight in the fridge. Probably around 20 hours.
One last thing I did was to tie the loin up to make nice and round. Hoping for an even cook.
My GMG was set to 230F
Loin was placed directly on grill with a single probe
I made the same glaze this time consisting of a tart cherry preserve, dijon mustard, chipotle , and a little bit of Dr Pepper. I would say it was more of a sauce than a glaze.
At around an IT of 120F, I placed the glaze in the smoker to heat up and get a bit of smoke on it, and glazed the loin for the first time.
At around 130F IT I glazed the loin one more time and upped the grill's temperature to 275F to set the glaze.
The loin was sitting on IT 140F for a while, then jumped to 142F. When it jumped to 144F IT, I removed the loin from the grill. I did not want to go over 145F IT this time.
Total time on the grill was 2 hours 32 minutes
The loin was rested about 10 minutes before I sliced into it.

I think the end results were perfect. The loin was tender and not dry. There wasn't a lot of juice like last time, but it was moist. We also really like the glaze. So the moist and tender loin with a tasty glaze/sauce made for an excellent dinner.

Sorry no pictures this time. You will just have to take my word for it.

 

[Bearcarver]

Just a quick update regarding my attempt to figure out why the pork loin came out tough.

This week we decided to try another loin just to see how it turns out with a few minor changes:

No brine this time
First I used a yellow mustard binder, followed by a good dose of Jeff's original rub
Wrapped it with plastic wrap and left it overnight in the fridge. Probably around 20 hours.
One last thing I did was to tie the loin up to make nice and round. Hoping for an even cook.
My GMG was set to 230F
Loin was placed directly on grill with a single probe
I made the same glaze this time consisting of a tart cherry preserve, dijon mustard, chipotle , and a little bit of Dr Pepper. I would say it was more of a sauce than a glaze.
At around an IT of 120F, I placed the glaze in the smoker to heat up and get a bit of smoke on it, and glazed the loin for the first time.
At around 130F IT I glazed the loin one more time and upped the grill's temperature to 275F to set the glaze.
The loin was sitting on IT 140F for a while, then jumped to 142F. When it jumped to 144F IT, I removed the loin from the grill. I did not want to go over 145F IT this time.
Total time on the grill was 2 hours 32 minutes
The loin was rested about 10 minutes before I sliced into it.

I think the end results were perfect. The loin was tender and not dry. There wasn't a lot of juice like last time, but it was moist. We also really like the glaze. So the moist and tender loin with a tasty glaze/sauce made for an excellent dinner.

Sorry no pictures this time. You will just have to take my word for it.

That sounds Great !!
I never had trouble making Tender & Juicy Pork Loin, since the USDA changed their safe to eat Temp from 160° to 145°. I even take it to 150°, and it's still tender & Juicy.
I never inject it, but sometimes marinate it, and it always comes out Just right.

Bear

 

[vaalpens]

That sounds Great !!
I never had trouble making Tender & Juicy Pork Loin, since the USDA changed their safe to eat Temp from 160° to 145°. I even take it to 150°, and it's still tender & Juicy.
I never inject it, but sometimes marinate it, and it always comes out Just right.

Bear

Thanks for the comments Bear.

I think I have a better idea on how to get the pork loin nice and juicy. For now I would just stay away from any brines and just try and get the IT perfect. I have a couple more loins left, so I should at leats be able to validate what I have learned so far.