Pork Loin and Fatty Q-view

[k5yac]

I've decided to try my first pork loin today. I've smoked a lot of pork shoulders/butts, but my butcher says that pork loin is really good. I intend to pull it, so I prepared it just as I would with other pulled pork, with a dry rub. He (my butcher) recommended that I wrap the loin in foil about half way through to keep it from getting too dry, which I plan to do.

The fresk loin... ~6 pounds.

All rubbed down last night with Jeff's rub.

Enter... the Fatty. I almost always throw one of these on whenever the smoker is fired up. Today (actually last night) I've prepared my favorite fatty with pretty simple ingredients.

Here is 2 pounds of breakfast sausage that I also buy from my butcher. Great flavor and texture.

Some of the ingredients... fresh mushroom and Stove Top stuffing.

All prepped, just waiting for the sausage to chill in the freezer for a few minutes. Chopped fresh mushroom, stuffing and cheddar cheese. Probably a cup of each, which is a lot of stuffing. Cheese gets kind of soft and runny by itself, I think the stuffing helps hold things together and provides a nice filler.

Loaded down. It may not look like much, but I did a double layer... stuffing, cheese, mushrooms... repeat.

All rolled up. Yep, a shamelss plug for my meat guy. Any of you in my neck of the woods ought to give Walke Bros in Claremore a try. They have a nice clean facility and a wide variety of meats, cheeses, etc.

Smoke on! I hope to be watching da Boys and the Saints later on tonight with some pulled pork and sides. I'll try to remember to follow up later on.

 

[doctor phreak]

looks good like the fatty fillings ...on the pork loin i tried to pull one once and it didnt really work too well , i was told that are too lean for that so good luck be interested in yours ....

 

[k5yac]

I've not done it either... but I've heard that it is good pulled. I think I'll cut the end off and see how it does. If it doesn't want to pull well, I may end up slicing it and eating it like that. I just sprayed it with apple cider and wrapped it at 130 degrees. I'll let it go like that till 180 or so.

The fatty is off. Got it wrapped in foil resting on the counter for an hour or so. Those seem to do much better once they cool a bit. I'll cut it while it's still warm though. I plan to vac seal a couple of packs (4 thick slices each) and freeze. I'll eat the rest today. The wife pulls a pack out once in a while and throws a slice on an english muffin for my breakfast. Nice to have when I'm heading out the door on a cold morning. I'll be making another one on Christmas day as I'll have the smoker fired up for our Christmas ribs. Shrimp and oysters will be on the Webber. Can't wait!

To be continued...

 

[alx]

Looking good.The loin may be to lean to pull,but you could always cube it etc..if it wont pull...

 

[k5yac]

Well, it's all done.

Chubbalicious! I know it looks a little burnt, but it is just the sugars in my rub I believe. It has a real good (mild) bark to it.

Sliced goodness. Still very warm, but cool enough to slice without making a mess.

Pork Loin. I smoked for ~2.5 hours to 130* and then put it in a pan, spritzed with apple cider and covered. Continued to cook for a couple more hours. I took it to about 190* before I pulled it off. Lots of juices in the pan, so I knew it wasn't dried out. I let it rest on the counter, covered, for 30-40 minutes.

Sliced with the electric knife just fine, but I could tell it was pretty lean (dense). Decent looking chops.

While the meat was nice and juicy, it was a little harder to pull than a butt or shoulder. Not hard, just lacking all that slimy goodness found in the other cuts. Good flavor, but I think a sauce of some sort might be in order to have it on a bun. Just a bit dry compared to the regular stuff.

I cut 6 thick chops for freezing. Those will make for a great meal sometime. I pulled the rest (a pound or so) to snack on this evening.

This is definitely a better cut of meat for chops, but with a bit of sauce, it could make a great pulled pork too. Glad I finally tried one.

You can tell they are good and juicy, right?

 

[mballi3011]

Man thats a good looking fattie there. I like the way you got a good roll to it eith the filling all the way around the whole fattie. Now for the loin I didnt tink that it would pull vewry easy for that is a pretty dense hunk of meat. It looks like you nailed it thou nice smoke ring and quite juicey too.

 

[thunderdome]

Looks fantastic

 

[doctor phreak]

looks great ....did a hell of a great job with that.....

 

[beer-b-q]

Looks Great ... The Fattie is Awesome...

 

[k5yac]

One last shot... the plate.

A 1" thick smoked chop with apricot sauce. The wife loved it. I guess I get to keep experimenting.

 

[abomb]

Looks good K5YAC...I sure enjoy that slice of fatty this morning for breakfast. We need plan something soon and join the smokers and take care of that Kegerator you are letting go to waste! LOL...

 

[acemakr]

Is there a 'rule of thumb' for when or when not to use a bacon wrap on a Fattie?

 

[cheapchalee]

I think it's just personal prefrence. Some like it some don't.

Charlie

 

[k5yac]

Yep, just personal preference. Honestly, I've never wrapped a fatty with bacon... I've reserved that for ABTs, which is one of the reasons they are so great. I'm not sure that bacon would make a fatty "greatness"... they do that pretty well on their own.

Nothing against a bacon wrap, I just haven't chose to try it yet I guess.

 

[k5yac]

Glad you liked it. As for the keg... you can come pull off it any time you can get a kitchen pass.