Pork loin with hickory, trying out one of those smoker boxes

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BldEagle

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Apr 9, 2018
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Trying something new today! Normally I use my stick burner, but today I’m giving the gas side a try with a smoker box. It’s the NHL Playoffs and I decided to spend more time in front of the TV today. I’m doing a 5.75 lbs pork loin, yesterday I rubbed it down with Weber’s Dry Smoking Rub and it looks pretty amazing. I haven’t had much luck with smoking on my gas side, probably because propane doesn’t like to flow at -15°, but it’s a beautiful day in the 40°’s and I’ve got better expectations. Looks like my grill is happy sitting at 245°, so I’ve got my probe set and I’ll sit around and wait for an IT around 165°. Here’s what I’m working with.
 
Looks like you've got a plan. I usually pull loins around 140 cover and let the carry over bring up to 145*.

Let us know how it turns out.

Chris
 
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Things weren’t looking smoky enough, so I removed the deflector plate thing. Now I have my smoking box right on the burner and it’s looking better.
 
Looks like you've got a plan. I usually pull loins around 140 cover and let the carry over bring up to 145*.

Let us know how it turns out.

Chris
Maybe I’ll have to try pulling it at 140°. I don’t have a ton of loin experience, is that a good slicing temp?
 
145* is the perfect temp for pork loin. Depending on how hot your smoker is you may want to pull it at 143. I smoke at 250 and find that the carryover brings it up to 145. If your smoking at 245 you may want to let it go to 142 or 143. Pull it and wrap it up tight in foil.

Chris
 
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145* is the perfect temp for pork loin. Depending on how hot your smoker is you may want to pull it at 143. I smoke at 250 and find that the carryover brings it up to 145. If your smoking at 245 you may want to let it go to 142 or 143. Pull it and wrap it up tight in foil.

Chris
I will definitely give that a try then. Thanks a lot for your input!
 
I pull mine at 138, and with a rest it comes up to 145.
That sure is a nice view you have off your deck!
Al
Thanks Al! I love it out there. If using the grill wasn’t nice enough, being able to take in the view really tops things off.
 
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Thanks for all the input everyone! I pulled it at 141°, total time cooking was about 3.5 hours @ 245-255, and tried to continue monitoring the temp, but for some reason it dropped to 135°. I think it could be because of the probe not being inserted all the way? The tip is straight for probably 4” then there’s a slight bend, which I thought was like a handle, then the wire so I had it in all the way to the bend. It was slightly annoying, but I’m not too worried about it.

So on to how things turned out. Everyone nailed it with the temp! I appreciate everyone that chimed in on that! It was nice and moist, perfect temp. But the smoker box is a different story. There was little to no bark or ring to speak of, and even though I rubbed it, it was very bland. Maybe other people have better luck with the smoker box and my setup just doesn’t do it well? I don’t know.

I finished off the meal with some grilled veggies and pineapple. Put the pork and pineapple on some potato rolls and had a pretty good sandwich. Unfortunately the almost tasteless pork needed extra mustard, but it turned out pretty great.
 
That loin looks fantastic from here.
I think if you want to get a better smoked flavor you should give the Amazen tube a try, and use their pellets. They are 100% hardwood of your choice, meaning that if you buy hickory then 100% of the pellets are made from hickory, no other hardwood fillers.
http://www.amazenproducts.com/category_s/12.htm
Nice job on the slicing, you have good knife skills!
And congrats on getting a spin on the carousel!
Al
 
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Times 2 on the knife skills . It looks great . If it's to bland maybe sprinkle some of your rub on the sandwich .
 
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That loin looks fantastic from here.
I think if you want to get a better smoked flavor you should give the Amazen tube a try, and use their pellets. They are 100% hardwood of your choice, meaning that if you buy hickory then 100% of the pellets are made from hickory, no other hardwood fillers.
http://www.amazenproducts.com/category_s/12.htm
Nice job on the slicing, you have good knife skills!
And congrats on getting a spin on the carousel!
Al
I just took a look at that Amazen Tube, looks like a really good idea! I got the chips that I have for free so I had to give them a try. Before I buy more stuff I think I'm going to experiment with blocking off some of my venting on the gas side. I wonder if I foiled off most of the louvers on the back of the grill if I'd have a better outcome... But I'll definitely keep those tubes in mind, 4 hours of smoke from one fill seems pretty remarkable, definitely worth a try. Thanks for all of your help!

Tim
 
Times 2 on the knife skills . It looks great . If it's to bland maybe sprinkle some of your rub on the sandwich .
Good call! I should add some rub for a little extra flavor. And thanks, it pays to have a quality knife it really does most of the work for me.
 
That's how I used to smoke things before I got my MES. However when I grill brats they still take a decent amount of time so I still throw the box on the other side with wood in it to get smoke flavor while grilling. I never seem to have a good carry over temp either. Mine almost always hangs at the pull temp then starts to drop. I don't know if I've ever seen it go up, let alone 5 degrees like a lot of people say. Either way, your cook looks delicious! Congrats!
 
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