PORK TENDERLOIN ( PORK LOIN )


 
D

dave caston

TVWBB Fan
Have been asked to smoked a Pork loin for coworkers. It is very large, at 22" long and about 3 1/2 lbs to 4 lbs. I planing on cutting it in half and then brine it for about 2 hours in plain salt & water. put on rub I use for PP. I was then going to smoke it around 250~260*, till it reaches temp of 155 or 165*. Take off smoker and foil it and hold for about 1/2 hr.
Do this seems about right? Input is welcome.

Dave
 
That will definately work but I would probably take it to 130 and then sear it on the kettle though, pulling at about 145 to 150 and then resting.


Clark
 
a couple suggestions for you

add sugar to your brine, it will balance out the salt, the baseline brine posted on this site under Cooking Topics, All About Brining is what I'd suggest:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">1 quart cool water
1/2 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
1/2 cup sugar
Mix in a non-reactive container until dissolved. Substitute 1/4 cup + 2 TBSP Morton Kosher Salt or 1/4 cup table salt for Diamond Crystal.

Make 1 quart of brine for each pound of meat, not to exceed 8 quarts (2 gallons). Soak meat for 1 hour per pound, but not less than 30 minutes or longer than 8 hours. If brining multiple pieces, base the brining time on the weight of an individual piece. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

that solid mass of meat will likely need more time in brine than 2 hours, I'd guess about 8 hours for the full effect

given the half hour rest I'd remove it at 155ºF tops, probably 150ºF

You might fire up the grill, get it real hot then sear the outside before smoking. This will make the exterior a little nicer and add flavor, but will kill any chance at a smoke ring if that was important to you.

If you're interested you could try flavor brining. Orange garlic and ginger for example. It needs to be fairly strong to come across in the end. Stronger than your natural instincts tell you. For that example something like juice and zest of 1 orange, 1/4C fresh thin ginger slices, 6 smashed garlic cloves, 4 whole cloves. Boil brine, then chill below 40ºF before brining.
 
oh yeah, you aren't cooking 'tenderloin', that is a different muscle, the one you are cooking is called 'center loin' or commonly referred to as just 'loin'
 
thats a good ? I will have to find out which one it is. It is of course long with little fat on it, it has some fat on one side of it. would this be the loin or the tenderloin? and how are the 2 cooke diffrent. would a high heat cook be a + or - for this choice of meat?
 
tenderloins are short ... what I see in the store are 8" - 10" long and about 1lb

so I'm pretty certain you are cooking center loin

high direct heat would be too much for a large loin like that (could get too dark on the outside if using high direct heat the whole time), no problem for the much smaller tenderloin

the advantage of doing it lower heat is to increase your 'just done' window and maximize retained moisture, the advantage of some direct high heat is color and flavor that will develop on the exterior
 
That is a loin, at about 22" long/10-12" circumference (the hole size when you use both thumbs & first fingers). It is also used to make "center cut" pork chops when cut to 1-1.5" thick slices.

A pork tenderloin is 8-10" long, 2-3" circ (the hole size between your thumb & first finger).

Are you going to pull it or slice it?
 
Thanks J, I and all the others. I will smoked loin to 130*. I did do some reading on "tenderloins" and "loins" I am glad I checked in here first for ideals, seems like I was about to screw up a good chunck of pork.
 
I do all my loins indirect on the kettle actually. I've brined some, but generally I don't. On the kettle they come our real nice, and that fat cap gets real nice and crispy. I fully agree with the others, 155 is a little high, I usually pull at 145 or so.
 
Yeah, I hear ya about the finish temp, I gave up on the pink juice war with pork and poultry but you guys are right to suggest lower finish temp.
 
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