Bone-in pork loin and boneless rib roast

[K. Smith]

I was planning on smoking both for dinner tomorrow, but wondered if I was off base on my plan. Any comments would be appreciated.

The pork is just over 5 pounds. I will brine it and rub with a garlic/rosemary paste. I will leave the bones on it. The rib roast is already seasoned with garlic/rosemary and is 4 1/2 pounds. I was going to use water in the pan and apple and cherry woods. At the very end I was going to add some dampened rosemary to the coals for a few minutes. The plan is to keep the cooker close to 250 degrees.

I was thinking it would be about 3 hours for the rib roast and probably just under 2 hours for the pork. When cooked, both would be seared in a 500 degree oven then rested for about 10-15 minutes.

My concerns:

1. Is the timing approximately correct? If the beef is finished before the pork, can I wrap it in foil and a towel and hold it in the cooler without it getting over cooked?

2. I don't want to overwhelm the beef with smoke, but I do want some smoke on the pork. Should I delay adding the wood chunks until I put the pork on? Should I use a chunk of pecan, hickory or oak in addition to the fruitwoods?

As always, thanks so much for any help and advice.

 

[Dave Penn]

K,

I was at the butcher shop looking for a new challenge yesterday, and as a result I'm doing a pork loin roast tomorrow too. I couldn't find a bone-in one, unfortunately. I don't think I'll be doing the searing step post-smoke. Mine is brining right now in a simple salt-sugar brine. I'm going to use lighter wood than I'd use for butts - probably cherry. I'll be interested in comparing notes with you after our cooks.

 

[K. Smith]

I'll be interested in comparing notes with you after our cooks.

I cooked both on Sunday and I give the meat mixed reviews. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures.

I decided to put the beef on first, but only for about 2 hours and 15 minutes. It was a gift from Kansas City Steaks and was already seasoned and tied. For the bone-in pork loin, I brined it in a mixture of water, kosher salt, brown sugar, garlic, fresh rosemary and thyme. After brining, I rinsed it off and rubbed with a garlic, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper paste.

I got the cooker to 225 and added two chunks of cherry wood. I was using half a pan of water and I floated a 6 inch rosemary branch in the water. The beef went on at 2:20 p.m. and the pork joined it at 2:50 p.m. By the time the pork was on the cooker was up to 250 and it stayed there for the remainder of the cook. I pulled the beef off at 4:40 and it was 125 degrees. I thought the pork would only take about a half hour longer, but it didn't come off until 5:30 at 145 degrees. About ten minutes before pulling it off, I threw two 6 inch rosemary branches on the coals.

Both pieces of meat went into a 500 degree oven for five minutes to develop a good crust, then rested for about 20 minutes.

The beef was perfectly medium rare throughout. No gray on the outside thanks to the low and slow heat. It was very tender, the taste was very good, it was very moist and the smoke was not overpowering. The other diners, including me, liked it a lot. My other half, who ate only beef, thought it was okay, but not fantastic. We ended up slicing up the remainder the following day to make sandwiches with fresh bread and homegrown tomatoes. With a little homemade pesto on them the sandwiches were great. The smoke flavor was a little more enhanced, which improved it.

The pork was a different story. I didn't care for it and didn't even eat an entire chop. I thought the taste was okay, the smoke flavor was okay, and it was tender but the moisture wasn't what I expected. I thought it was dry. Fortunately, I made some gravy (just in case) and I used that on mine. No one else thought gravy was necessary. The other four diners who ate it, however, thought the pork was great. They are family and close friends and wouldn't say that to be polite. Our friends wanted to know if they could get leftovers so we gave them the remaining pork. It was their dinner they next night and they sent a thank you email because they enjoyed it so much.

I don't get it because I thought it was dry and I didn't have an end cut. Maybe I'm so used to pulled pork and how moist that comes out, but I don't think that was it as my oven roasted pork loin is usually nice and moist. Guess it's just a difference in taste.

Given that, I don't know that I'd make a smoked bone-in pork loin alone, maybe just for others who request it along with something else smoked along side of it.

 

[Dave Penn]

K,

Sorry your pork loin didn't thrill you. I know what you mean about the loin having a totally different texture compared to a butt. The loin is super-lean and dense and has no connective tissue that I could see. Without any collagen to break down and add moisture, you don't have anything to work with except the moisture that's already there. I liked the way mine turned out, but there are a couple things I'll do differently next time. I'll probably cook it at a higher temp - 300, maybe - figuring that the longer it's on there the drier it's going to get. I'll also probably pull it off at 140 - 142 and let the residual heat cook it the remaining few degrees while it rests. Regardless, I don't expect it to be as tender and moist as a butt. It's just another avenue I wanted to explore as a "big hunk of meat" option.

 

[Bob Sample]

I love cooking pork loin and yes it is a drier cut. If it gets much past 145 it can be pretty dry. I usually do mine with a bread and apple stuffing and catch the drippings to make a gravy.

 

[K. Smith]

Sorry your pork loin didn't thrill you. I know what you mean about the loin having a totally different texture compared to a butt.

I only brined mine about 4 hours and noticed you did yours a lot longer. If I do another, I'll probably brine it like you did.