Were going over to a friends house tonight for a little Halloween party and I've been nominated to cook the meat. I chose this brined pork loin recipe that I've had good results a couple times in the past with. I started with two whole pork loins, both about 6 lbs. Heres the brine recipe, pretty simple but has gotten good reviews.
1 1/2 gal water
1 1/2 cup mortens kosher
1 1/2 cup sugar in the raw
3 tbs mixed pepercorns
3 cans of frozen apple/cranberry juice concentrate
I brought about a half gal of water to a boil, added salt, sugar, and peppercorns. I let it boil for maybe 15 min letting the peppercorns do their thing, then removed from heat and added the 3 cans of frozen juice concentrate.
After dumping this into my brine cooler (straining out the peppercorns), and adding the rest of the water (1 gal) the temp came to about 80 degrees, so I filled a 2gal ziploc bag full of ice and put it in with the brine to cool it down. When the brine reached about 38 degrees I cut both pork loins in half and submerged them in the brine, then refilled my 2gal bag of ice to make sure it keeps cool.
I go with 2 days in the brine on this recipe, and since I brine in a cooler, not in the fridge, I have to replace the ice a few times. Ziploc bags are used so that the melted ice does not dilute the brine.
In the past I have not seasoned the meat at all before cooking, and it has come out very flavorful, but this time I plan to add some cracked black pepper, maybe some garlic flakes. I should add, that the loins will be thoroughly rinsed after taking them out of the brine to remove any excess salt from the outside of the meat. I was also thinking of firing up the performer and getting it good and hot to sear the loins before putting them on the smoker. I'm going to use some good ol' hickory and apple for smoke wood, at ~325...should only take a couple hours to reach 145. Then I will let it rest and get out the electric knife and start slicing. Should fill a 6 qt crock pot up with some beautiful smokey pork for the party
1 1/2 gal water
1 1/2 cup mortens kosher
1 1/2 cup sugar in the raw
3 tbs mixed pepercorns
3 cans of frozen apple/cranberry juice concentrate
I brought about a half gal of water to a boil, added salt, sugar, and peppercorns. I let it boil for maybe 15 min letting the peppercorns do their thing, then removed from heat and added the 3 cans of frozen juice concentrate.
After dumping this into my brine cooler (straining out the peppercorns), and adding the rest of the water (1 gal) the temp came to about 80 degrees, so I filled a 2gal ziploc bag full of ice and put it in with the brine to cool it down. When the brine reached about 38 degrees I cut both pork loins in half and submerged them in the brine, then refilled my 2gal bag of ice to make sure it keeps cool.
I go with 2 days in the brine on this recipe, and since I brine in a cooler, not in the fridge, I have to replace the ice a few times. Ziploc bags are used so that the melted ice does not dilute the brine.
In the past I have not seasoned the meat at all before cooking, and it has come out very flavorful, but this time I plan to add some cracked black pepper, maybe some garlic flakes. I should add, that the loins will be thoroughly rinsed after taking them out of the brine to remove any excess salt from the outside of the meat. I was also thinking of firing up the performer and getting it good and hot to sear the loins before putting them on the smoker. I'm going to use some good ol' hickory and apple for smoke wood, at ~325...should only take a couple hours to reach 145. Then I will let it rest and get out the electric knife and start slicing. Should fill a 6 qt crock pot up with some beautiful smokey pork for the party