What to do with boneless pork loin?


 
C

ChadVKealey

TVWBB Pro
So, I got a good deal on a whole pork loin (~10 pounds?) last Fall and portioned it into 2-2.5# pieces, then vacuum sealed them. Well, I did one in the crockpot during a blizzard attempting to make smokeless pulled pork. It was OK, but not being smoky, it wasn't really pulled pork. I did another chunk on New Years with sauerkraut, which was really tasty. But, I still have two more bits in the freezer that I need to use up (it's time for the bi-annual defrosting of our upright). I'd like to rub them and throw 'em on the WSM, but since they're much leaner than what I'm used to smoking, I'm not sure how long or at what temp? Also, because of the lower fat content, I don't know if the same rub I use on my pork butt would work as well. Maybe a brine or marinade would be in order?

Note that this is straight up pork loin, not tenderloin. I can find recipes out the ying-yang for tenderloin, but not so many for regular old loin.

-Chad
 
Low and slow is the wrong approach for a loin. Here's a good way to think about what you have there. Would you low and slow a Kansas City Strip? In essence, that is what you have in pork form. Over-cooked loin is barely edible....bet your crock-pot pork was like trying to eat cotton, right? How can something cooked in liquid come out dry? I'm no chef or chemist, but it has something to do with the lack of not just fat, but fat and sinew. The sinew is the part of a shoulder that cooks down to gelatin and makes pulled pork, well, pulled pork.

If you google around, you'll find lots of recipes for stuffed pork loin. It's a good way to treat a cut that can be slightly boring left on its own. I've done one a couple times that is stuffed with andouille sausage, bread crumbs and trinity (onions, pepper and celery).

You could also take the chunk, cut it into 1-1/2" thick chops, brine them and have very tender, very juicy boneless pork chops...just don't over-cook them. I have a very small target to hit when cooking pork chops. My wife will not abide any pink in pork (I'm not too keen on it myself), but she doesn't want it dried out, either. Hitting that sweet spot between "no pink" and "dried out" always makes me feel like a champ. Couple minutes more, and I'm a chump.
 
Cook to medium rare. I like stuffing it with a bread, onion, celery and apple stuffing. Lots of apple. Cook it in a pan with a rack in it to catch a few drippings for gravy or serve with a bit of apple sauce.
 
I went with this recipe, which turned out great! I sliced the loin into 1" thick chops, seared 'em about 3 minutes per side, then slide them over to the cooler side of the grill until they hit 140. Thanks to the brine, they stayed nice and juicy.
 
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