Whole Pork Loin

[Dan J]

I am hoping to tap some of your knowledge on this. I bought an on-sale whole pork loin - not a tenderloin - an 11 lb whole pork loin. I'd like to make it for Christmas dinner. I planned on cutting it in half, brining it overnight, rubbing it, and cooking it. What is the typically cook temp for this - 250? 300+? What is the target internal temp? What can I expect for length of time? Any other advice on a whole pork loin? Thanks!

 

[K Kruger]

Pork loin is a cut I often flavor brine. If I do I brine for 2-3 days. If I straight brine then I do it either the night before or the morning of the day I'm cooking it. I frequently rub with herbes de Provence.

I do them at 325. Time depends on thickness; a thinner but heavier loin will cook more quickly than a thicker loin of less weight. I take them to an internal of around 125 and then take a look to see if I want additional browning. If I do I add lit fuel, cranking the heat; if not I don't. If I have added lit I take the loin to 135-138; if I didn't add fuel I go to 140. In either case I rest 30 min, tented with foil.

You can probably expect ~2 hours, give or take as much as thirty minutes, again, depending on thickness. Allow the roast to come toward room temp before cooking by removing it from the fridge 90-120 minutes ahead of time.

 

[Jerry N.]

I got a couple of those in the freezer. I think I'll get one out for Christmas as well. Something a little different from a ham. Thanks for the cooking help/idea Kevin.

I'm assuming that a flavor brine is a brine without salt? What is a good brine to go with on a whole loin?

 

[Dan J]

I did a fresh ham at 325 and it came out great for Thanksgiving dinner. So, I figured I would do the smae for this pork loin. But I was just curious if you've ever done one longer at 250 and what the effects were? Wouldn't it just be more tender? Or is it a waste of time for this cut of meat?

 

[K Kruger]

For it to be a brine it has to have salt. I usually use an apple juice-based one, often one similar to this, but without the sugar and with less orange. I also cut the salt to 3.75 T Morton kosher per quart of juice.

Though you can cook loin slower I don't see the point. It doesn't have the internal structure (lots of connective tissue and soft fat deposits) to make it worthwhile, imo.

The big deal with lean pork is not overcooking.

 

[Jerry N.]

Thanks for the link and tip on the loin. Any chance you'd inject one of these or stuff it with something?

 

[r benash]

Hey Dan - did one of these last October:

Pork Loin on Roti

I used Rita's Recipe:

Thanks Rita!!

Her recipe works fantastic for ANYTHING pork pretty much.

Don't forget you split that loin in two to cut cook time in half as well without any loss in quality.

I actually cooked mine at a steady 325-350 and pulled/foiled at 145 at let the temps climb a bit in the foil, resting for about 20-30 min. Came out nice an moist and very tender.

 

[K Kruger]

Looks good, Ray. I like the look of Rita's recipe too.

Jerry, yes you can inject (I occasionally do but not very often) or stuff (that I do more often).

 

[Dan J]

Thanks for all the great info! I will definetly keep that recipe for future reference. But I think I may do a cuban/mojo style, which really went over well on a butt couple weeks ago.

 

[Tom Chips]

I was just looking at one at Costco yesterday and was thinking of picking one up to do something like this.

I was thinking of cutting it into 4 separate 5 inch roasts, so that I could do 4 different flavor brines. One maple, one lemon herb, one apple, and one just wacky as hell and give em a try.