Meats and Sausages
Smoked Pork Loin
Smoked Pork Loin
| Meats | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| pork loin without bone | 2 kg | 4.40 lb. |
Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat
| 60° SAL brine: | ||
| water | 3.8 liter (kg) | 1 gal. |
| salt | 0.72 kg | 1.60 lb. |
| Cure #1 | 120 g | 4.2 oz. |
| sugar | 42 g | 1.5 oz. |
Instructions
- Wet cure method. Mix all ingredients with cold water. Using a needle syringe, pump the loin to 3-4 % of its green weight. That means you are taking the amount of brine that equals 3-4% of the loin meat weight. In this case it comes to 60-80 g (2.1 - 2.8 oz) or 1/3 cup. The loin then is placed in the leftover brine and placed in a refrigerator for 1 day. If meat is not pump injected, leave it in brine for 2 days, overhauling on the second day. Loins must be covered with brine, use some kind of weight on top of them.
- Wash the outside of the loin briefly with tap water. It is wise to taste it now and if it is too salty place in cold water (refrigerator) for a few hours. If you want it saltier, stick it back into the brine for a few hours. Let it drain and dry for 6-8 hours at room temperature. Then you can rub the dry loin all over with the yolk of an egg. That will give the loin a beautiful gold color on the outside after smoking.
- Preheat the smoker to 130º F(54º C) and if the loin is dry, introduce smoke with dampers 1/4 closed and smoke for 1 hour at 122-140° F (50-60° C). Increase smoking temperature to 150° F (66° C) applying smoke all the time and stop when the meat’s internal temperature reaches 142º F (61º C). Trichinae, almost non-existent in American pork, dies at 137º F(58º C).
- Shower with cold water until the internal temperature is reduced to 110° F (44° C). Hang at room temperature for 1 hour then place in a refrigerator.
Notes
This amount of brine cures about 8 kg (17 lbs.) of meat.
Cooking is optional. The smoked loin was never submitted to high temperatures and has a characteristic color, taste and flavor. Nothing prevents you from increasing smoking temperature (keep the smoke on) to 160-170º F (71-77º C) until the meat’s internal temperature reaches 154º F (68° C). There will be a difference in flavor between the cooked and uncooked version.
