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10.5 Boneless Pork Loin

mimauler
mimauler Posts: 136
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hi all I'm going to smoke a 10.5 lb boneless pork loin tomorrow. I've got conflicting advice on temp. I'd like to go 250-275 but some have stated 350 is better. Any advice is and will be appreciated. Two cooks sofar on my just recently bought XL and I am amazed at the temp control just fantastic.

Comments

  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    mimauler,

    I would recommend the low and slow cook to 135* with a good rest. The pork will come out unbelievably juicy.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Manfred
    Manfred Posts: 186
    I have cook a few of them stuff and not but I always cook about 350 degrees. At the forty five min. mark I start checking the temp of the loin. hope this help. good luck.
  • Jer_inva
    Jer_inva Posts: 109
    Looks like you sitll have conflicting advice. :unsure:
    I'd suggest pick on, keep good notes and if you don't like the outcome then try the other method. With pork loin I would be concerned about the loin drying out and therefore would brine it first. But then I have yet to cook a loin on my BGE so can't offer advice on which way to go with it.
  • As you only have a single post I'm guessing you haven't been on the forum long enough to know people. That said any thing Little Steven says is gospel in my book.

    Doug
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    not conflicting, just different.

    lo and slo is fone, just not to 195 internal like you would with BBQ.

    think of it like a beef roast. some go at 325 for a short time, while some go 225 for a long time. both methods will cook it to 135 internal, and they will be a little different in terms of their cross section (how even the desired level of done-ness is across the whole thing), but they are both going to be great.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Jer_inva,

    The advice is not conflicting as there are many ways to cook anything. I have found the low and slow cook works great for most pork cuts. I am not a big fan of brines as, I believe, it dilutes the flavour of meat. I still cook the odd loin at higher temps but only if I am short of time.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • mimauler, one of the things you'll find here is that not much is black and white with regards to methods, times and temperatures. Cooked to the proper temperature(135 to 140),pork loin cooked either way, hotter and faster or lower and slower will yield great results. For most of us it's just personal preference and there is no wrong way and likewise, no best way. Loin is lean and will dry out if cooked TOO low for TOO long. Very important also is the long rest which Little Steven mentioned. Loin cut into hot off the egg will bleed juices onto your cutting board like a stuck pig.

    Most important is to get it off the egg at the proper internal temperature and to let it rest before carving. Twenty minutes or more under a foil tent.

    Best of luck and welcome to the forum.

    Mark
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Mark,

    Well it sorta is a stuck pig no? :huh:

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    well said.

    for once. (kidding!) :laugh:
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • hahaha, yeah. Sorry to have sounded like a broken record, but I got interrupted at work while typing and didn't see your's or stike's before I posted. At least I drove the point home. :laugh:
  • mimauler
    mimauler Posts: 136
    It shall be 250 until 135 then a 30 minute tented rest. Thanks for the help.
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    you should not be on the forum while at work. for shame
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • civil eggineer
    civil eggineer Posts: 1,547
    I do not mean any disrespect to the other posters and they are correct when they say different strokes for different folks but...

    low and slow cooking is generally used for fatty meats high in colligan which helps break this down and provides additional moisture and flavor to the meat while cooking.

    lean meats generally should be cooked at higher temps as they don't benefit from low and slow and can actually become dry and tough due to the lack of fat and extended cooking times.

    A pork loin is low in fat and should (IMO) be cooked at higher temps. The thickness of the meat also comes into play because high temp cooking will produce over cooked meat towards the exterior while the interior hits the target temp. I cook my loins at 350 direct until the center hits 135 then pull and rest in foil.
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    low and slow when taken to 195-200 internal is for breaking down collagen, sure. but notice it requires vastly overooking the meat until the collagen breakdown has occurred, over many hours, topping out in the 195-200 range

    but going at the same temp until 130-135 is an entirely different cook.

    many a high priced prime rib is cooked at 250 until 125-130 internal. this may be low, and slower than at 350, but it isn't "low and slow" (BBQ). it is a fairly typical "slow roasted" chunk of meat.

    here's a prime rib done at 225 or so. low, and it was slow, but it certainly ain't "lo and slo"

    2010_12_25_Prime-Rib_03.jpg
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Tim,

    Give it a try, what have you to lose?

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • I'm part owner now, so I take a few more liberties than I used to. :P ;)
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    i'm the sole proprietor. you people are lucky i even bothered to put on pants today
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • It has all been said, already! We are blessed with a plethora of great information. :)
    But I'll add one additional point: You said "smoke".....
    For a loin, either hot & fast or a low & slow, cooked to the 140 F. target serve temp. will be wonderful. I personally don't feel that a slow cook here will result in a dry meat, as long as it IS NOT over cooked.
    However, the longer you cook with smoke, the stronger the smoke flavor will be...So a low temp. cook with a smoke-wood will still get you to temp. (slower) but have more smoke flavor. This can be as good or as bad if you are going to serve folk that may not be as tolerant of a heavy smoke flavor....
    At my house it is pretty hard to "over smoke", but I've done it. :ohmy:
  • I did a 10 lb., bone in rib end loin on Sunday. It is about the 3rd or 4th that I've cooked. I do mine at about 250* and it takes about 3 1/2 hours to bring the internal temp to 140*, which is where I pull it, foil it, wrap it and rest it for 30 minutes. Every one has come out "melt in your mouth" good. It isn't the only way to do it.....it's just what works for me. A pork loin is one of my favorite Egg cooks.