Interesting Pork Loin discovery

Dos Huevos · January 2006

As some of you may recall, I've had a difficult time satisfying my wife. Not like that, you sillies. I've had a difficult time satisfying her by cooking pork loins on the Egg. [p]In the olden days, we'd make them on the old gasser, and although they were mostly dry and flavorless, they had an awesome crust on them, and no matter what I've tried, I couldn't duplicate that on the Egg.[p]Until now. [p]We marinaded the loin the same way we do steaks: EVOO, montreal steak seasoning, minced garlic and kosher salt.[p]Then, using some outside the box thinking as it relates to anything I know or have learned about pork, we decided to cook the loin direct on a raised grid, and I seared the crud out of it at around 700 degrees for about 2-3 minutes per side. I tried to sear the short sides too, but I couldn't get the loin to stand up that way, so I just skipped it.[p]Anyway, after the sear, I took the loin into the kitchen T-rex style while I brought the temp down to around 425. I put the loin back on and cooked it until it was 147 internal, all the while pinching down the temp until it was around 350 or so at the end of the cook. [p]The two pound loin (after sear and rest) took about an hour to finish. We had some company over and it was the consensus that this was the best pork loin ever produced on my or my guest's BGE. [p]Myquestion is, has anyone tried this, or have I just stumbled on to something new?[p](I would have taken pictures but I might have lost a hand trying to do it. About a third of this loin didn't make it to the table as everyone was cutting at it and snacking on it while waiting for the asian beef roll thingies to get done. They're called najimi or nakima or something...I can't remember).

stike · January 2006

Dos Huevos,
that's pretty standard, unfortunately.
no fabled "Dos Huevos Loin" gonna be joining the lexicon like maybe "T-rex" did.[p]you have discovered le Process Maillard , mon ami![p]that's actually pretty typical method of doing a beef tenderloin, especially. sear all sides (often in a pan), then roast at the temps you did.[p]best of both worlds, because you get the crispy-luvin on the outside, and perfect roasty-goodness on the inside.[p]

The Naked Whiz · January 2006

Dos Huevos,
Whoa, I know all about satisfying your wife. Er, MY WIFE, not your wife! Ahem. Anyway, I Trex pork loin chops, but I've not tried a whole pork loin that way. Sounds like you had a good meal![p]TNW

Dos Huevos · January 2006

The Naked Whiz,[p]Dude, I don't claim (often) to know much about satisfying anybody's wife. LOL[p]If this is fairly standard practice as stike said, I feel like an even bigger dolt than I already am. [p]Having said that, I really don't think i've read, heard, or been told this, so even if I don't get a dos huevos Loin out of it, we'll call my very satisfying hunk of meat that at home. [p](tee hee).[p]And yes Whiz, our dinner was awesome. There were actually six of us and we had food for about ten, yet we managed to finish all but 3 very thin slices of pork, which the wife and urchin 1.0 finished off for breakfast today. [p]Oh, and the other good part is that on Sunday morning's our kroger has specials in the butcher shop, and this loin was $1.99 / lb. They also had whole ribeyes for $4.99 a pound. [p]Nice.

fishlessman · January 2006

<p />Dos Huevos,
if you ever see one of these, try it the way you did that one. its part of the loin and is usually removed because it contains too much fat, but it cooks up with more flavor and is just so much more moist. its what was origionally country ribs before they started making them with the butt. my butcher calls them country rib loin roasts

Dos Huevos · January 2006

fishlessman,[p]I will gladly do that, fishless. Thanks for the 411. I think that from now, I will basically T-rex all meat except butts, brisket, and other slow stuff. LOL

DobieDad · January 2006

Dos Huevos,[p]I did something very similar a week ago, but used bone-in pork loin (looked like the one in the post by 'fishlessman' but with longer bones). I rubbed with EVOO and a bunch of spices that I grabbed off the shelf. It was outstanding. [p]I would change one thing next time. Perhaps I left too much fat on the outside (I trimmed it down to less than 1/8" at the thickest, with only about 30% fat coverage on the meat - - I didn't want too much fat on it, but then, didn't want the meat to be too dry, so left some fat on). I seared it in my small at >500F, even the ends, holding the roast upright using very long tongs. The fat dripped on the lump and caused flairups that deposited soot on the roast, which I didn't like. It didn't affect the flavor, but wasn't that pretty. After a little rest while I reduced the temp, I set a grill on the tall GrateMates that were already in place, popped on the roast at a dome of about 400 and let her go to an internal of, I think, just 135 - 140. After resting, the internal was >145 and the meat was perfectly moist and tender. Crust was nice, too.[p]Next time I think I will sear in a frypan, either on the small or on the side burner of my old gasser. I think that would give me a more even crust while avoiding any soot.[p]A second thought occurred. I believe it was "djm5x9" that once suggested cutting this roast into two-bone portions and doing a sear/roast on the individual pieces, producing maximal crust. I know 'fishlessman' does this with prime rib roasts, and it looks great![p]just my $0.02[p]DD

Dos Huevos · January 2006

DobieDad,[p]Funny thing. After last night, the wife asked me to buy the big loin, then cut it and cook it as several smaller loins to, you guessed it, maximize the crusted areas.[p]How have I missed this, for heaven's sake?[p]Anyway, glad we found it at all. Scratch one more thing off the list of "things I don't know how to make better by cooking them on the BGE."

wdan · January 2006

Dos Huevos,
Don't feel so bad. While the technique is relatively well-known, the application may not (at least in our ceramic community). I know I am not alone in this category, but I freely admit I typically avoid grilling the higher-end cuts of pork because of their tendancy to dry out, not to mention their relatively underwhelming flavor.[p]But I've taken it on as a challenge that no part of the pig is going to be left behind (well, I might leave making scrapple as the very last thing I do). I bought a very attractive pork tenderloin the other day. It was one of those days where I just didn't feel like putting up with the weather, so I made it (gasp) indoors on the stove top and in the oven. I was more interested in cook temps and times anyway. Browned all sides, then sauted a mire poix, deglazed with some chardonnay. Threwit all in the 350 oven with a bit of chx stock and pulled it out at internal temp 145. The meat was extraordinarily tender and had a hint of flavor to it (probably from the pan gravy a made).[p]Now that my courage is up, and especially with your report in-hand, my next stop is the flavor improvement laboratory a.k.a. my patio. This pig definitely will benefit from a lump sear followed by a bit of smoke. Thanks for the nudge!

Dos Huevos · January 2006

WDAN,[p]Glad I could help, although it was my stubborn-ness and stupidity that provided said help. LOL[p]And by the way, when you said scrapple, it immediately made me think of the simpsons episode where homer buys a hot dog off of one of those turner thingies at the quickie mart, whereupon Apu tells him it's quite fresh.[p]homer replies: Yeah. You can really taste the hog anus. [p]Hope someone remembers that and I'm not deemed an infidel or something worse for typing that here.[p]Todd

wdan · January 2006

Dos Huevos,
Be careful my friend. Some of our cousins in Philly may take umbrage to the inference. After all, truly good scrapple has to contain the snouts and the toes too!

Dos Huevos · January 2006

WDAN,[p]Dude, I LOVE scrapple. Anyplace that can get it anywhere close to right will see me order it. [p]After all, parts is parts.[p]YUMMY.

Interesting Pork Loin discovery

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