Sunday Pork Loin

So last night we were over at my folks' place and they mentioned (again) an extended family reunion today. Yeah, I forgot... It's about the only time I see some of my second cousins I grew up with, so I kind of wanted to go. It was a bring a hot and cold dish type of deal and I started thinking about what I could do. Mom said she could bring a cold dish for both of us. I figured that will work, I'll cook something.

Thanks to @Big_Green_Craig I remembered I had a pork loin in the deep freezer that needed to be cooked. How to thaw a whole pork loin that was in a -5*F freezer?


A Pelican 65 filled with ice water overnight.


This morning it wasn't completely thawed, but enough so that rub would stick. Whole pork loin is a 1-2 hour cook depending on temps, so I figured I would give myself an extra hour. I wanted to be finished by 11:30, so at 8:30 I tossed it on at 325* indirect with oak and apple wood. It was rubbed with Meadow Creek BBQ rub. If you have this rub, be careful with it, it is very salty. I only use it on large cuts like loin or butt, never use it on ribs.



After about an hour I flipped it.


And inserted my Thermoworks DOT probe. 

This was my first time using the DOT, and I really like the simplicity and accuracy of it. I got it on sale when they had their open box sale a week or so ago.

While it was cooking I started thinking I wanted a sauce to go with it since I would be holding it for about an hour until serving. So I mixed up the rest of the bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's we had in the fridge (we like it on BBQ pizza) with some homemade sauce I had in the fridge from this recipe:
http://www.biggreenegg.com/recipes/barbecued-baked-beans/

I warmed it on the stove and it wasn't quite what I wanted for flavor. I dug through the fridge and came up with a Mott's unsweetened applesauce snack cup. Mixed that in and it still need something else so I added some honey. Hit the flavor profile I was looking for. If it had been for myself I probably would have added some cayenne but I knew that wouldn't be the best given the audience.

At 120* I sauced it.


At 130* I flipped and sauced the other side. At 140* I pulled it:


This was right about 11:26. My goal was to be finished cooking by 11:30. I let it rest while I cleaned things up, then covered in foil and in my Carlisle Cateraide (thanks @cazzy for the tip, this thing works great). I also had some sauce left I put in a soup thermos and in the Carlisle as well.

When I got to the school/church kitchen where the reunion was being held I sliced it and cut the slices in half, then back in the pan for service and drizzled with the remaining sauce.

The only sliced shot I got was of my plate as I went through the line:
 
It was really good, and there was none left to take home. Oh, and this was a Mennonite family reunion/potluck. I ate way too much as anyone that knows anything about Mennonite cooking should be able to attest to.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday folks, the weekend is coming to a close...