Help me plan my pork (loin)
April 19, 2013 5:32 PM Subscribe
Today, Costco had a decent price on boneless pork loins so I bought one. From what I can tell, this is the "whole" loin, including blade, center, and sirloin (the tube of meat is somewhere around 2 feet long).
Help me plan what to cook with part of it on Sunday, and how to process/package the rest.
Usually, if I'm cooking pork, I go for a shoulder/butt roast and cook that fatty, tender thing for a very long time (crockpot carnitas, smoked pulled pork, etc.) I've also cooked tenderloins, and understand how to do good things with them (cover with yummy things, sear, cook relatively quickly).
But I've never really gotten the hand of plain old loin -- too big for quick cooking, too lean for slow cooking -- be it in roast or chop form.
Anthony Bourdain, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and Christopher Kimball are all telling me that a pork loin roast should be braised in milk. I was skeptical at first, but given how popular the method seems to be, that's probably what I'll do for Sunday Dinner, but what part of the roast should I use? The blade end? the sirloin?
Should I cut some of it into chops? How thick? Which part (I was thinking cutting the sirloin into 1.5" chops to freeze down) does that make sense?
Which part of the loin is best for plain old roasting (or maybe slow-grilling/smoking?). If I plan to do something like that, should I brine it?
Usually, if I'm cooking pork, I go for a shoulder/butt roast and cook that fatty, tender thing for a very long time (crockpot carnitas, smoked pulled pork, etc.) I've also cooked tenderloins, and understand how to do good things with them (cover with yummy things, sear, cook relatively quickly).
But I've never really gotten the hand of plain old loin -- too big for quick cooking, too lean for slow cooking -- be it in roast or chop form.
Anthony Bourdain, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and Christopher Kimball are all telling me that a pork loin roast should be braised in milk. I was skeptical at first, but given how popular the method seems to be, that's probably what I'll do for Sunday Dinner, but what part of the roast should I use? The blade end? the sirloin?
Should I cut some of it into chops? How thick? Which part (I was thinking cutting the sirloin into 1.5" chops to freeze down) does that make sense?
Which part of the loin is best for plain old roasting (or maybe slow-grilling/smoking?). If I plan to do something like that, should I brine it?
I don't think you can go wrong with brining it and then hot smoking it over indirect heat on a grill.
posted by mollweide at 7:42 PM on April 19, 2013
posted by mollweide at 7:42 PM on April 19, 2013
Best answer: The loin is a nice tender cut, don't overcook it. If it's been frozen, or you feel like freezing it for 20 days you can cook it as rare as you like, even so, according to wikipedia 140F internal for 1 minute will kill trychinosis. Some of the vacuum packed pork products have "flavor-enhancers" added i.e. phosphate, brine it with some regular salt and change the water a couple times to get rid of it.
posted by 445supermag at 8:03 PM on April 19, 2013
posted by 445supermag at 8:03 PM on April 19, 2013
Best answer: I would slice it, marinate, and grill with achiote and pineapple for tacos al pastor. Slice and quick cook will retain as much moisture as possible in a low-fat cut like loin.
posted by supercres at 8:30 PM on April 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by supercres at 8:30 PM on April 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
My very favorite thing to do with a pork loin of that size (or some portion of it): lomo de orza. Makes a wonderful summer meal with some grilled vegetables, a peasant loaf, and a bottle of Rioja.
posted by tully_monster at 9:01 PM on April 19, 2013
posted by tully_monster at 9:01 PM on April 19, 2013
Best answer: I bought this same giant pork loin from Costco. I used the middle 2/3 of it for slow-cooked pulled pork & carnitas. It had a shorter cook time than tenderloins that I'd previously done this with, but turned out just as delicious. It didn't, however, produce as much juice. This was disappointing for my plans to make pork gravy afterward.
posted by cheerwine at 10:25 PM on April 19, 2013
posted by cheerwine at 10:25 PM on April 19, 2013
Mark Bittman has a Pork Loin Medallion Lemon, White Wine, and Capers with Parsley recipe that will KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF.
Further more, it is the easiest recipe. Ever.
The rest of the bits I would do some sort of slower cooker magic with, and I would portion it down into ziploc or vac bags and store in the freezer for nights I don't feel like cooking.
Happy butchering!
posted by jbenben at 10:26 PM on April 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
Further more, it is the easiest recipe. Ever.
The rest of the bits I would do some sort of slower cooker magic with, and I would portion it down into ziploc or vac bags and store in the freezer for nights I don't feel like cooking.
Happy butchering!
posted by jbenben at 10:26 PM on April 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I can't speak to the roasting part, because I've never found a pork loin roast recipe that I've excited about. But I do buy whole/half loins quite often and use them for boneless pork chops all the time. I highly recommend that you do that with some of it--it makes for some nice, tender chops that are perfect for pan frying. I usually cut them about an inch thick.
posted by drlith at 4:04 AM on April 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by drlith at 4:04 AM on April 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
What have you there is the starting point for bacon. For a green-cure (flavour, not preservation), bury it in 70% salt and 30% sugar for 8 hours, cut a piece off, fry it and test it for taste.
posted by Leon at 1:26 PM on April 20, 2013
posted by Leon at 1:26 PM on April 20, 2013
We just throw it in a baking pan with sauerkraut, apples and onions and cook till done.
posted by CathyG at 9:32 PM on April 20, 2013
posted by CathyG at 9:32 PM on April 20, 2013
There's an episode of a Jaime Oliver series where he scores the fat cap, then essentially shoves the whole thing in an oven for a party. He hacked it into bite sized chunks, then served it in pita with, if I remember, the onions the roast had been resting on in the oven pan.
I've had great success with the hot smoking mollweide suggested. A good spicy rub and a couple hours of lowish heat, and you're golden. You could also get some curing salt and make yourself a nice loin-ham.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:30 AM on April 22, 2013
I've had great success with the hot smoking mollweide suggested. A good spicy rub and a couple hours of lowish heat, and you're golden. You could also get some curing salt and make yourself a nice loin-ham.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:30 AM on April 22, 2013
Pork loin is often really affordable. I often slice it and cook it as I would a pork chop or as I would a beef filet, i.e., steak. Steak seasoning, and either grilled or seared on each side, and yum.
posted by theora55 at 12:46 PM on April 22, 2013
posted by theora55 at 12:46 PM on April 22, 2013
Response by poster: To follow up, I don't know if I have much advice for any of those coming after me in reading this thread but a few things:
1.) Some of the answers gave advice for how to use a pork tenderloin, not a pork loin like I was asking about. I'm sure the tenderloin advice was great, but I already had a few tenderloin recipes that I like lots (tenderloins are easy).
2.) I ended up using the about 3.5lbs of the blade end of the loin for a version of the Pork Braised in Milk dish that I linked to. The results were a mixed bag, but the part of the roast that was closed to the end was far too dry and pretty disappointing (as we ate closer to the middle of the full loin, the meat got fattier and more tasty).
3.) I cut 4 pork chops (about 1lb) from the center of the loin. I overbrined them (timing was off) so they were too salty and made me sad.
4.) I have yet to cook up the sirloin end (another 3.5lbs) that's still hanging out in my freezer.
Overall -- this has been a less than awesome meat journey. I'll be avoiding this cut in the future, and sticking with the shoulder, tenderloin, ribs and belly, if pig parts are available.
posted by sparklemotion at 1:57 PM on May 20, 2013
1.) Some of the answers gave advice for how to use a pork tenderloin, not a pork loin like I was asking about. I'm sure the tenderloin advice was great, but I already had a few tenderloin recipes that I like lots (tenderloins are easy).
2.) I ended up using the about 3.5lbs of the blade end of the loin for a version of the Pork Braised in Milk dish that I linked to. The results were a mixed bag, but the part of the roast that was closed to the end was far too dry and pretty disappointing (as we ate closer to the middle of the full loin, the meat got fattier and more tasty).
3.) I cut 4 pork chops (about 1lb) from the center of the loin. I overbrined them (timing was off) so they were too salty and made me sad.
4.) I have yet to cook up the sirloin end (another 3.5lbs) that's still hanging out in my freezer.
Overall -- this has been a less than awesome meat journey. I'll be avoiding this cut in the future, and sticking with the shoulder, tenderloin, ribs and belly, if pig parts are available.
posted by sparklemotion at 1:57 PM on May 20, 2013
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Pretty much any cut of pork works fine. It's amazing. (If you don't have any white wine around you can substitute with some white or apple cider vinegar diluted in water).
posted by colin_l at 6:47 PM on April 19, 2013 [2 favorites]