So I’ve never been much of a fan of grilled or roasted pork loin. Figured I’d try smoking one, but when I cut the pack open, I realized there were two in there. (You guys probably all knew this, but like I said, I usually don’t care much for them & have never cooked one before.)
I seasoned them both with some Killer Hogs rub I got from @Mikerocksthered a while back & had totally forgotten about. Set up a quick snake with pecan chunks in the 26er, tossed both loins in with probes, and tried to keep her steady between 225 & 250*.
I pulled one at 145* IT & sliced. Not bad at all! The smoke really came through, but the K.H. seasoning had a good amount of sweetness to give it a more complex flavor. The inside was tender & juicy, and I’m looking forward to some sandwiches with the leftovers.
I decided to take the second one up to 200* to see if I could do more of a “pulled pork loin” with it. I wrapped it in foil around 160* & tossed in the oven at 225 for another couple hours. Results were not great. Decent flavor, but pretty dry & definitely didn’t want to “pull” apart, even after about a 45 minute rest. Maybe I’ll try it again sometime and give it a dry brine the night before to try & retain some of the moisture. I ended up chopping it up & mixing with some BBQ sauce for sandwiches later, so it wasn’t a total loss.
The real show stopper though was the side of mushroom caps. I’m not usually big on mushrooms either, but this week of bachelor meals is mostly filled with experiments that could be revived when the family’s back in town, and mushrooms are always a big hit with the wife. These guys were stuffed with cream cheese & parm, mixed with some sautéed minced garlic, onion powder, black & cayenne pepper.
I’m sure they would’ve been even better on the grill with a little smoke, but they needed to be cooked at 350*, and my grill was burning at 225. Yeah, I know, I could’ve just fired up another kettle. But baby, it’s cold outside (Are we still allowed to say that?) and I didn’t feel like going outside any more than necessary.
These came out amazing! I’ll probably use the filling in jalapeño poppers at some point, if I’m wanting to avoid sausage for some reason. (I can’t imagine a situation in which I’d ever want to “avoid sausage,” but you never know.) They’d be super quick to prep if you sub in granulated garlic for the fresh minced, but considering how good it makes your kitchen smell, I think it’s worth finding the extra time.
-Jed
Topic: Bachelor Meal #3: A Tale of Two Pork Loins (Read 585 times)