How To Cook A Pork Loin
0 comment Sunday, May 25, 2014 |
If you eat any type of meat you may find that a pork loin is one of the healthier cuts of meat that you can eat. Most are lean and economical to buy.
If you did nothing but stick a pork loin all by itself into the oven, or on the grill for a couple of hours they would turn out to be very good. But, if you should happen to prep them just a tad they just may turn out to be superb.
When I purchase a pork loin I try to find the biggest one I can and one that is on sale.
I find that Safeway, Costco and Fred Meyer stores are just of a few places that have them on sale on a consistent basis. Check your local stores for sales.
A large one is somewhat cumbersome to get onto the grill or into the oven, so I normally cut it into thirds and cook one at a time. You can easily freeze the other two.
First thing you might want to do is rinse it with hot water and place into some type of marinating container like a Tupperware season-serve marinating container (below) or a plastic bag. No aluminum pans or foil.
Put a little EVOO on all sides of the meat and then sprinkle on a generous portion of a rub such as Paul Prudhommes Pork and Veal Magic (See Below).
Don't spare the rub. Rub it in on all sides and ends of the loin. Put more on, but don't rub it in this time.
There is a question of some type of marinade other than a rub. You really don't need to, but there are things that you can do at the end of the cooking process to add more flavor and retain moisture.
After the applying the rub, refrigerate over night. It does miracles.
Start, the oven, gas grill, Traeger Grill (Apple Pellets are superb!), charcoal grill and maintain a temperature of at least 325 degrees. If gas, or charcoal grill, you will want to cook on indirect heat. In other words, heat one side of the grill and cook on the other.
Before placing on the grill or oven, let the pork loin sit out for at least 30 minutes. If cooking in an oven place in a Dutch oven or a clay pot (fat side up). You can go berserk and add all kind of vegetables, slices of apple laced with cinnamon to these containers and further enhance the taste of the pork loin. Sprinkle on Emeril's Original Essence (See Below) on the veggies for an additional taste.
For the grill I like to line a shallow baking pan with a lot of foil (fat side up). Cleaning up messes sucks big time and in the end you are going to want to wrap the loin in foil.
Cooking in an oven or on the grill should take anywhere from hour and a half to two hours. Use a meat thermometer �.done is at least 170 degrees.
In the last fifteen minutes of cooking time mist with a concoction of orange or apple juice and apple cider vinegar. Get a spray bottle. Lot's of juice and not so much the vinegar.
The spray thing is not as critical when cooked in the oven. You'll find that a clay pot or a Dutch oven do a fantastic job of retaining moisture in meat. ( I have both a Schlemmertoph Clay Pot and A Lodge Dutch Oven. You will have to get up way before breakfast to beat them out for the price.)
Once cooked, wrap in aluminum foil and let it sit out for about fifteen minutes prior to serving.