Grilled Pork Loin for Dummies

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Buckeye_Nut

Senior Cook
Joined
Feb 28, 2011
Messages
218
Hello...
What are your thoughts on brining/seasoning/preparation? Should I brine the loin fully immersed in salt water for a day before?? And if so...wont it counter the effect of any dry rubs I put on the meat to some extent? My thoughts..... I'll coat the meat generously with olive oil and dry rub......then place in a zip lock with just a little bit of salt water(maybe 1 cup or less).....just enough to bring the salt water in contact with the meat when I get get the air out and zip it tight. Let it sit in the fridge for 24-48hrs.

Or brine fully immersed in salt solution.....then coat the meat with dry rub shortly before grilling?? That doesn't seem right to me..... or does it even really matter??

Any thoughts or advice on this??

Anyone?
 
Thanks for the input...I'm skipping the brine and will give the rub at least 24hrs on the meat. Does anyone keep foil on the top of the meat while it's grilling to trap moisture? I see most do it while it's resting, but not while grilling.

PS...what is the 'so called' ideal internal temp to remove the loin from the grill??? @130-140-150 degrees? I'm thinking 140.....so the finished product will be roughly 150deg after it rests?

What are your thoughts?
 
I agree with using just a rub, but I have never brined a tenderloin before.

I always smoke them, indirect, to about 140 then I wrap in foil and let sit a good 30 min. You get a little au jus and the temp
gets up to about 150.

If I were to grill, I'd go direct to get some color then indirect to finish.

Someone here, just recently, did one that was cooked perfect(imo). It sure looked perfect, anyway.

Good luck, Nut. Take pix!
 
BigAL said:
I agree with using just a rub, but I have never brined a tenderloin before.

I always smoke them, indirect, to about 140 then I wrap in foil and let sit a good 30 min. You get a little au jus and the temp
gets up to about 150.

If I were to grill, I'd go direct to get some color then indirect to finish.

Someone here, just recently, did one that was cooked perfect(imo). It sure looked perfect, anyway.

Good luck, Nut. Take pix!
Hey thanks for the compliment.....that was my tenderloin!! :D This week I am doing a loin partially because that tenderloin turned out so great a couple weeks ago! I've been web-surfing and watching youtube videos trying to EDJUMICATE myself on the finer points of grilling a loin, and people are doing all kinds of crazy stuff to them!!!..... and it got me thinking about brining or not?


I have my plan: ....no brine
The meat is already seasoned and it will rest in the fridge for 48hrs until friday grillin' time.
img_234438_0_e44dbbde6bfd4249e611b9a35aff5e65.jpg

I coated the meat with extra virgin olive oil, but using a different rub this time. Zarda BBQ is a local BBQ joint here in KC and I like their food....so I figured it's gotta be yummy!!!

My tentative grilling plan: Sear for 2-3mins on 2-4 sides(if it'll stand on it's side..LOL)...then drop the heat to 300 direct heat until the center is done.(that's what I did to the TL) My Weber Spirit is a front/back 2-burner grill. I suppose I could always turn off the front burner after searing and move the meat forward to finish in indirect heat because it's a bigger piece of meat compared to the TL. My grill will go down to around 200 on 1 burner....You think that would be better?
 
Buckeye_Nut said:
BigAL said:
I agree with using just a rub, but I have never brined a tenderloin before.

I always smoke them, indirect, to about 140 then I wrap in foil and let sit a good 30 min. You get a little au jus and the temp
gets up to about 150.

If I were to grill, I'd go direct to get some color then indirect to finish.

Someone here, just recently, did one that was cooked perfect(imo). It sure looked perfect, anyway.

Good luck, Nut. Take pix!
Hey thanks for the compliment.....that was my tenderloin!! :D This week I am doing a loin partially because that tenderloin turned out so great a couple weeks ago! I've been web-surfing and watching youtube videos trying to EDJUMICATE myself on the finer points of grilling a loin, and people are doing all kinds of crazy stuff to them!!!..... and it got me thinking about brining or not?


I have my plan: ....no brine
The meat is already seasoned and it will rest in the fridge for 48hrs until friday grillin' time.
img_234443_0_e44dbbde6bfd4249e611b9a35aff5e65.jpg

I coated the meat with extra virgin olive oil, but using a different rub this time. Zarda BBQ is a local BBQ joint here in KC and I like their food....so I figured it's gotta be yummy!!!

My tentative grilling plan: Sear for 2-3mins on 2-4 sides(if it'll stand on it's side..LOL)...then drop the heat to 300 direct heat until the center is done.(that's what I did to the TL) My Weber Spirit is a front/back 2-burner grill. I suppose I could always turn off the front burner after searing and move the meat forward to finish in indirect heat because it's a bigger piece of meat compared to the TL. My grill will go down to around 200 on 1 burner....You think that would be better?

Depending on the salt content of the rub you're using, you ARE brining. Do a search on the reverse sear, versus searing first, as well as seasoning just before you put the meat on the smoker/grill. You'll get much better end results in my opinion.
 
I'm thinking 300º direct will dry it out too much. I do mine 325-350 indirect till it's 150º internal, then foil it and let it rest in a small cooler for at least 20 min. Some might say that's overdone, but my wife has a fit over pink pork, so...
 
Larry Wolfe said:
Depending on the salt content of the rub you're using, you ARE brining. Do a search on the reverse sear, versus searing first, as well as seasoning just before you put the meat on the smoker/grill. You'll get much better end results in my opinion.

Yea...I've been thinking about that. Most rubs like the above are pretty high in salt........ suure...you're not dunking it in salt water for a day, but that same effect still takes place because of the salt. I will look into reverse searing.....I'm just not quite comfy that I will do it correctly yet.
 
NewHeart said:
I'm thinking 300º direct will dry it out too much. I do mine 325-350 indirect till it's 150º internal, then foil it and let it rest in a small cooler for at least 20 min. Some might say that's overdone, but my wife has a fit over pink pork, so...
Dry even if I cook to 140? I may need to rethink my method....... I'll do the indirect method.
 
Buckeye_Nut said:
NewHeart said:
I'm thinking 300º direct will dry it out too much. I do mine 325-350 indirect till it's 150º internal, then foil it and let it rest in a small cooler for at least 20 min. Some might say that's overdone, but my wife has a fit over pink pork, so...
Dry even if I cook to 140? I may need to rethink my method....... I'll do the indirect method.

I agree with Nut. 150 then pull and rest however I do not rest in a cooler. Did it once and I felt like I had too many juices in the foil. Seems like I get fewer juices lost if I just leave it on the counter. Just me. It will be great no matter what becuase we are just being nitpicky.

Do consider the reverse sear though... it works.
 
johnm said:
Buckeye_Nut said:
NewHeart said:
I'm thinking 300º direct will dry it out too much. I do mine 325-350 indirect till it's 150º internal, then foil it and let it rest in a small cooler for at least 20 min. Some might say that's overdone, but my wife has a fit over pink pork, so...
Dry even if I cook to 140? I may need to rethink my method....... I'll do the indirect method.

I agree with Nut. 150 then pull and rest however I do not rest in a cooler. Did it once and I felt like I had too many juices in the foil. Seems like I get fewer juices lost if I just leave it on the counter. Just me. It will be great no matter what becuase we are just being nitpicky.

Do consider the reverse sear though... it works.


Some of your "juices" from resting in foil are from the steam.
 
johnm said:
Buckeye_Nut said:
NewHeart said:
I'm thinking 300º direct will dry it out too much. I do mine 325-350 indirect till it's 150º internal, then foil it and let it rest in a small cooler for at least 20 min. Some might say that's overdone, but my wife has a fit over pink pork, so...
Dry even if I cook to 140? I may need to rethink my method....... I'll do the indirect method.

I agree with Nut. 150 then pull and rest however I do not rest in a cooler. Did it once and I felt like I had too many juices in the foil. Seems like I get fewer juices lost if I just leave it on the counter. Just me. It will be great no matter what becuase we are just being nitpicky.

Do consider the reverse sear though... it works.
Maybe I'll split the difference and remove it at 145. :LOL:

My newest plan....sear....then turn 1 burner off for indirect heat and drop temp to 300'ish till done. I'll baste and flip a couple/few times while on indirect. :D
 
Any last minute advice....before it's too late!! LOL


I plan to use the same rub as a marinade while it grills....what should I use to liquefy it....olive oil, veggy oil...or something else???
 
ok, my family loved the meat....but...., but I think I can do better. I had a lot of distractions!!! I was watching the NCAA'S on tv.....probably drank too much, I was watching some team from Texas get their @sses kicked by Ohio State.......I maybe had a few too many beers...did I say that yet??..... loud music in the garage maybe distracted me from my grilling MOJO......heck, I have lots of excuses!!!!!!

this is the meat........
img_234567_0_a23427b33556ea30d1dc5c4547e326b4.jpg

IMO...it looks pretty GD good from here.....

Part of me was weary...the Mrs. didn't like the rare meat last weekend so I cooked this a little more. She loves ruined meat. sheesh...
Because of that, I kept this loin on the fire to 150........IMO....a bad move. My harshest critic gave it rave reviews..but it was a little over cooked...IMO.....a bit dry.

img_234567_1_2fc295dcf767fd18ca307d10f53ff757.jpg

We ate good, and all that.....I just think it could have been better cooked less....

My plate with some pasta salad....
img_234567_2_f691ad445352a0f12b8cb8479269a44b.jpg

No regrets....good eats....

I think I can do it better next time......
 

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