Question to TentHunter on Cure recipe used for Pork Loin Ham

[JK From KC]

TentHunter,

You posted a thread some time back where you brined and smoked an awesome looking pork loin to slice for lunch meats. I'm looking to do the same and have done quite a bit of research on brining and now i'm confused and fear that I will mess it up.

Could you please share the brine recipe that you used for that loin? It would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
John

 

[TentHunter]

Don't let this intimidate you. SquirtTheCat and I collaborated on that project and we each did one, and both turned out great!


We based it off of my basic lower-salt ham brine recipe which is pretty easy. The brown Sugar gives a nice hint of molasses without being too sweet and is very economical.

Each batch will cure up to about 9+ pounds of pork/ham.

1 1/2 Gallons Cold filtered Water.
1 1/4 cups Pickling Salt
4 level tsp. Curing Salt #1 (also know as Prague Powder #1 - contains 6.25% Sodium Nitrite)
2 Cups Brown Sugar


If you can't find Cure #1 You could also use Morton Tender Quick and eliminate the Curing salt.

Variations:

If you don't care for Molasses, use regular white sugar.

For a Honey or Maple Ham, use a mix of sugar and either Honey or Maple Syrup. BUT increase the total sweetener amount to about 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups to retain the sweetness level.

If memory serves correctly Squirt did a mixture of Brown Sugar & Honey for his and said the flavor was great.



Inject the loin thouroughly (I injected about every square inch) and let in soak in the brine for 4 - 7 days depending on the salt level you want. Flip/rotate the loin sections once per day for even brining.

Run on smoke mode for at least 2 hours then bump the temp to about 250° and cook to an internal temp of at least 150°. Allow to cool overnight before slicing.

Tip: Wrap in plastic wrap or Vac-Pac and allow to sit in the fridge for two days before slicing. This allows the smoke to permeate the meat and level out. I couldn't believe how well this simple step worked!

Hope this helps!

 

[squirtthecat]

Yep! Jessssssssss do it!

 

[JK From KC]

Excellent...Thanks so much for this. I've already bought the loin and planning to do it in the next week. Will let you all know how it goes.

Thanks Again!!!