fingerlickin'
12-03-2014, 05:45 PM
So in my pursuit of the perfect roast pork sandwich, I decided to give using pork loin a try seeing as though it's almost always on sale around here. In my previous posts about this fine sandwich I've always used pork butts which is typically what they use at places like Dinic's and Tony Luke's in the city.
I've always been hesitant to use loin because I know it can dry out pretty quickly.
For reference (I mostly mean my reference since I'm always finding myself searching for these posts separately I figure this is a good time to put it all in one place) :grin:
A sliced version, seen here.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131893&highlight=roast+pork
A pulled version.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164347
A few things I've figured out along the way are, you do need a lot of garlic for these things. The 25 cloves I used in the sliced version may have been a tad much looking back, but that was a bigger cut of meat. For this one I had a 5lb. loin and used 10 cloves. I probably could've cut that back to about 8 and it would've been perfect. Also fresh herbs are great if you have them, although I would still make these sandwiches if I only had dried. I think the fresh parsley makes more of a difference than using fresh oregano.
Here's how it went down with the loins. I'll try and approximate a recipe at the end in case anyone gets inspired to eat one of the greatest sandwiches ever constructed. :biggrin1:
The players: not pictured (chicken broth and fresh oregano)
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0762.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0762.jpg.html)
Garlic, Flat Leaf Parsley, Oregano, Salt, Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0765.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0765.jpg.html)
Mix all the herbs and seasonings in a bowl with some olive oil. Next time I will smash the garlic and salt together with the side of my knife to make a little better of a paste. Then slather it on the loin. I cooked it in a foil pan with two racks stacked on top of each other to keep it out of the juice for the most part. You need the pan though, the juice is a big part of the sandwich flavor. I put about 16 oz of broth in the bottom of the pan to start.
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0770.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0770.jpg.html)
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0771.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0771.jpg.html)
My intention was to cook it for 3-4 hours at like 225* but I started playing with my son and the temps got away from me. It ended up being on about 2 hours, I put it on when the Kamado was at 200* and when I pulled it it was at about 365*. Pulled at 140* internal. Yep, orange is the fastest in case you didn't already know. :wink: Not much color on it, I only used a few tiny tiny chunks of cherry.
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0773.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0773.jpg.html)
I sliced it by hand to about a 1/4 inch or so. Then back into the pan, I also put some more chicken broth in to keep them mostly submerged. The pan went into the oven at 250* for about an hour. Did I mention they were super tender?...Well they were super tender. :grin: I would've thrown them on the Kamado but I wanted to keep the temps low and that was still running at 350*. The theory here was I didn't want to boil the liquid too hard or they would tighten up in the juice.
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0779.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0779.jpg.html)
Broccoli Rabe in the background. Sauteed with more garlic, salt and crushed red pepper flakes. IMO it's a must to top the sandwich with either sauteed Broccoli Rabe or sauteed spinach and serve it with long hots or at the very least hot cherry peppers. Super sharp provolone also makes this one of the best things ever inserted in your pie hole. Unfortunately, I had to make do with Boar's Head Picante Provolone, which actually turned out pretty darn good, and I was able to throw it under the broiler to get all melty. :thumb:
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0782.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0782.jpg.html)
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0789.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0789.jpg.html)
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0796.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0796.jpg.html)
The verdict on the loin: It was outstanding, and I'm not sure which version I like the best, the tenderness of the loin was perfect. I think it would've benefited from a lower slower cook to break down what little fat that remained but other than that, I would say it was a huge success. :thumb:
Side note: (so I can remember what to do different next time) I might try some white wine in the juice, maybe pay more attention to my temps and pull the roast a little early for a nice sear over some hot coals and possibly try more smoke also.
Grocery List:
5 lb. pork loin
8 cloves of garlic-chopped
2 T. salt
3 T. chopped flat leaf parsley-preferably fresh
2 T. chopped oregano-preferably fresh
2 t. cracked black pepper
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes
sharp provolone
long hot, hot cherry peppers or whatever your favorite happens to be
brocolli rabe-chopped and sauteed in garlic, SnP and crushed red pepper or
spinach sauteed in garlic, SnP and crushed red pepper
Some nice rolls from your local bakery (sesame seeded rolls add a little something too if you can find some)
Thanks for looking!
:peace:
I've always been hesitant to use loin because I know it can dry out pretty quickly.
For reference (I mostly mean my reference since I'm always finding myself searching for these posts separately I figure this is a good time to put it all in one place) :grin:
A sliced version, seen here.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131893&highlight=roast+pork
A pulled version.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164347
A few things I've figured out along the way are, you do need a lot of garlic for these things. The 25 cloves I used in the sliced version may have been a tad much looking back, but that was a bigger cut of meat. For this one I had a 5lb. loin and used 10 cloves. I probably could've cut that back to about 8 and it would've been perfect. Also fresh herbs are great if you have them, although I would still make these sandwiches if I only had dried. I think the fresh parsley makes more of a difference than using fresh oregano.
Here's how it went down with the loins. I'll try and approximate a recipe at the end in case anyone gets inspired to eat one of the greatest sandwiches ever constructed. :biggrin1:
The players: not pictured (chicken broth and fresh oregano)
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0762.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0762.jpg.html)
Garlic, Flat Leaf Parsley, Oregano, Salt, Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0765.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0765.jpg.html)
Mix all the herbs and seasonings in a bowl with some olive oil. Next time I will smash the garlic and salt together with the side of my knife to make a little better of a paste. Then slather it on the loin. I cooked it in a foil pan with two racks stacked on top of each other to keep it out of the juice for the most part. You need the pan though, the juice is a big part of the sandwich flavor. I put about 16 oz of broth in the bottom of the pan to start.
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0770.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0770.jpg.html)
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0771.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0771.jpg.html)
My intention was to cook it for 3-4 hours at like 225* but I started playing with my son and the temps got away from me. It ended up being on about 2 hours, I put it on when the Kamado was at 200* and when I pulled it it was at about 365*. Pulled at 140* internal. Yep, orange is the fastest in case you didn't already know. :wink: Not much color on it, I only used a few tiny tiny chunks of cherry.
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0773.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0773.jpg.html)
I sliced it by hand to about a 1/4 inch or so. Then back into the pan, I also put some more chicken broth in to keep them mostly submerged. The pan went into the oven at 250* for about an hour. Did I mention they were super tender?...Well they were super tender. :grin: I would've thrown them on the Kamado but I wanted to keep the temps low and that was still running at 350*. The theory here was I didn't want to boil the liquid too hard or they would tighten up in the juice.
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0779.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0779.jpg.html)
Broccoli Rabe in the background. Sauteed with more garlic, salt and crushed red pepper flakes. IMO it's a must to top the sandwich with either sauteed Broccoli Rabe or sauteed spinach and serve it with long hots or at the very least hot cherry peppers. Super sharp provolone also makes this one of the best things ever inserted in your pie hole. Unfortunately, I had to make do with Boar's Head Picante Provolone, which actually turned out pretty darn good, and I was able to throw it under the broiler to get all melty. :thumb:
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0782.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0782.jpg.html)
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0789.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0789.jpg.html)
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd392/shellddy/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0796.jpg (http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/shellddy/media/Italian%20Pork%20Loin%20Sandwiches/DSC_0796.jpg.html)
The verdict on the loin: It was outstanding, and I'm not sure which version I like the best, the tenderness of the loin was perfect. I think it would've benefited from a lower slower cook to break down what little fat that remained but other than that, I would say it was a huge success. :thumb:
Side note: (so I can remember what to do different next time) I might try some white wine in the juice, maybe pay more attention to my temps and pull the roast a little early for a nice sear over some hot coals and possibly try more smoke also.
Grocery List:
5 lb. pork loin
8 cloves of garlic-chopped
2 T. salt
3 T. chopped flat leaf parsley-preferably fresh
2 T. chopped oregano-preferably fresh
2 t. cracked black pepper
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes
sharp provolone
long hot, hot cherry peppers or whatever your favorite happens to be
brocolli rabe-chopped and sauteed in garlic, SnP and crushed red pepper or
spinach sauteed in garlic, SnP and crushed red pepper
Some nice rolls from your local bakery (sesame seeded rolls add a little something too if you can find some)
Thanks for looking!
:peace: