Roasted Pork Loin

Pork Loins are the leanest and most tender pork cuts. Be careful to avoid overcooking any cut of pork from the loin.  Today I roasted a Pork Loin to an Internal temperature of 150ºF.  Costco Pork Loins average 10 pounds but with only the two of us at home they are too large to serve for a weekday meal.  I first became curious when I noticed at my local Costco that their 2 inch center cut Pork Chops were about $1.40 more a pound than their Pork Loin. Spoke to the Butcher and discovered that I can cut my own Center Cut Boneless Pork Chops from the Pork Loin.  Processed the Pork Loin into two 3 pound Pork Loin Roasts and 5 meals of 1 inch thick center cut Pork Chops (2 per package). Buying in bulk and vacuum sealing the various cuts saves us $Money$ and eases our food budget.

Defrosted the vacuum sealed 3 pound Pork Loin Roast in the refrigerator.  This means you’ll need to plan ahead a day or two.  Rubbed the pork loin roast with Annie’s Roasted Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil to act as a glue for the Fagundes Seasoning.  Allowed the seasoned roast to sit on the counter while I preheated the MAK 2 Star Wood Pellet BBQ Smoker-Grill to 350ºF using Pacific Pellet Alder Gourmet BBQ wood pellets.

Here are the U.S. Department of Agriculture Pork temperature guidelines.  Most of us grew up taking pork to 160ºF and if you feel uncomfortable then I recommend you continue to use 160ºF but don’t allow your pork loin to dry out.  Marinading or injecting a Pork Loin Roast will enhance your flavor profiles and minimize your roast drying out.   I have adopted the middle road and take my pork loin roasts to the 150ºF range and rest the roast loosely under a foil tent for 15 minutes.

Roasted the Pork Loin on the MAK 2 Star until the internal temperature reached 153ºF.  I recommend you always cook to temperature but for planning purposes this roast took 1½ hours to go from 46ºF to 153ºF.  Rested the Pork Loin loosely under a foil tent for 15 minutes before serving.

The $Money$ Shot … Roasted Pork Loin served with a side of steamed Potatoes and Asparagus.  Even without marinading or injecting the pork loin roast was delicious, moist, and tender.  Next time I might inject some Apple Juice or use my Marinade Express to enhance the flavors.