How To Cook A Pork Loin

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. Enjoy! Like my favorite chef and friend would say, “Know your fire!”

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How To BBQ Filet Mignon

Actually you grill Filet mignon....not the BBQ thing. The idea is to grill them fast on high heat so that you seal in the juice and the flavor.

So if you are still with us…whatever you do start out by getting a good cut of meat!

Filet Mignon is French for “dainty fillet”. It is a steak cut taken from the tenderloin section of a beef which is the part that is squeezed between the sirloin and the top sirloin section.

So that you know there is a multitude of liberties taken by folks who butcher them up and label them. Meaning you can pay a rather steep price for Filet Mignon that may look good but comes from an inferior part of a beef and not the tenderloin.

It gets down to….do you really trust your butcher? Interrogate them under bright lights and/or the “nail thing” until they confess.

Back to grilling: Many Filet Mignon cuts I have seen come wrapped in bacon. There are just as many exceptions. It’s no biggie one way or the other. It gets down to your preference.

You can also marinate them. I don’t, but if you prefer to do so use Newman’s Own “Family Recipe Italian” (See Below). Marinate over night in a closed plastic bag or a "Tupperware season-serve marinating container" (below).

If bacon wrapped I would remove while marinating and reattach with toothpicks when you are ready to grill.

Take out the steaks out of the fridge at least thirty minutes before grilling. In the meanwhile set you grill to high heat.

The idea is to sear the cut five to eight minutes (depends on thickness) on each side on a gas, or charcoal grill (Two Zone Fire). If you have a Traeger Grill, you will want to grill at least eight minutes or even longer. Time it, don’t guess. Turn steaks only once.

Before the time is up, stick a meat thermometer in one of the steaks. One hundred forty degrees is rare….160 is medium. If you want, (simple recipe) serve with Blue Cheese on top and garnish with a jumbo green olive inserted into the top with a toothpick.

Enjoy! Like my favorite chef and friend, George Hirsch would say, “Know your fire!”

I don’t ask that you send me 100K for my BBQ and cooking tips. But, hey it's OK if you do! If not, check out my sponsors and ads.... helps keep up the blog! Thank you! Please see bottom of page for Product Disclosure and Privacy Disclosure!