Smoking Pork Loins, For Smoked Pork Chops

Sitting on the rack ready to go in the Bradley.
Note that on the rack there is silicone Bradley "Magic Mat"--it stops things from sticking to the racks.

I started using them a year ago and they really work, especially with fish.

SDC

They are now in the Bradley for 3 hours of smoke, using equal parts Special Blend and Mesquite pucks.

I will leave them in the Bradley until they are up to a temp of 160-170 degrees.

Winds were forecast to be strong today and I thought I might have to take them out of the Bradley after the 3 hours of smoke and put them in the regular oven at 200 degrees (Bradley doesn't work well in the cold with strong winds). Winds stayed light, so they are still out in the Bradley

The Bradley is in many respects, an "inefficient oven", so nothing wrong with using it to put smoke on your food and then move things to the regular oven at a low temp to get things to the end.

More pics and comments later.

SDC

Out of the Bradley and cooling before slicing.

Ready for slicing

sliced--nice and pink--cured all the way through

Vacuum sealed and ready for the freezer.

Mrs. sdcaller and I have enough smoked chops now to last us until Spring.

Looks delicious

Had my first taste of the loins this morning. On one of them, the end was a bit uneven, so I cut it off so that the chops would be of even thickness.

This morning, I sliced it into 3 thin slices, fried them, an egg and a cheese slice and made a sandwich on a couple of pieces of toast. Delicious!

Meat was mild with a nice smoky flavor.

The process I used to make the chops, is the same I would use to cure a loin to make back bacon. Hence the thin slices and frying. Instead of doing chops, I could just as easily run the loins through my slicer and had back bacon slices to freeze instead. Did the chops, as I already have lots of back bacon in the freezer.

Should have enough back bacon and chops in the freezer, so that I do have to run the smoker in the Winter. The Bradley doesn't like wind and cold and I don't have a sheltered outdoor area to protect it.

SDC

Thanks for the step by step Ralph, enjoy.
Cheers
Kerry

Thank you for the inspiration, a really good idea.

why this step if I may ask?

why this step if I may ask?

You want to wash off the cure from the surface of the meat and remove some of it from the meat itself. It makes for milder end result.

If you look at the pics.., the chops were pink in the middle--all the way through. The cure did it's job. Once in the past, when I sliced for chops, there was a grey part in the centre. The cure had not worked all the way in. The chops were still fine and edible, but just didn't look the best.

Keep in mind the cure is "salt" based, so the soaking removes some of the salty taste.

SDC

I completely missed that part, thank you for pointing it out. So 48hrs was enough for the cure to get the job done?

I completely missed that part, thank you for pointing it out. So 48hrs was enough for the cure to get the job done?

I tried shorter time periods in the past and found that 48 hours works the best.

I also have a large 4 tined carving fork and I will pierce each side of the meat, 3 or 4 times with the fork, to help the cure get into the centre.

Trial and error, and always keep notes on what you have done, so that you know what works and what doesn't.

SDC

Mortons TQ is not available in Canada due to the nitrate/nitrite % in the product. I routinely use a product called Ready Cure. It is available in Ontario, can be found in grocery stores, and works well. Just be aware that there are many recipes online that all seem to use TQ, or pink cures from the US.

Ready Cure works - but make sure to follow the instructions on the package because it has a lower % of sodium nitrite (1%) vs TQ, or Prague pink salts, etc...

I completely missed that part, thank you for pointing it out. So 48hrs was enough for the cure to get the job done?

I tried shorter time periods in the past and found that 48 hours works the best.

I also have a large 4 tined carving fork and I will pierce each side of the meat, 3 or 4 times with the fork, to help the cure get into the centre.

Trial and error, and always keep notes on what you have done, so that you know what works and what doesn't.

SDC

Great post. I always enjoy your posts sir.

I do this same thing pretty often - wait for the loins to go on sale and then I buy 2 or 3 at a time, smoke, slice, and vac seal. Or, smoke, season, and pull, then vac seal a nice helping of pulled pork for the freezer.

I love my Bradley too. Keep up the great, informative posts!