Provided by: SmallRecipe.com
Ingredients:
| 1 gallon water |
| 6.4 oz salt (This is 1-1/4 cups of the Diamond Crystal brand Kosher salt I use) |
| 40 grams / 3 tablespoons pink salt (6.25% sodium nitrite curing salt) |
| 1/2 cup maple syrup |
| 1/2 cup sugar |
| 8 garlic cloves, peeled and rough chopped |
| 4 fresh or dried bay leaves |
| 1 tbsp dried thyme, or a generous handful of fresh thyme |
| 1 tbsp whole black peppercorn |
| Juice of 2 lemons |
| 1, 8-to-10 pound pork loin |
Steps:
- Combine all the brine ingredients in a large, non-reactive pot. Stirring occasionally, heat the brine over medium heat until the salt and sugar are fully dissolved. Let the brine cool, then pop it in the fridge to chill.
- While your brine is chilling, trim the pork loin of any excess fat and slice in half to form two, 4-to-5 pound cylinders. Put each piece of pork loin in a heavy duty, gallon-size freezer bag. Divide the brine and the aromatics evenly between the bags, squeeze out excess air and seal the bags well.
- Brine the pork in the the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, flipping the pork periodically to ensure an even brine.
- Rinse and dry the pork, then allow to dry to form a pellicle.
- Hot smoke the pork at 200 degrees until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 150 degrees.
Provided by: SmallRecipe.com
Ingredients:
| 5 pound pork loin, cut in half if you need to fit it in vessel |
| 1 gallon filtered or distilled water |
| 1 cup brown sugar |
| 1 cup white sugar |
| 3/4 cup kosher salt |
| 1 tablespoon Insta Cure #1 (Prague Powder) |
| 1 tablespoon garlic powder |
| 1 tablespoon onion powder |
| 1 tablespoon maple syrup |
Steps:
- Mix all ingredients together in a small pot, except the pork loin, over medium low heat until dissolved. Once it's dissolved, let it cool a bit. Use your meat injector and inject the brine about every 1 inch or so, from the top, about halfway down. Place the meat in the brine, and top with a saucer to keep it from floating up out of the brine.Brine in your fridge for 12-14 days.
- After 12-14 days, you'll want to test the salt level: Remove the loin and slice of a piece and fry it up. If it's too salty, soak it in filtered water for a few hours. Test it again. With the mixture above, it was perfect without soaking, but you should test it to be on the safe side.
- If you like what you taste, it's time to smoke it. Fire up your smoker, however you do your smoker, and smoke the loin at 225° for about 1.5 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 145°. Remove from the heat.That's it! Enjoy!