[ed-Seth: Thanks again to Matt Gase, Michigan grad and CEO of Eat Well Embrace Life, for being a most excellent sponsor of Joe Pichey’s most excellent recipes.
I don’t know if you’re allowed to do this, but I had the three-Peppers (no relation) hummus today with a burrito. It’s… it’s glorious. Don’t judge me.]
I have been waiting for this recipe all season. I am not kidding you. If you don’t believe me, just ask Seth how many time I texted him pics of my loin over the last few weeks. There is something sexy about pork covered in a sweet and spicy glaze just staring at me from across the room. That sweet scent permeating my nostrils and calling my name. GOBLUEBBQ….GOBLUEBBQ….GOBLUEBBQ. OK, no more beers for me. This is easily a top 5 recipe for me and is way easier that you think it would be. It requires very little grill skills and can be done in the oven if needed. Trust me, your tailgate guests will be salivating over your loin before its all said and done. This is a 3-4 cook, so don't forget to support our great sponsor and do some hummus dipping while you wait. I went with the edamame hummus this week. Fantastic flavor with some veggies and wheat thins!
Ingredients:
- Bone-In Pork Loin (5 - 7 bones)
- Meat Church Honey Hog Rub (meatchurch.com)
- Peach Jam
- Habanero pepper or Jalapeno Pepper Chopped into tiny pieces. (Seeds Removed)
Brine : Mix all ingredients and bring to rolling boil for 5 mins or until sugar and salt dissolve. Let cool.
3 cups water
1.5 cups Kosher Salt
1.5 cups brown sugar
3 sprigs or fresh thyme
1 Teaspoon black peppercorns (Whole)
5 cups Apple Cider
[After the JUMP: fat is flavor. And a doggie]
Directions:
The bone-in pork loin or center-cut rib roast as it’s also called is a nice combination of baby back ribs and pork loin. I look for one with a nice fat cap on the exterior that will help keep everything super moist throughout the 3 - 4 hour cooking process. You can see the fat cap on the bottom. Do not remove this. Fat is Flavor.
The first step is to remove the silver skin from the rib section. Notice the nice pink color on this sexy thing.
After this is gone, it’s time to toss it in the brine for a minimum of 6 hours. You can go up to 12 hours, but I wouldn’t go any longer than that. The meat tends to get a little mushy after 12 hours. Dip some hummus here as well. You have 6 strong dippable hours ahead.
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After 6 hours, you can see how the color of the loin has changed. It is definitely darker.
Fire up your grill or smoker to 250 - 275 degrees and add some pecan chunks. If you are using a gas grill, set it up for indirect heat and add some wet wood chips to a foil pouch and set on the burner. Season your loin with your favorite sweet rub. I went with Meat Church Honey Hog for this one. The color on this rub is fantastic as is the overall flavor on pork. Just wait until you see how this looks once it’s done. Place it on the grill with the fat cap up. The bones are on the bottom and will help protect the meat against any unexpected flare ups.
I let this go for about an hour before I started spritzing with apple cider. It’s not mandatory, but it helps keep things moist. This is how it started to look after only 90 minutes. I added my temp probe to monitor the internal temperature of the meat.
Here we are after 3 hours and an internal temperature of 130 degrees. This is when you want to add a layer of your habanero peach glaze. Just combine your peach jam and chopped up habanero bits and spread over the loin. If you can find a Habanero peach jam already made, perfect. If not, just make your own. I was able to add 2 layers of peach glaze before it reached 140 degrees. This beauty is done at 140 - 145 degrees.
Once you hit 140 degrees, remove from the heat and tent with some foil. The internal temp will continue to rise a few degrees, but it’s ok.
It’s best to let it rest for about 15 mins so the juices redistribute. If you slice into the loin immediately, the juices will run out and you’ll end up with a dry piece of meat. Just remember….You can’t stop all juices, you can only hope to contain them. Sorry, I couldn’t help it.
After 15 minutes, slice between the bones into individual chops and enjoy. These had a nice smoke ring along with a sweet and sticky exterior that everyone loved. The Meat Church Honey Hog was perfect alongside the peach glaze.
Yes, I may have picked a piece of meat off that bottom chop for Smokey Bones to sample. He was wearing his game day bow tie and waited patiently. How could I not give him some? He says GO BLUE!
