Homemade Smoked Pork Loin

Smoked Pork Loin served with roasted mushrooms, baby urugula and lettuce salad 

This is one of those unexpected flavors that worked well together. The pan-roasted mushrooms gaved that tacky earthy flavor and well contrasted with the balsamic vinaigrette, that tangy strong bite of urugula which is neutralized with the bland lettuce and that smokey taste of every bite of the homemade smoked tender loin (courtesy by Chef B.)   The flavors are dancing in the tongue of every bite which was really enjoyable that i cant afford to miss a post about it.  Oh well, i wouldn't remember it for sure after sometime, which makes this blog handy.  

I am not going write much about the salad because it is easy to make.  Let me write about how this smoked tender loin was made because it entailed a lot of processes and expertise to do it. Practice makes perfect indeed, and this one is nailed perfectly.

Oh well, Chef B isn't really blogging but I can do it for him! (winks!) I think i can do his recipe it if i had more patience! ssshh.  I had a lengthy interview while enjoying dinner last night. Don't tell him I blogged about it. Anyway, its not for him.  I will keep the recipe for our budding little Chef L.

Here's how he made the Smoked Pork Loin:

1.  Prepare a brine which is a mixture of 200g of salt per liter of water and freshly ground pepper.

Make sure the whole meat is soaked in the brine for a day and half at room temperature

2. Remove from the brine and soak meat in plain water for at least 2 hours. Pat Dry with a kitchen towel.

3. Whilst the meat is still moist, roll it on a bed of freshly ground pepper until all the surface of the meat is fully covered with pepper.

4. In goes the meat to the smoker for 5 hours at a very low temperature in continuous smoking.  He used mixed of Hickory and apple cider wood chips.

5. Chill the meat when done.  Wrap it cling wrap tightly until ready to serve. Slice as thinly as you can to serve.

This smoked loin has a perfect texture with just the right tangy flavor and succulent to the bite.

This goes well with this salad which was made by pan roasting the mushrooms, then toss with the leaves (baby urugula and lettuce).  Vinaigrette was made with fresh ground garlic (1 clove), salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Mix the vinaigrette until emulsified and drizzle over the salad.

For winter soups, we usually chop the loin finely and sprinkle it over our soup.  It eventually will sink and invisible therefore our little chef calls it "treasure" as she has to find the sinkers.  If she doesn't like asparagus soup, we negotiate with the "treasures" and she eventually loved asparagus soup.  Mushroom soup is not a problem, she just loved it since first serving, but she doesn't eat mushrooms! thats when she can see them on her plate. It is the sight of it she doesn't like but when blended, she cant see the mushrooms! By far, the "treasure" trick is still working.  She'll bust me out one day like how she busted me with the toothfairy!

#thekitchenjournal #homemade