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[Clonesmoker]

I have a wedding rehearsal that I told my niece that I would do the main dish. She wanted pork loin. As fate would have it our local Hy-Vee had it on sale for $1.59/lb. I got three 8.5 -8.9 lb loins. I've smoked a lot of them in the last 5+ years. I think I want to keep them an inch or so thick so no to sandwiches.

I remember years ago a catering company that would do these for "field day".  Farmer growing a show plot of different varieties of corn and soybeans and the seed salesman would put have a field day to invite neighbors and such. They would have a caterer come in and do a meal after all the discussion about these said varieties. The reason I know this was I was in the seed research side of ag and helped develop soybean varieties.

This catering company would bring in these 5 gallon buckets of pre smoked "Iowa Chops". They would just through them on a grill for a couple of minutes to  warm them up and to get the grill marks on them. They were always fork pull apart and had this slightly salty smoky taste to them. Probably the best chops I've ever had.

Long story short, I'm looking for maybe wet bringing over dry brining and looking to some suggestions for preparation method. I've dry brined before, but maybe not long enough. My thought is to smoke them whole. Any type of input here would be greatly appreciated.

[hughver]

If you have the right equipment, wet brine, season and smoke at low temps. to an IT of 110-120 degrees, then sous vide at 145° for 4-5 hours. Slice and serve with a good sweet fruit based chutney. For me, never dry and always tender with slight smoke flavor.

[BigDave83]

No smoke involved but could be added somewhere along the line I guess.
 I have cut chops seasoned sell with salt and whatever other seasoning you like, bag them preferable flat if you are going to stack in the bag you may want to oil them to help keep them from sticking together. I then sous vide at 135° for 3 to 5 hours. At this point you could ice the bag and stash in the fridge and then grill or smoke the next day. You could just drop in some cold water to kind of shock them and then in put in to a tomato/pasta sauce of your choice and then hold at at the low or 150 to 160° setting. I did this for the guys at work and they said they were the best chops they ever had, when it came to texture and not dry, they were surprised at the red sauce.

[hughver]

I agree with 135° sous vide but it may be a bit rare for some people, not me.

[cookingjnj]

Hey Clone.  I love making chops with a wet brine.  I make a basic brine with h20, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns and a few bay leaf.  Whatever your basic brine is.   I cut down the amount of water and add a can/bottle of ginger beer (non-alcohol) for the amount of water cut out.  Depending on how much brine you make, you might need 2 or more cans of the ginger beer.  I heat the h20 add the salt, sugar, peppercorns and bay leaf to melt the salt and sugar.  Take off the heat and add the ginger beer.  Once cool I put the chops in a sealable bag with the brine for 5-6 hours.  After brine rinse the chops in cold water pat dry and season with your favorite all purpose BBQ rub (I really like the Chili Lime Rub from Oakridge BBQ).  I cook the chops on high heat about 5mins a side until internal is 145.  I go by temp more than time during the cook.  Juicy, with a little smokey flavor, and the ginger gives an excellent flavor note. 

[hughver]

Hey Clone.  I love making chops with a wet brine.  I make a basic brine with h20, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns and a few bay leaf.  Whatever your basic brine is.   I cut down the amount of water and add a can/bottle of ginger beer (non-alcohol) for the amount of water cut out.  Depending on how much brine you make, you might need 2 or more cans of the ginger beer.  I heat the h20 add the salt, sugar, peppercorns and bay leaf to melt the salt and sugar.  Take off the heat and add the ginger beer.  Once cool I put the chops in a sealable bag with the brine for 5-6 hours.  After brine rinse the chops in cold water pat dry and season with your favorite all purpose BBQ rub (I really like the Chili Lime Rub from Oakridge BBQ).  I cook the chops on high heat about 5mins a side until internal is 145.  I go by temp more than time during the cook.  Juicy, with a little smokey flavor, and the ginger gives an excellent flavor note.

Sounds like a great technique, I'll have to try it. What is your brine salt to water ratio?

[cookingjnj]

Hey hugh...I am never good with recipes and usually just go by feel and taste.  I will start with an amount of salt and water, and then add more water if needed, keeping in mind I will be adding the ginger beer as well.  I usually start with about 3 cups of water and about 1.5 - 2 TBS of course sea salt.  I usually go with 3-3.5 TBS brown sugar, about 9-10 peppercorns and 2-3 bay leaves.   I will taste the brine and ensure it is not too salty or sweet and adjust.  Once everything is melted I add the ginger beer and cool, then add the chops for 5-6 hours, rinse with cold water pat dry and add favorite rub.  I need to get more precise with recipes.  I make these chops a few times a month, so just go by feel mostly.  Great with pork loin chops, even better if they still have the bone.