A Tale of Two Piggies (qview too)

[farnsworth]

I bought a pair of 3 lb boneless pork rib roasts to cook up for the weekend. They look great, nicely marbled across the surface with a thin fat backing and solid through the middle. As I have two, I decided to try different approaches and have my own kitchen contest to see which the family likes best.

So here we go,



Contestant #1:
Made a marinade for overnight of
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sea salt
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp dried thyme
2 cups apple juice

All of this mixed up with an immersion blender to break up the thyme a bit and get it all dissolved. Into a plastic bag and left to rest overnight at 36*F.

Contestant #1 is going to be stuffed with an apple/pear/mango salsa before hitting the smoker...that'll come later

Contestant #2:
Coat with yellow mustard and put in the cold cellar overnight with a rib-style dry rub of
2 tbsp Lawryâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]sÂ[emoji]174[/emoji] Seasoned Salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp chile powder
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder




And down they go for the night.....


Updates as they come...Cheers,

 

[hungryjohn]

I look forward to seeing how your experiment/comparison turns out.

I like to try cooking things two different ways and see how they turn out.

John

 

[werdwolf]

Great comparison, can't wait to see the final result.

 

[farnsworth]

Part II:

Followup to the meal.

The fruit salsa for #1:


1 mango, 1 Bartlett pear, 1 Red delicious apple and 1 Golden delicious apple, coarsely chopped
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 pinch Kosher salt
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp brown sugar
cracked black pepper to taste




About 1/2 of the fruit was used to stuff the roast after cutting a 'pouch' in it from one end with a long sharp knife. The remaining fruit went into the blender to make a sauce for the roast - add another tbsp of olive oil - some of this sauce was used to baste after the first hour, the rest kept to mix with the drippings as a sauce at the table.




Meanwhile, #2 received a coating of Brown Sugar on top of the rub and the two went into the smoker together



Smoked at 240*F with a mix of Sugar Maple and Apple chips for 2 hours to internal temp of 150*F. Basted at 1 hour and 1 1/2 hours with fruit salsa for #1 and apple juice/apple cider vinegar for #2.

Moved both to a grill preheated to 500*F for 10 minutes to brown up the outside.





From the grill, rested the two roasts in foil in a cooler for 60 minutes before slicing. Checked the temp on both roasts while resting and the solid roast peaked at 178*F, the stuffed roast at 165*F. I could have pulled the rubbed roast a little while earlier for the cooler but it didn't end up overdone.



The fruit stuffed roast was very moist and the fruit still had a slight crispness to it. That really complemented the pork. The dry rubbed roast had more of a 'rib' flavour and was also quit moist. Served with roasted veggies to round out the meal.



And the verdict? It's a split decision: My wife and I favoured the fruit stuffed pork roast while my boys both preferred the dry rubbed one. Both were excellent!

 

[slanted88]

I like it! Fine job!

 

[cowgirl]

Both look excellent!!

Mmmmm!!

 

[jaye220]

Great Q-View...I love doing side-by-sides and you showed it well. Points to you.

 

[ganny76]

Very nice. Points for you my friend.

 

[grothe]

Great smoke!
Both look delicious!

 

[bigbaldbbq]

Very nice!!

 

[fired up]

Those look really tasty.

 

[djacob]

MMMmmmmm my mouth is watering, beautiful

Dave

 

[darrin]

Very nice. I'd give you points if I could.

 

[beerguy]

Awsome! Thanks for the Q-veiw.

 

[smokeguy]

I love the comparison smokes! Both of them look great!

 

[bman62526]

Farnsworth,

Great job - looks awesome!

Can you elaborate on exactly how you stuffed that pork loin? I recently experimented with the "butterflied" loin, or cutting it into a sheet and rolling it - like a fatty - but the results weren't quite what I was expecting. Just wondering how you accomplished this.

 

[keith54]

Great look'n smoke...I can taste them from here!

 

[farnsworth]

Greeting Bman

The pork rib roast is boneless and pretty solid. After unbagging it from the marinade...



the roast is in still just one piece. It's not rolled or anything. I cut a slit in one end with a sharp knife and worked the knife down the inside, basically turned the roast into a pouch, slicing along the inside and trying not to cut through the walls or the bottom.



Sort of like a hot water bottle made of meat

Cheers,

 

[morkdach]

wow thanks for the great qviews

 

[bman62526]

Yes, that is most excellent...

Good job with the pics and the detailed description. I think I'll try that method.

I just did my first "rolled" pork loin two days ago...as I mentioned, where you cut it into a sheet, a la fatty.

It could have been my execution, or the stuffing, etc...but it was a little dry. KEEP IN MIND...I was at a band meeting and I texted the Mrs. to turn down the oven from 325 to 200 -- about 30 min. before I was to arrive home. I didn't panic when she didn't respond, but alas - I got home and she had crashed out and didn't get the msg.

So - that is a big reason for a little dryness, but also - the texture wasn't what I was hoping for. I know the cut of meat was good, so...

I guess the point is, I may try that other method again someday while keeping an eye on it better, but for now, I'll give your method a try.

If it ever stops raining - I'll que it up!

Thanks,

B.