# Air dry cured pork tenderloin



## atomicsmoke (Dec 23, 2017)

Continuing taking care of the cuts from the half pig i got 3 weeks ago.
Tenderloin dry cured for two weeks, cold smoked, now drying.







Looks like something else , doesn't?

Also smoked three slabs of bacon along (from the same half pig)


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## PRINTER (Dec 23, 2017)

whats the recipe for this?


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## bill ace 350 (Dec 23, 2017)

Did you use an Umai bag on the tenderloin?


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## atomicsmoke (Dec 23, 2017)

No bag, no casing.


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## forkin pork (Dec 23, 2017)

I'm doing my first cured pork tenderloin, only I'm trying the Umai bags on this one. So far things are going to plan, they have lost about 25% in weight so far and looking good.
If they work out, next time will just hang in casing.

Looks good atomic and I like the idea of adding the smoke.


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## atomicsmoke (Dec 23, 2017)

Umai bag is a worry free approach. You won't be disapointed.


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## SmokinAl (Dec 23, 2017)

Do you have a curing chamber for the tenderloin, or is it just hanging in the fridge?
Al


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## atomicsmoke (Dec 23, 2017)

I dont have a curing chamber. Is hanging in the cold cellar. Being a small muscle i am not concerned with case hardening.


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## atomicsmoke (Dec 23, 2017)

PRINTER said:


> whats the recipe for this?


Just salt (3%) and cure #2 (0.25%). Cures with these for 10 days; rinse, hang overnight, cold smoke, dry to 30-35% weight loss.


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## bill ace 350 (Dec 23, 2017)

atomicsmoke said:


> I dont have a curing chamber. Is hanging in the cold cellar. Being a small muscle i am not concerned with case hardening.


What temperature is your cellar, would you say?


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## atomicsmoke (Dec 23, 2017)

Between 3-10C depending on the outside temps.


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## forkin pork (Dec 23, 2017)

Hmmm, temps seem a bit low, I may be wrong, like to see what others think


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## atomicsmoke (Dec 23, 2017)

Not my first rodeo....old school meat curing/drying.


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## forkin pork (Dec 23, 2017)

I gotcha atomic, I learned old school myself, but now in this day in age I'm getting all caught up is all the new ways and technology, my mind is so confused.


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## atomicsmoke (Dec 23, 2017)

The new techniques are great, especially for a more refined sophisticated product. But sometimes i just want some of the salted/smoked/dried meat i grew up with. Hence ...not spices added here.


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## forkin pork (Dec 23, 2017)

You know what, your 100% right!
I may need to slow down and back off a bit and get back to Ol'time basics.
Thanks for the reality check.


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## Lolley (Dec 24, 2017)

I like the first pic, I can smell it from here, I love that sort of tangy "cold smoke smell" on a fresh piece of raw meat, If I could I would tie it under my nose and leave it there all day. I'm also with you on the "no spices" approach, just the salt and heavy cold smoke give it all the flavor it needs. I do however use some garlic powder, black pepper and brown sugar on my jerky.


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## forkin pork (Dec 28, 2017)

Hows that tenderloin coming along Atomic?


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## bill ace 350 (Dec 29, 2017)

atomicsmoke said:


> Just salt (3%) and cure #2 (0.25%). Cures with these for 10 days; rinse, hang overnight, cold smoke, dry to 30-35% weight loss.




I want to try this. I have dry cured sausage/pepperoni before using recipes from books, on-line etc., but have never attempted a whole-muscle dry cure. When you specify
3% salt and .25% cure# 2, do you mean you would add salt and cure #2 equaling 3% and .25% respectively of the the weight of the meat/item to be cured?

For example, if the item to be cured weighed 10 ounces, would I cure with 3 ounces salt and .025 ounces cure #2?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but like I said, have used recipes before, but never cured a whole muscle.

Thanks


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## bill ace 350 (Dec 29, 2017)

I meant .3 ounces salt...


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## atomicsmoke (Dec 29, 2017)

bill ace 350 said:


> I want to try this. I have dry cured sausage/pepperoni before using recipes from books, on-line etc., but have never attempted a whole-muscle dry cure. When you specify
> 3% salt and .25% cure# 2, do you mean you would add salt and cure #2 equaling 3% and .25% respectively of the the weight of the meat/item to be cured?
> 
> For example, if the item to be cured weighed 10 ounces, would I cure with 3 ounces salt and .025 ounces cure #2?
> ...


No dumb questions here.

Yes, the numbers in your example are correct.


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## atomicsmoke (Dec 29, 2017)

forkin pork said:


> Hows that tenderloin coming along Atomic?


Don't know....i am out of town....hopefully losing weight slowly (the tenderloin not me).


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## backcountrylivn (Dec 30, 2017)

atomicsmoke said:


> Continuing taking care of the cuts from the half pig i got 3 weeks ago.
> Tenderloin dry cured for two weeks, cold smoked, now drying.
> View attachment 348252
> 
> ...


Looks good


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## bill ace 350 (Dec 30, 2017)

atomicsmoke said:


> No dumb questions here.
> 
> Yes, the numbers in your example are correct.





atomicsmoke said:


> No dumb questions here.
> 
> Yes, the numbers in your example are correct.




ok thanks!

Was the tenderloin "certified" (or the Canadian equivalent)?


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## atomicsmoke (Jan 4, 2018)

bill ace 350 said:


> ok thanks!
> 
> Was the tenderloin "certified" (or the Canadian equivalent)?


I dont know what that is.


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## bill ace 350 (Jan 4, 2018)

atomicsmoke said:


> I dont know what that is.


Pork that has been kept at low temperature long enough to eliminate trichinosis.


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## atomicsmoke (Jan 4, 2018)




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## atomicsmoke (Jan 4, 2018)

bill ace 350 said:


> Pork that has been kept at low temperature long enough to eliminate trichinosis.


Aha....no, this is from a pork side that was never frozen. As far as i know trichinosis is not a concern in Ontario.


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## bill ace 350 (Jan 4, 2018)

atomicsmoke said:


> Aha....no, this is from a pork side that was never frozen. As far as i know trichinosis is not a concern in Ontario.



Don't think it's much common here in the Fort Drum area either, but I've heard cautionary tales. 

Just received my temp and humidity controllers, hopefully will get a chance to try it for myself soon


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## atomicsmoke (Jan 4, 2018)

45% weight loss. 40% would have been better, but i just got home last night after a 10 day trip.


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## chopsaw (Jan 4, 2018)

Bud ,,, that looks awesome .


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## tropics (Jan 5, 2018)

That is a fantastic looking piece of meat,my mouth is watering Points
Richie


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## atomicsmoke (Jan 5, 2018)

Thank you fellows. Pork tenderloin is one of the easiest charcuterie cuts to make.


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## backcountrylivn (Jan 5, 2018)

atomicsmoke said:


> View attachment 349547
> View attachment 349548


Beautiful,just beautiful


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## forkin pork (Jan 5, 2018)

Hey looking real good, today I could not wait. I had a tenderloin drying for a while and my target weight was 1.25Lbs ..it was at 1.22.
Was gonna wait till next week but couldn't.
It tastes really super great.
Here's a pic....... Ok will check tomorrow, just learned how to up load pics to photobucket from my iPhone, it's now taking forever to upload all my photos. Hopefully post pork tenderloin tomorrow. Dam!


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## JohnsMyName (Feb 7, 2018)

Do you want to get a starting weight of the raw meet, or do you wait until it has gone through initial salt packing/just prior to hanging?


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## atomicsmoke (Feb 7, 2018)

JohnsMyName said:


> Do you want to get a starting weight of the raw meet, or do you wait until it has gone through initial salt packing/just prior to hanging?


Meat raw weight...after trimming, before curing.


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## JohnsMyName (Feb 7, 2018)

Thanks Atomic, I'm doing pork loin as my first attempt this weekend. 

Do you use cure #1 or #2 for this? I know #2 is usually used for un-cooked meat, but this is a very short cure as compared to other meats, so I'm wondering if #1 will be okay and then when finished store vac sealed in fridge?


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## atomicsmoke (Feb 7, 2018)

JohnsMyName said:


> Thanks Atomic, I'm doing pork loin as my first attempt this weekend.
> 
> Do you use cure #1 or #2 for this? I know #2 is usually used for un-cooked meat, but this is a very short cure as compared to other meats, so I'm wondering if #1 will be okay and then when finished store vac sealed in fridge?


cure#2 vs cure#1 has been debated here. Where i dry meats in winter or in an umai bag in a fridge there is little to none bacterial activity to convert nitrate to nitrite. So i doubt cure#2 provides increased protection.

If it's your first project i recommend you follow a reputable recipe to the T.

You are doing a loin or a tenderloin?


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## JohnsMyName (Feb 7, 2018)

Sorry, correction pork _tenderloin_. I have done a lot of reading and will be following a recipe for the first one.

Plan on 3% salt with cure #1 per instructions and spices. Then into the fridge for 4 days, rinse and press in fridge for 1 more day, then cold smoke for 12 hours and hang in basement room until at the 35% weight loss. Room is constant 58F in winter and I'll keep humidifier at 70-75%.

Sound like a good plan?


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## idahopz (Feb 7, 2018)

Dang, that looks fantastic! I'm definitely going to try this one because I love good charcuterie, and pork tenderloin is so lean that it will help me from gaining the weight the tenderloin loses :D


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## atomicsmoke (Feb 7, 2018)

JohnsMyName said:


> Sorry, correction pork _tenderloin_. I have done a lot of reading and will be following a recipe for the first one.
> 
> Plan on 3% salt with cure #1 per instructions and spices. Then into the fridge for 4 days, rinse and press in fridge for 1 more day, then cold smoke for 12 hours and hang in basement room until at the 35% weight loss. Room is constant 58F in winter and I'll keep humidifier at 70-75%.
> 
> Sound like a good plan?


I think 4 days is a little on the short side. I would go for 7-10 days. What is the purpose of the "press" step after rinsing? To flatten it?

Dont forget to hang it at least overnight before smoking so the pellicle can form.


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## JohnsMyName (Feb 7, 2018)

Yes, give it a more uniform thickness/shape and expel more liquid prior to pulling it. Would you skip that part?

Yes I was going to pull it for a day and then probably smoke over a 2 day period for 6 hours a day or so. 

Thanks for all the help and quick responses too. This is my first posting on this forum and I'm very happy I finally registered. :)


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## atomicsmoke (Feb 7, 2018)

JohnsMyName said:


> Yes, give it a more uniform thickness/shape and expel more liquid prior to pulling it. Would you skip that part?
> 
> Yes I was going to pull it for a day and then probably smoke over a 2 day period for 6 hours a day or so.
> 
> Thanks for all the help and quick responses too. This is my first posting on this forum and I'm very happy I finally registered. :)


Pressing it into a uniform shape will actually help with more consistent drying. You are good to go.


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## JohnsMyName (Feb 7, 2018)

atomicsmoke said:


> Pressing it into a uniform shape will actually help with more consistent drying. You are good to go.



Thanks AT!


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## bill ace 350 (Feb 10, 2018)

I have to try this. need to see if my freezer temps are low enough to treat the tenderloins before curing.


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## JohnsMyName (Feb 12, 2018)

bill ace 350 said:


> I have to try this. need to see if my freezer temps are low enough to treat the tenderloins before curing.



What do you mean by freezing to treat? I've read that -2 for 4 days will kill worms in game meat. Is this what you mean?


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## atomicsmoke (Feb 12, 2018)

JohnsMyName said:


> What do you mean by freezing to treat? I've read that -2 for 4 days will kill worms in game meat. Is this what you mean?


I understand it's 20 days at -15C.


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## JohnsMyName (Feb 12, 2018)

atomicsmoke said:


> I understand it's 20 days at -15C.



I think it depends on the pathogen/parasite you're trying to kill. I was referencing a Field and Stream article I read recently regarding worms in bear meat, but a quick Google search is getting very varied results.


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## bill ace 350 (Feb 13, 2018)

JohnsMyName said:


> What do you mean by freezing to treat? I've read that -2 for 4 days will kill worms in game meat. Is this what you mean?


I want to freeze it at the correct temperature/times to kill any trichinosis


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## mobostians (Jan 15, 2020)

atomicsmoke said:


> View attachment 349547
> View attachment 349548


Looks amazing!  How many hours of cold smoking?


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## atomicsmoke (Jan 15, 2020)

I dont remember ....probably 10-12h.


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## atomicsmoke (Apr 12, 2020)

Just finished drying another tenderloin


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