Pork loin for tacos

[pistolabella]

I have a 3.5 lb boneless pork loin that I got on sale, and now I'm scared to cook it because I usually prefer a butt, something with fat that I can cook slow and crisp up at the end. I have the thing at home in a brine with some citrus and dried chilies. How would you approach cooking it tonight for something like tacos? Should I roast it whole? Should I slice it up and blast it, then turn it down? Cut it into chunks first? Play with the temperatures? Any tips appreciated! I'm in unfamiliar territory with this cut.

[heidih]

I would cut up into small irregular bits, marinate with citrus, oil, garlic or the like, saute and it will be done in a couple minutes.  Taste, and if dryish, sauce quickly to keep moister. Oops see you are already in brine & citrus, but do use some oil/fat for the quick cook.

[gfweb]

Other approach would be to do it sous vide , slice thin, and then just crisp up a few bits to keep the rest juicy.

[Darienne]

Heidi, when you say "small irregular bits", just how small are you meaning? 

I don't do sous vide, but would be interested in other methods...should there be any...besides the one suggested by Heidi.  I don't buy pork loin for the same reason as pistolabella but sometimes it is so inexpensive that I am tempted.  (As it is, I feed it cut up and raw to the dogs as one of their alternative meat sources.)

[heidih]

26 minutes ago, Darienne said:

Heidi, when you say "small irregular bits", just how small are you meaning? 

 

 

Large bite size - like from first thumb knuckle to tip. That way to get more surface with flavor and they could so quickly.  I assume we are talking the loin where the meat looks "white" when cooked, though tenderloin is more flavorful..

[pistolabella]

15 minutes ago, heidih said:

 

Large bite size - like from first thumb knuckle to tip. That way to get more surface with flavor and they could so quickly.  I assume we are talking the loin where the meat looks "white" when cooked, though tenderloin is more flavorful..

Yes Heidi, it is exactly as you described - white pretty much all over when cooked.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I once made nachos with pork loin for a special visit from my nephew, that I rarely have the privilege of seeing because he's active military, along with his also active military girlfriend. They weren't tacos per se, but the meat treatment could be used very effectively for tacos.

 

I took enough pork loin for six, which is the number of people I was serving, sliced it into half inch or so boneless chops, and froze the rest of the whole loin. Then I sprinkled it with Goya adobo (which contains salt), cumin, oregano, ground chipotle, just a touch of ground cayenne, some thyme, and refrigerated these seasoned slices overnight wrapped up well. On the day of, I took a recycled produce bag, tossed the seasoned slices with plain flour to coat and fried in a little vegetable oil until golden. When done, and it doesn't take long, I removed from skillet, drained and blotted on cheap paper towels. Then I took the chops and quickly sliced into thin strips for use on the nachos.

 

I had already prepped all my other ingredients: Shredded iceberg and romaine, chopped Roma tomato, sliced black olives, Daisy sour cream, little slices of avocado, shredded cheddar, and crumbled queso fresco. I set these all out with a stainless bowl of heated tortilla chips and warmed plates and the sliced meat to let the guests assemble their own nachos, with the guests of honor first in line, of course. It was a huge hit, and I was very glad I remembered how much I used to eat when I was their age and as active as they are when estimating portions for the nephew and his girlfriend. 

 

With pork loin, it can be very good, but it needs some help. It hasn't much flavor on it's own, and it needs to be pretty quickly cooked so it doesn't dry out or get tough. There's not a whole lot of collagen or fat so trying to treat it like shoulder will result in epic fail.

 

ETA: I just remembered I also used some fragrant ground sage to season the loin chops overnight before frying.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Thanks for the Crepes
Forgot something (log)

[FeChef]

I buy pork chops on sale a lot and bought too much and wanted to get rid of them so i seared them on both sides and threw them into the PC along with some pork stock and whole dried chiles (new mexico and california) for 35 minutes. Pulled the chops and pureed everthing else in the pot. Hand pulled the chops and put them into the pureed chile sauce and ended up being one of the best pork taco's ive made to date. These pork chops were basicly pork loin with the bone still on. I believe they are calling it pork ribeye nowadays.

Edited February 5, 2016 by FeChef (log)