Taste Test #2: House-cured pork loin

[Syzygies]

This was part of Sunday dinner with the neighbors:

I bought a 4.2 lb bone-in pork loin, and divided it roughly in half, into very meaty country ribs, and a boneless loin. I made a brine following Paul Bertolli's instructions in "Cooking by Hand", heating carrots, onions, celery, parsley, herbs, spices, salt and sugar in 4 kg of water, then chilling before adding the pork to brine for three days.

It is crucial to nail the quantity of salt, and this requires accounting for the water in the pork. Estimating the pork as 70% water (this is too high, because of the bones, but also too low, because of the veggies. Perhaps this cancels!), I got a total of 5335g water, to which I added 2.5% sea salt, or 133 g, and 90 g sugar. This makes for a very light ham, which is how we like it.

I cooked the country ribs for 6+ hours at 210 F to 225 F, and cooked the loin for 2+ hours to an internal temperature just over 140 F. I cut the ribs into individual ribs, and thinly sliced the loin. This makes for a very practical and delicious way to serve this meat. It was a hit; this amount of salt was just right for us.

Again, the KK extruded coconut charcoal was a pleasure to cook with, imparting a very close to neutral taste, so my smoke pot filled with apple chips could rule the day. This is why I buy this grade of charcoal; I consumed about four pounds net for this burn (starting with 8 lbs, recovering 4 lbs), and that expense was the least of my worries. I was instead trying to nail the meal; I can't afford the French Laundry, and I'd rather eat at home. (The neighbor's dogs were inside to keep them from getting too jealous, and they literally broke a screen to get out, spending the rest of the evening frolicking around us with our dog.)