Is it possible?

breches · February 18, 2011, 01:41:04 PM

I was asked today by a friend of mine if it would be possible to smoke pork loin for a fund raiser. His thought was to do 25 pounds and that should be enough to feed 150 people. Not sure if I want to try it with my 4 rack original Bradley. Thought I might pick some of the experts brains for some advice. A) Is it possible? B) Is that enough pork loin to feed that many? C)How long might that take to smoke about four hours and finish in the oven. Any thoughts or help would be very much appreciated. I think it is too much but my wife is trying to get me to commit. Thanks much in advance for any advice. Have a great day!!!

Ka Honu · February 18, 2011, 02:25:55 PM

Not even close to enough. If you're talking about boneless pork loin (sliced), 25 pounds gives you (after about 15% cooking loss) less than 2 ounces per serving. Not even the tea and watercress crowd will stand for that.

I'd probably do pulled pork if it works for the fundraiser folks. Aside from slapping a spiral ham on the table, it's far and away the easiest way to feed the masses. If you want 4 ounces per person (the minimum, as far as I'm concerned, unless you expect each person to take only a small taster as part of a much larger spread), you'll need about 38 pounds of cooked meat for 150 people. If you're doing pulled pork (butt/shoulder), you can figure about a 45% cooking loss so you'd want to start with 58-60 pounds. You can do that comfortably in two loads in your OBS. I'd do it ahead and freeze till game day (then reheat in crockpot, chafing dish, or whatever). I'm guessing you'd need 4 hours of smoke and about another 8-10 hours (or more) per load at 225^oF to get to the internal temperature you want for pulling (200^oF). Keep an eye on the thermometer - there are too many variables to give you a more accurate estimate.

Tenpoint5 · February 18, 2011, 02:28:18 PM

Yes it is possible. I have smoked a pork loin and made pulled pork out of it for my brother. I complained the whole time that it was too good of a piece of meat to be shredding. I would say go for it and commit to smoking the meat but use pork shoulder /Boston Butt. Ka Honu beat me to it.

Ka Honu · February 18, 2011, 02:50:01 PM

Quote from: Tenpoint5 on February 18, 2011, 02:28:18 PMKa Honu beat me to it.

It's a time zone thing.

breches · February 18, 2011, 03:18:25 PM

Sorry, simple math would have helped. That number was given to me by someone else. I like the idea of pulled pork but they want something a bit more "fancy". Could it be done with sliced Pork Loin? Thanks for the help.

Ka Honu · February 18, 2011, 03:32:59 PM

A "bit more fancy?" Time to break out the aforementioned watercress sandwiches and find some new friends.

I don't cook pork loins very often so I'll defer that answer to my more knowledgeable brethren (and sistren). Good luck.

Tenpoint5 · February 18, 2011, 06:00:05 PM

Quote from: breches on February 18, 2011, 03:18:25 PM
Sorry, simple math would have helped. That number was given to me by someone else. I like the idea of pulled pork but they want something a bit more "fancy". Could it be done with sliced Pork Loin? Thanks for the help.

OK so we are cooking for the High Brow people. Since shoving Ka Honu's Watercress Sandwiches where the sun don't shine isn't an option on these folks. Yes you can smoke a pork loin and slice it. I would season then drape each loin with bacon and apply smoke for 2 hours with a temp of 225º and continue until you get to an IT of 147º. With a foil pan under to catch the drippings. Wrap the lions in foil and allow to cool. Once cooled run the loins through a slicer and make 1/8 - 1/4 inch slices and layer in the bottom of a 20 qt electric roaster. take the juices from the foil pan and from in the foil wrap mix together in a sauce pan with a little white wine and some added seasonings heat and pour over the slices. Then when you get to the fundraiser you warm the pork to 152º and serve on a bun with a dash of bbq sauce or if you really want to have fun use the bacon jam.

KyNola · February 18, 2011, 06:26:03 PM

Chris,
Hate to disagree with you but I'm going with the Old Sea Turtle on this. 25 pounds gross raw weight isn't going to feed 150 people in my opinion.

Breches, it is more than possible to do 25 pounds of pork loins in your 4 rack. 4 hours of smoke might be a little much for me but if you like it go for it.

breches · February 18, 2011, 07:46:00 PM

Ok, if I give this a shot how much gross weight of meat will I need and how long to take to the proper IT. I'm gonna give it a test run tomorrow will a couple small ones and see if I feel confident enough to pull this off. Heading to the store now to purchase my smoke vicitims for morning! Pretty nervous and really like the idea of pulled pork instead but Tenpoint has me contemplating. Thanks for all the help, you guys/girls are a great help!

Tenpoint5 · February 18, 2011, 08:39:43 PM

Quote from: KyNola on February 18, 2011, 06:26:03 PM
Chris,
Hate to disagree with you but I'm going with the Old Sea Turtle on this. 25 pounds gross raw weight isn't going to feed 150 people in my opinion.

Breches, it is more than possible to do 25 pounds of pork loins in your 4 rack. 4 hours of smoke might be a little much for me but if you like it go for it.

Wasn't quoting how much to cook. I was just trying to help with the cooking and serving side of the equation. My brain isn't into figuring out how much each person is going to be served and doing all that math stuff today. I would probably hurt myself if I tried it today.

KyNola · February 18, 2011, 09:07:46 PM

Sorry Chris. Misunderstood you.

Smokin Soon · February 18, 2011, 09:19:41 PM

Without a lot of extra equipment and about 4 days available to prep, I would honestly say "no" to that one.

Ka Honu · February 19, 2011, 12:04:03 AM

Okay, let's sort this out.

If you're doing loin for slicing, you'll probably have about 15% shrinkage. I'm guessing you should do about 1/3 pound per person if that's the only meat on the menu. Less if there are other choices (chicken, etc.). Therefore, for 150 people, you need about 50 pounds of product which equates to about 58-59 pounds raw meat. Say 60 pounds and you should be good to go with (maybe) a bit of leftovers. If there are other meats on the menu, you can cut the pork weight accordingly.

Then cook it the way 10.5 said to and you'll be a hero.

Habanero Smoker · February 19, 2011, 01:35:30 AM

Here is another thought. Pork loin does give you a lot of options. You can butterfly it and stuff with a variety of foods, and/or add a glaze. The problem with pork loin it has a tendency to really dry out when you reheat. So it is best to tightly seal in foil with a small amount of liquid and reheat it whole in a 350°F oven, then slice just before serving and top with a mild sauce that will compliment the loin.

If you have to reheat; which it sounds like you have to only take the pork loin to about 145°F. As for myself I would only take it to about 140°F if I have to reheat, but a lot of people do not like to see any pink in their pork.

breches · February 21, 2011, 06:31:46 AM

Did a test run on a four pound tenderloin this weekend and it turned out fairly well. The number of people attending this event has dropped to 100 with 125 max. Was thinking probably 45 pounds of tenderloin wrapped with bacon, dry rubbed with dark brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, garlic and onion powder and some kosher salt. Three hours of smoke with either apple or a combination of apple and hickory, remove from the smoker and finish with the oven so I can get the second batch through the smoke. I want to do all this on Saturday. Event starts on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Pop in the oven Sunday morning with some form of liquid, possibly apple juice, and when hot, remove, slice about an inch thick and send em to the table. Any ideas on how long or temp to heat on Sunday morning? Would also like someone to shoot holes in my plan or possible ideas please. Man I love this site and the knowledge and help. Thanks in advance and for the great ideas and help so far.