Smoked Pork....Brine & Rub

For Christmas, I got my husband an inexpensive smoker.  This year was also the first year we raised pigs so we have a freezer full of pork.  What a great combination...smoked pork.  I thought I would share a brine and rub recipe from our first attempt at smoking meat.

Pork Loin Brine

1 gallon water

2 1/2 cups canning salt

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ginger

1 Tbs powdered garlic

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp basil

1 tsp rosemary

(Capper's Farmer Summer 2014)

Combine all the ingredients and stir until sugar and salt are dissolved.  You can freeze portions of this until you need it.  

A sirloin pork roast

We placed a pork roast in a plastic bag with some of the brine and refrigerated it overnight.  Brining adds flavor and results in a moister meat.  Basically you are placing the meat in a salt solution which results in a scientific process called osmosis. This process seeks to equalize the amount of salt on the outside of the meat with the amount on the inside. The salt and seasonings are drawn into the meat fibers adding to the flavor of the meat and keeping it moist.

After the brining, we rubbed all the sides with this dry rub.

Carolina Dry Rub

1/4 cup ground black pepper

1/4 cup paprika

2 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs salt

1/2 Tbs chili powder

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

 (Capper's Farmer Summer 2014)

Mix the rub and store in a sealed container.

After a rub you could mop the meat with your favorite BBQ sauce.  We decided to try it without sauce.  

We smoked the meat at 200 degrees until the internal temperature was 170 degrees. It was delicious and moist.  We are excited about trying new recipes.  Please share your wealth of knowledge about brines, rubs, sauces, and smoking meats.

Our side dish was roasted root crops  from our garden.....potatoes, golden beets, beets, and carrots. 

Root Crop Recipes 

Growing Root Crops