How to Grill a Pork Loin

Pork tenderloin contains less bones and more meat, in contrary to spare ribs. This is perfect cut meat for people who love to have pork recipes, but are concerned with the calorie count. Best prepared by baking and grilling methods, you can try tasty pork loin recipes for a perfect dinner. When cooked on the grill, it dries out very quickly and drains off the flavor. Nevertheless, with the help of simple tips given below, you can make rich flavored and juicy meat to suit the taste buds of your family members.

Anybody who has basic cooking skills can make delicious grilled pork loin. Both roast recipes and grilled recipes are common for backyard parties during summer time. The key tips for grilling a pork loin on a gas grill are preparing the cut meat, brining for some time, oiling, using proper seasoning rub and grilling for the correct time.

If you are cooking pork tenderloin, the grilling time will be lesser. The step-by-step directions are given next.

• Besides following proper grilling steps, cooking pork loin perfectly depends on the meat quality too. As you shop in supermarket, purchase fresh and good meat cut. Avoid pale brownish or grayish colored meat that indicates old cuts.

• The first step for grilling a pork loin is preparation of the meat. Using a sharp butter knife, lift the thin, shiny membrane from one end and remove it completely. This meat preparation is done to allow better penetration of oil and seasoning spices.

• After removing membrane, soak the partly prepared, lean pork loin in salt water for 8-12 hours. The brine solution can be made by dissolving 1½ tablespoons salt in half quart of water. If required, adjust the salt and water quantities for making 1 quart brine solution.

• Brining pork tenderloin keeps the grilled meat soft, as it holds more water during exposure to direct heat. Thus, you should not skip the step for soaking meat in salt water to reduce dryness during grilling.

• On the next day, remove meat from brine and rinse thoroughly under running tap water. Pat it dry with tissue papers and leave sometime for air drying. Now, your pork loin is ready for grilling.

• For cooking pork loin on the same day of purchasing, rub it with olive oil from all sides after removing the outer membrane. While grilling, the coated oil conserves moisture by reducing evaporation. Thus, by oiling, you can reduce excess dryness of the grilled meat.

• Make dry rub for ribs with your favorite ingredients. A simple recipe for dry rub seasoning is mix paprika (2 teaspoons), granulated sugar (2 teaspoons), onion salt (1½ teaspoons), garlic salt (1½ teaspoons), chili powder (½ teaspoon), ground cumin (½ teaspoon), coriander powder (½ teaspoon) and black pepper (1 teaspoon).

• Start the gas grill and adjust it to high heat setting. To grill it on a charcoal grill, be prepared with two layers of charcoal.
• Place the pieces in a large platter and apply rub with your hand, making sure that you coat the meat evenly on all sides. Place pork loin over the gas grill with the fat side down and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Then, flip to the other side, and continue grilling each of the remaining 3 sides for the same time.

• For 1 pound cut meat, the grilling time is approximately 20 minutes. While grilling time is 10-12 minutes for 1 pound pork tenderloin. After the cooking time is over, check the internal meat temperature. If it measures 160° F, the pork meat is done.

This is how you can grill flavorful pork loin with easy steps. After you are done with grilling the pork loin, allow the cooked meat to settle down a bit. It continues to cook further for sometime, even after you remove from the grill. After cooling for 5 minutes or so, cut it in slices and serve with mashed potatoes, salads, spicy sauce and your favorite side dishes.