Pork Loin Brine Recipes

MAPLE-BRINED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Mix water, salt, 1/3 cup maple syrup, garlic, ginger, rosemary, black pepper, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Place pork loin in brine mixture and refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours.
• Remove pork from brine, pat dry, and season all sides with salt and black pepper.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Heat vegetable oil in an oven-proof skillet over high heat. Cook pork, turning to brown each side, about 10 minutes total.
• Transfer skillet to the oven and roast until pork is browned, about 40 minutes.
• Mix 2 tablespoons maple syrup and Dijon mustard together in a small bowl.
• Remove pork roast from the oven and spread maple syrup mixture on all sides. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, until the pork is no longer pink in the center. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

BASIC PORK BRINE

Steps:

• Mix water, brown sugar, and salt in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Stir in garlic and ginger.

BRINE FOR A PORK LOIN RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine your water with the salt and brown sugar and bring to a boil.
• Once the salt and sugar are completely dissolved, add your bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns and rosemary.
• Simmer for approximately five minutes at low heat.
• Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
• Once your brine formula has cooled completely, place it in a bag with a ziplock.
• Place the bag into a large bowl or a pot containing your pork loin.
• Make certain your prok loin is covered completely by the brine solution.
• Put the bowl into your refrigerator for a minimum of twelve hours and a maximum of 24 hours.

CIDER-BRINED, MUSTARD-GLAZED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Make the brine:
• Bring salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, thyme, bay leaves, 2 cups apple cider, and 2 cups water to a low boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, whisking, until sugar and salt dissolve, about 4 minutes. Transfer brine to a large bowl and add remaining 2 cups apple cider and 2 cups ice. Let cool to room temperature.
• Place pork and brine in a large resealable plastic bag; turn to coat. Seal and chill at least 8 hours.
• Roast the pork:
• Remove pork from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Let sit at room temperature 1 hour.
• Place rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 400°F.
• Season pork all over with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Sear pork, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides (including ends), 10-12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine mustard, brown sugar, syrup, and thyme in a medium bowl.
• Pour apple cider into a large roasting pan or glass baking dish. Transfer pork, fat side up, to pan. Brush all over with mustard mixture. Roast pork, basting every 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 140°F, 50-70 minutes.
• Transfer to a cutting board and let rest at least 15 minutes before slicing.
• Do Ahead
• Pork can be brined up to 24 hours ahead. Keep chilled in plastic bag.

BRINED GRILL-ROASTED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• In a small dry skillet over medium heat toast the coriander, mustard seeds, juniper berries, and peppercorns until fragrant, about 1 minute. Put them on a plate to cool. In a bowl mix the sugar and salt with 2 cups of water until dissolved. Put the pork roast into a deep bowl or a large plastic bag. Pour in the sugar and salt water. Add the toasted spices, thyme, and bay leaves. Add more water until the meat is covered. Let it sit in the brine in the refrigerator for 2 to 6 hours.
• Remove the pork roast from the brine about 1/2 hour before you will be ready to cook it to allow it to come up to room temperature. When ready to cook, heat a grill to high heat. Dry the pork, rub it with olive oil, and season it with pepper. Sear the pork on all sides to get grill marks. Move the roast to an upper rack (or over indirect heat) and put a drip pan underneath it. Cook the pork until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F, about 30 to 45 minutes. Remove to a platter, cover loosely with foil, and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.
• Before carving, add any accumulated juices to the drippings in the pan. Spoon these over the sliced pork.

BRINED PORK LOIN ROAST

Steps:

• Bring water, salt and sugar to boil.
• Add bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon stick, peppercorns and garlic.
• Simmer 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let cool to room temp.
• Pour over pork roast and marinate a minimum of 8 hours or overnight.
• Drain.
• Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees.
• Season meat with salt and pepper.
• Place in a roasting pan with meat side down.
• Drape bacon slices over the roast so the top and sides are covered with the bacon.
• Bake in pre-heated oven until internal temperature of the meat is 140 degrees.
• (Approx. 2 hours+ depending on roast size.) Let roast rest about 20 minutes before slicing.
• I've found it easiest to cut with an electric knife with the meat down and ribs up- slicing between the rib bones.

PORK LOIN BRINE

Steps:

• 1.Combine the brown sugar and salt in the water and bring to a boil. 2.Stir until dissolved and then add the rest of the brine ingredients. 3.Lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. 4.Turn off the heat and allow to cool completely to room temperature. 5.Once the solution has completely cooled (we don't want to start cooking the meat!), add the pork loin roast and brine solution to a Ziplock type bag. Seal and squeeze out as much air as possible. 6.Put the sealed bag with the now brining pork roast into a pot or large bowl, one that can hold all of the liquid in case something happens to the bag (speaking from experience here!). Place the bowl containing the brining meat into a refrigerator for at least 12 hours, up to 24 hours.