Has anyone par smoked say a pork loin or extra thick pork chops and package of freeze to be finished at a later date. I want to fire up the smoke for smoked pork chops but with only two of us I don't want to have to make so many that we have them every night for a week. I was wondering if anyone has done a partial smoke for color and flavor and finish cooking a different time.

Seems like it would work. Just go very slow/low temp.

Finish in an oven-I've been thinking about it myself.

The big issue may be chilling fast enough to avoid contamination.

Maybe vacuum seal then drop in an ice bath?

I do a batch of whole bone-in pork loins every year for thick tasty chops we can pull out and warm up anytime. Me and a few other friends got 4 whole loins and smoked them last November. We brine them overnight, smoke to ~145, let them rest, refrigerate overnight, cut thick chops, vacuum seal and freeze. I have never partial smoked a loin.

Curious as well, but the latter has always deterred me as for such quantity, would be cooking for other people

The danger zone—food should not be between 140°F and 40°F for more than two hours.

quote:

Originally posted by xantom:
I do a batch of whole bone-in pork loins every year for thick tasty chops we can pull out and warm up anytime. Me and a few other friends got 4 whole loins and smoked them last November. We brine them overnight, smoke to ~145, let them rest, refrigerate overnight, cut thick chops, vacuum seal and freeze. I have never partial smoked a loin.

That looks amazing! After you thaw them, how do you reheat them?

JP

Cast iron, or microwave if I'm in a hurry. Also can be cubed up for stir fry.

xantom has the plan.

Xantom! Those Chops look delicious

I Buy smoked chops from a local grocery/butcher shop. And usually heat ours up on the Gas grill.

I think if you vacuum seal them hot, then drop them in a bucket of ice water with an immersion pump running, to keep the water moving, it should drop the temp rather quickly.

1# of ice for every pound of water and meat, should make the math work.

(1 BTU per pound of water, per degree, 144 BTU per pound ice. Obviously a healthy fudge factor in that math.)

Explain the brine thing to me, I’ve never done that-unless soaking ribs in dails for a few days in a ziplock in the fridge. But it’s super salty in a soy sauce way and leaves that flavor in the meat

quote:

Originally posted by xantom:
I do a batch of whole bone-in pork loins every year for thick tasty chops we can pull out and warm up anytime.

You posted those yummy pictures without any "protection" at all? In this crowd, you're asking for trouble! They look absolutely delicious!

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Explain the brine thing to me, I’ve never done that-unless soaking ribs in dails for a few days in a ziplock in the fridge. But it’s super salty in a soy sauce way and leaves that flavor in the meat

I just do a salt water solution overnight in food grade 5 gallon buckets. It's not necessary but I think it adds some flavor to an otherwise pretty bland piece of meat.

Problem:

It's too much work to smoke small portions.

Solution:

Smoke two or more small portions, finishing one portion to completion, while pulling the other portions off early, freezing them, thawing them, and finishing them at some future point.

Say it take 5 hours to smoke a small portion. Does the time change drastically to smoke two small portions or or is it the same 5 hours plus a little? Assuming about the same time and pulling the extra portions at the halfway point, it take 5 hour for the first option, then 2 1/2 hours for each additional portion. Two portions would be 7 1/2 hours of cooking; 5 of which would be cooking the too small portions you were seeking to avoid. Three portions would be 10 hours of cooking; 7 1/2 of which would be the too small portions.

How would that be better than cooking two or more small portions for 5 hours to completion in the first place and then freezing the extra for reheating later?



Plath's Meats in Rogers City, MI sells smoked pork chops. I heat them on the grill. Crazy thing: my daughter likes grilled chicken; she even does the marinade, likes the smoked pork chops heated on the grill, but won't touch a grilled fresh pork chop marinaded or not.