Sous Vide Pork Loin

January 9, 2024 – 8:00 am
A slice of pork loin on a dinner plate, served with roasted potatoes and sweet peppers and a tossed green salad.

Sous vide is a method of cooking where the food is cooked by being sealed in a plastic bag and submerged in a precisely temperature controlled water bath. It makes cooking things to the exact preferred level of doneness very easy, and while it can take awhile, it’s all passive cooking, so you can wander off and do other things while your food cooks to perfection. We often do pork loin and steaks sous vide, with a sear at the end in a very hot cast iron skillet to get the tasty crust. Sous vide also works fantastically for things that need a gentle hand like custards and delicate fish.

There is a bit of an investment to start getting one, but we’ve found it worthwhile. We have a Joule and a compatible covered container that reduces evaporation. They go on sale fairly regularly, so watch for a price drop and snag one when the it hits your preferred price point.

For a larger cut of meat, like the pork loin here, I do a dry brine for a few hours before starting the cooking process, which adds great flavor and even more assures a juicy result. The leftovers are also fantastic in many things, including curry, chili, burritos, Cuban sandwiches, and more.

Sous Vide Pork Loin

Ingredients:

  • Pork Loin, about 4 pounds (look for a nice even fat cap)
  • For the dry brine:
    • 1/4 cup kosher salt
    • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • For the seasoning mix:
    • 2 tsp kosher salt
    • 1 tsp black pepper
    • 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
    • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
    • 1/4 tsp onion powder
    • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • Vegetable Oil

Instructions:

  1. Mix together the dry brine salt and sugar and rub it all over the pork loin.
  2. Seal the meat in a gallon size zip top bag and let the meat brine for 2-4 hours in the fridge.
  3. Add water to a large cooking container and clip the sous vide machine to the side. Start the heating process. We like 137 degrees F for pork loin, slightly pink and very juicy.
  4. Remove the pork loin from the brining bag, pat it dry, and season generously with the seasoning mix.
  5. Seal the meat in a clean gallon size zip top bag, using water displacement in your cooking vessel to push out the last bits of air from the bag, or, if you have one, use a vacuum sealer to seal the pork loin in a sous vide cooking bag.
  6. Cook the pork loin for 4 hours at temperature.
  7. When the cooking time is done or nearly so, pour vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a large cast iron skillet and place it in an oven that is pre-heating to 500 degrees F.
  8. When the sous vide cooking time is done and the skillet is hot, remove the bag from the water, remove the pork loin from the bag, and use tongs to transfer the meat to the skillet, fat cap side down. Sear for about 5 minutes, then rotate and sear the other sides for 3-5 minutes until the loin is nicely browned.
  9. Place the meat on a cutting board or platter, slice, and serve.

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