3/29/19

10 Perfect Instant Pot Pork Loin Roast



Cook a perfectly seasoned and tender pork loin in your pressure cooker! It is so easy and makes a wonderful gravy, so give this recipe a try....


I've seen SO many people try cooking a pork loin in their pressure cooker and complain that it's too tough, too dry, or undercooked. Pork loin is a very lean cut of meat and will dry out unless you use the right cooking technique. If you want a shreddable pork, you'll want to use a fattier cut of pork: shoulder, butt, or country style boneless ribs. This recipe for a Sweet Pork Barbacoa is more suitable for these cuts of pork.

Today, we'll use a technique called "Sous Vide."  Sous vide is French for "under vacuum." No, we won't use a vacuum, but you'll understand what I mean later on...It's a method of cooking that ensures an even, uniform temperature all throughout the food. Never over cooked, or undercooked.






Pork loin (also known as a Pork Loin Roast) is different than pork tenderloin, as shown below. 

Pork loin is on the left, tenderloin is much smaller and is on the right in the photo.

Image from Peg's Home Cooking
TEST THE WATER 
Before we begin, you will want to test the temperature of your Instant Pot Keep Warm setting. The Instant Pot specs say there are 3 Keep Warm temps, but only list the range: 145°F - 172°F, but I find this temp to be more in the 140°-145°F range. This will give you a medium to medium rare pork.
From Serious Eats

To test your Keep Warm temp, fill your Instant Pot insert half full with water. (10-12 cups)
Push the Keep Warm button once. It will default to Normal.
The display will show 10:00 (10 hours)
Cover the pot with a lid, dinner plate, or plastic wrap.
Wait 30 minutes.
Use an accurate thermometer and take the temperature of the water.

If you have the Ultra, Smart WiFi, or Max, use the Custom temp setting. You will still want to test the temp of your water to ensure accuracy, adjusting the temp based on your results. For example, if you set it for 144°F, and your water is 140°F, set your cooker for 148°F.

My Instant Pot Duo Plus Keep Warm Test Results
Less = 135°F
Normal = 147°F
More = 169°F

LET'S GET STARTED! 

I found a HUGE pork loin at Costco - it's almost 2 feet long!


There's no way this will fit, so I cut it to 8.5" to fit into my 6 quart Instant Pot.

Measure the thickness of your meat and make a note for cook time.
This one is between 2.5"-2.75".


SEASON & BAG IT UP
Mix all the seasonings to make a dry rub. Rub this mixture all over the roast and put it into a freezer Ziploc bag. For maximum flavor, let this rub sit on the meat for 30-60 minutes, or up to 2 hours in the fridge. This is called "dry brining."


START COOKING
Lower the unsealed bag into your inner pot of water. When most of the air is removed, seal the bag and use a binder clip to attach the bag to the rim of the pot. This keeps the meat from moving around. You want the meat to be fully submerged, under the water.

You can use a FoodSaver, vacuum bags, and remove all the air to ensure that the food doesn't float. You can also use a dedicated immersion circulator that heats and circulates the water in any size pot for larger cuts of meat. I used an immersion circulator to cook a perfect medium rare steak and used this method for a quick, homemade vanilla extract!

Seasoned pork loin, with most of the air removed and ready to close

Cover your pot with plastic wrap, dinner plate or my favorite, a flat silicone suction lid.
We are not using pressure, and covering your pot will keep the water from evaporating.

Push the Keep Warm Button once.
It will default to NORMAL, light up and display 10:00 (10 hours).
Set a kitchen timer according to the chart below.

My fresh pork loin is between 2.5"-3", so I will use a 2.5 hour cook time.

    Fresh                     Frozen
2"    1 hour 30 min     2 hr 15 min
2.5" 2 hours               3 hr
3"    3 hours               4 hr 30 min
3.5" 3 hr 45 min         5 hr 40 min
4"    5 hr                    7 hr 30 min


**If you have the Instant Pot ULTRA, Smart WiFi or MAX, you're in luck! **
Use the CUSTOM temperature setting, select 144°F and use the cooking time chart above.

SEAR
You can grill or pan sear your meat. After the cook time has finished, put a little bit of cooking oil in a pan over high heat. You can use your Instant Pot to brown your meat, using SAUTE on its highest setting (Push the Saute button repeatedly until More/High is lit on the display).

Remove your meat from the bag (Save the juices in the bag!) and sear for 30 seconds on all sides. Transfer your meat onto a plate and cover it with aluminum foil to keep it warm while you make the gravy.

Checking the temp with my favorite Digital Thermometer

MAKE GRAVY 
Slowly add the 1/2 cup of chicken broth & remaining liquid contents in the freezer bag to your browned bits, or "fond," whisking and scraping off any browned bits as you go.
This is called, "deglazing."


In a separate bowl, make a "kneaded butter" by combining the all purpose flour and softened butter. The butter coats the flour particles and when put into a hot liquid, the butter melts, releasing flour particles without creating lumps.

Add this in your hot pan, stirring until thickened, about 3-4 minutes.

SLICE IT UP AND SERVE!

FAQ - (visit Serious Eats for more FAQ)
Is Pink Pork Safe to Eat?
If you are pregnant, elderly or very young, you may want to use the 145°F guideline for cooking pork.
These days, eating pink pork is just as safe as eating rare roast beef, according to Serious Eats.
As long as you are:
1. properly stored
2. cleanly cut meat
3. sear the exterior before serving

The risk for consuming rare pork is minimal.
At 130°F, the bacteria on the surface of the meat is actively being destroyed. Every moment your meat is in the cooker, it becomes safer to eat. You can read more about pork meat safety here.

Is Cooking in Plastic Safe?
From Cook's Illustrated:
"High-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and polypropylene are considered the safest plastics. Many name-brand plastic bags are made with polyethylene and polypropylene. These types of plastic are resistant to the sub-boiling temperatures involved in sous vide cooking, and they are also considered safe in and of themselves."  Ziploc baggies are BPA free, but can fail when temps are above 150°F. Use a freezer Ziploc bag instead. 



print recipe

Perfect Instant Pot Pork Loin 
Use this fantastic spice rub for ultimate flavor. This recipe uses sous vide cooking techniques that create a perfectly moist and cooked pork loin. You can smoke or grill your meat after cooking for additional flavor. Reserve the liquid in the bag to make a fantastic gravy to serve over the meat.
Ingredients
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon Seasoned Salt (Season All)
  • 3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  • pork loin, about 3-4 pounds
  • 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
  • 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 1 Tablespoon butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup of chicken broth (I like to use Better than Bouillon)
  • Gallon size freezer Ziploc bag
  • Enough water to fill your pot insert half full (10-12 cups)
Instructions
1. Mix together all the dry seasonings. 2. Sprinkle seasoning over meat, rubbing on all sides. 3. Place seasoned meat in freezer baggie, or use vacuum sealer. Close baggie and put seasoned meat into the fridge for 30-120 minutes.4. Remove meat from fridge and open freezer baggie (leave vacuum sealed bag closed). Pour water into pot insert and select Keep Warm. Cooker will default to Normal, 10:00 hours. If using the Ultra, Smart WiFi or Max, Select the Custom setting to 144°F.5. Lower the bag of meat into the water, until most of the air has been removed and seal the bag closed.6. Set a kitchen timer for time according to meat thickness on the chart below.7. When cook time is up, remove the meat from the bag, reserving the liquid.8. In a saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil over over high heat. When oil is shimmering, sear meat for 30 seconds on all sides, set aside, and cover with aluminum foil.9.Reduce heat to medium-high. Slowly add the chicken broth, and remaining liquid from the freezer bag, scraping off any browned bits from the pan.10.Combine all purpose flour, softened butter, till no flour is visible.  Put the kneaded butter into hot liquid, cook and stir until thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Slice the meat, and serve hot, with gravy.
Fresh                     Frozen
2"    1 hour 30 min     2 hr 15 min
2.5" 2 hours               3 hr
3"    3 hours               4 hr 30 min
3.5" 3 hr 45 min         5 hr 40 min
4"    5 hr                    7 hr 30 min
Details
Prep time: 15Cook time: 1.5 -5 hoursTotal time: 2-5 hoursYield: 6-8 servings 

10 comments:

  1. have both a 6-qt and 8 qt. IP Ultra. I have not done any sous vide in this pot, so I'm anxious to try. I do klnow their are instructions available to do that in my instant pot. Thanks for the technique.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome! I know it's not as fast as pressure cooking, but I'm enjoying the consistent results I get with sous vide cooking. Perfect temp, every single time...no surprises. Let me know how it turns out for you. :-)

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  2. Frieda this came out perfect... and that gravy!! (The best I’ve ever made) I have the Ultra and during the water test it was coming up an exact 5 degrees lower then it should be so I just added +5 to the temp. My family loved this, thank you for sharing and teaching me yet another new way to use the IP! ��
    5 stars for this one! Definitely a keeper!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for leaving your kind review - I'm thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe!

      Delete
  3. May water test resulted in a temp of 160....should I just reduce the cook time? I can't seem to figure out how to lower that temp. I have the IP-LUX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, I wouldn't reduce the cook time for this method of cooking. 160°F will give you a well done pork roast without being tough or chewy. You can use this temp and method to cook chicken breast to 160°F (dark meat needs to be 165°F). :-)

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  4. My Lord, this is THE BEST PORK LOIN I have EVER eaten!!! The texture is like a rib eye roast, not dry, not tough, and the gravy...oh my goodness!!!! I have never enjoyed pork loin as they are generally tough and dry no matter what. This recipe and method is a keeper for sure. As a matter of fact I am going to be eager to purchase this cut of meat instead of avoiding it. THANK YOU FOR THIS AMAZING RECIPE ❤ I will look forward to more of your recipes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm SO glad that you are enjoying this recipe! I agree, the texture is like a perfect steak and the gravy is to die for. Thank you for sharing your experience & results with my recipe. Enjoy! :-)

      Delete
  5. I have recently joined Butcher Box, and get my meat delivered frozen. I have recently found that cooking meat directly from frozen comes out amazingly tender. Have you tried this method for Pork Sirloin?
    - Genevieve

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! Use the chart above and cook it directly from frozen. 🙂

      Delete

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