Pork loin chops wrapped in bacon and grilled to perfection.
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 4 pounds whole pork loin
- 4 large oranges zest and juice
- 1 large lemon zest and juice
- 4 cloves garlic grated
- 1/4 cup coarse kosher salt
- butcher's twine
- 8 slices thick-sliced bacon
- vegetable oil; as needed
- cajun seasoning; butt kickin' blacken original recipe, as needed
- coarse kosher salt; as needed
- Carbohydrate 17.031404166706 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.2112 g
- Fiber 3.83200008074443 g
- Protein 1.49626666666667 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0272 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (460g)
- Sodium 4652.00598559019 mg
- Sugar 13.1994040859616 g
- Trans Fat 0.10192 g
- Calories 65 calories
Step-by-step
- Trim the fat and silver skin from the pork loin, then cut it into 8 equal pieces. Each chop should be 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" thick. If your pork loin isn't large enough, you may get only 6 pieces out of it. The thick chops, will end up more tender and moist after they've been cooked on the grill.
- Mix up the ingredients for the marinade. Then, place the pork chops, and the marinade into a plastic bag. Set this in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours, but you could leave it as long as 48 hours without harming the chops.
- Cut the butcher's twine into lengths that will go around each chop, with a bunch additional length. Make sure you cut a couple of extra strings, because you might drop one or two on the floor like I usually do.
- Wrap the bacon around each chop, then tie with the twine.
- Set them on a platter, drizzle with the oil, put a heavy dusting of blacken and a little Kosher Salt on each chop, and rub it in well. Turn them over, and do the other side.
- Cook over a fairly low fire, on the grill. Mine was on for about 50 minutes this time. Cook to an internal temperature of 140 - 145 degrees, with an instant read meat thermometer. When each is done, place on a platter and cover with aluminum foil to rest. I found that I took 4 off the first go-round, then gave it another five minutes. As they cook, you'll feel them begin to firm up. If they're still squishy, they probably aren't done yet.
Charred bacon fat drips over thick pork cuts, filling the yard with smoke while citrus and garlic crust against the grates. Lean center-cut loin dries out aggressively over open flames unless managed through heavy brining and precise temperature control. Twenty-four hours submerged in cider vinegar, orange juice, lemon juice, and coarse salt alters the protein structure so the meat retains moisture during a slow fire. Leaving the meat in this acid-heavy liquid past forty-eight hours transforms the exterior into a mealy texture before it ever reaches the heat.
Controlling the grill requires managing two distinct cooking zones since thick cuts demand lower heat to cook internally before the exterior chars. Thick-sliced bacon secured with butcher twine renders slowly over fifty minutes, insulating the exterior while the center absorbs heat. Applying vegetable oil and Cajun seasoning creates a paste that adheres to the pork surface, forming a dark crust during the long cook time. Substituting lemon juice for lime alters the final acidity balance, while omitting the vinegar entirely removes the necessary tenderizing agent that breaks down dense muscle fibers.
Pulling the meat off the grill relies on monitoring internal temperature rather than guessing based on exterior color alone. Inserting an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the cut guarantees accuracy at 140 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Meat pulled below this threshold remains undercooked, while exceeding 150 degrees dries out the interior despite the bacon wrapping. Resting the cooked pieces under aluminum foil allows internal juices to redistribute evenly throughout the dense muscle tissue before serving.
