Pork loin: cook whole or boil in pieces in pressure cooker??

Question

I have a 3 pound boneless center cut pork loin roast.

I intend to boil it in my pressure cooker, and taking the resulting meat (along with some home made chicken bone broth and potatoes) to make a stew for lunch. 

Lately, I've been cutting beef chuck roasts into small pieces before boiling in my pressure cooker which makes eating at work for lunch more convenient (no knife & fork need at lunch). It's really delicious!

Can I (should I) cut the pork before cooking? (or cook it whole)?

I cooked the 3 pounds of cut up beef for 30 minutes in the pressure cooker. Any guesses on how long to cook the pork?

It's 11pm Tuesday, and I'll be cooking this tomorrow morning (6am) so if you have an suggestions for this first attempt, I'd certainly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Mike

Answer

Pork loin is already a tender muscle. Pressure cooking it will destroy the texture and overcook it. Save the pressure cooker for pork shank or shoulder.

Roasting that loin in a 400 degree oven until it reaches 140 degrees will result in a dish that better plays to pork loins strengths.

Answer

If you want meat for a stew, choose another cut like shoulder. Loin has no connective tissue and little to no fat/marbling, so it is best cooked quickly. Otherwise it ends up dry and tasteless. 

I have often made a pork loin roast - it takes only a few minutes searing and then about 45 minutes in a hot oven (375F) - but I really don't care for loin in any way other than escalopes or chops, preferably with the bone on, quickly sauteed with some moisture, because it is such a lean cut.

Answer

Pork loin is like filet: a low-flavor tender cut. While you can cook it in the pressure cooker, it gains nothing from the process in terms of flavor compared to roasting. Pork shoulder is much more suited to the pressure cooker.

Answer

You'll destroy the pork loin in a pressure cooker.

It will be dry and unappetizing.

Its much simpler just to roast it. The results will be a lot bettter too.

If you want stew, use a stewing cut like shoulder

Answer

I'm with those who recommend roasting.

I would, however, brine it for about 72 hours in the fridge before roasting. (good brined pork recipe in (The Chez Panisse Cookbook).

By doing this tou can safely roast to only 130 degrees and have very tender succulent pork.

Answer

Please..find a nice marinade you like and roast it in the oven to about 150 degrees.

To each his own but to use a PC is a waste of a nice piece of meat.

Answer

Respect the meat, man. An animal has given its life to offer you sustenance and pleasure, don't dishonor that by choosing inappropriate cooking methods. Please honor the animal and respect the ingredients you use. A pressure cooker is appropriate for certain dishes or certain foods, but it is not an all-purpose, cook everything appliance.

Answer

I've followed Mike's conversation about Pressure Cooker vs Roast with great interest. I have a question which I hope some can answer.

I thought the whole point of Pressure Cooker is to cook quickly under high heat & because it's quick food tastes better & fresher not dried out & over cooked.

Obviously a lot of people think that's wrong. Why?

Answer

Many cooks recommend cutting it into 2"-4" pieces for 2 reasons:
1) The smaller pieces are easier to brown, and more surface area is browned when you have separate pieces. If you don't care about browning for extra flavor, then this is irrelevant.
2) Smaller pieces are easier to fit into the pot and faster to cook (faster to pressurize). That's because it's easier for heat to conduct into the meat's interior if the pieces are smaller.

Answer

In contrast to all the nay sayers, I recently had good success with a loin roast in the pressure cooker.

It was a 2lb center cut rib roast - 4 ribs, minus the chine bone. I marinated it with herbs, wine and oil. Then seared it in my Instant Pot (electric PC). Then I cooked it on the meat cycle, standing on the bones, with 1c liquid. Cooked for 22 minutes, followed by slow release.

Interior temp was 140, but the seared ends were drier. While the ends may have had more flavor, I preferred the texture of the interior. I'm inclined to try reverse searing next time - or just focus on searing the fat cap, but not the lean ends.

The key to my success was the correct final temperature, and with the closed PC, that is a matter of luck, getting the timing just right. In contrast in an oven I can follow the temperature with a continuous read probe.

Answer

Mike,
The best way to cook pork loin, or virtually any meat, is sous vide. In a sense, it's the opposite of pressure cooking. Instead of high heat for a short time (pressure cooking reaches 250F at 15psi), sous vide cooks at low heat for a long time (140F at 1.5-4 hours). The secret is that the heat is precisely controlled, and the meat is poached in it's own juices in a pouch, so there is no additional water to dilute the meaty taste (as there would be in braising and pressure cooking). 

With sous vide, chuck steak can taste like filet mignon (after about 30 hrs at 130F... Seriously, 30 hours) and an inedible round London Broil can become steak-like (130F for 8-14 hours). Most meats only take about an hour since they have fewer connective tissue to break down. I will never make chicken breasts any other way. The texture is indescribable. Unlike normally-cooked chicken breasts, it's never dry or stringy -- and the texture is almost like dark meat, without the additional fat. And sous vide hard boiled eggs also achieve a texture that is nearly impossible with normal techniques. The yolks have a smooth custardy texture, unlike the crumbly yolks one normally gets by boiling.

Being a wet cooking method (like pressure cooking), you obviously won't get caramelization, the Maillard reaction or a crispy exterior. I'm normally too lazy to care. But if I have guests, I can sear the meat for 2 mins, put under the broiler or pull out the torch.

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/07/sous-vide-pork-tenderloin-recipe.html

As for pork loin, I've compared stovetop braising, pressure cooking and sous vide and sous vide wins hands down. There is no guessing or measuring temperature since the sous vide cooker precisely controls the water bath at every second. And it's very forgiving so there is very little chance of overcooking. Although the pork loin is ready in about 1.5 hours, you can leaving it cooking for up to 4 hours with no ill effects. Great for busy cooks who have other things to do. A bonus is that there is no cleanup. Simply throw out the bag that was used. If you're cheap like I am, re-use bags that came with other foods. For example, I use the potato chip bags.

Sous vide is also economical. I was able to find top round London Broil at about $1.89/lb (that's insanely low for beef here in NYC). It's normally inedibly tough, which is why it's usually only eaten sliced thin as roast beef. But after about 10 hours at 130F, it can be eaten like a steak. Not filet mignon or even good steak, but not bad at all with a nice sauce. What about the additional electrical usage? Well, according to my wattmeter, the 10 hours only costs about 25 cents, which is nothing when the beef was only $1.89/lb. The secret is that, like the pressure cooker, the heating element is off the majority of the time -- only turning on to maintain the set temperature.

As for the machine itself, you can find them for as little as $30. Walmart had some on clearance for less than $10. They're about as tall as a roll of paper towel and much thinner so you can store one in your drawer.

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Pork loin: cook whole or boil in pieces in pressure cooker??

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