How to Cure Pork Loin at Home: A Step-by-Step Guide

Curing pork loin at home is an incredibly rewarding process that results in delicious homemade charcuterie. With just a few simple ingredients and steps you can turn a fresh pork loin into lonzino, lomo, or basturma right in your own kitchen.

Overview of Curing Pork Loin

Curing pork loin involves salting the meat to draw out moisture and preserve it. There are two main methods of curing pork loin at home:

Dry Curing Coating the pork loin in a dry rub of salt, curing salt spices and herbs. The pork is then hung to air dry for weeks or months.

Wet Curing: Submerging the pork in a salt brine solution for days or weeks before smoking or cooking it.

Dry curing results in lonzino or lomo, while wet curing makes salt pork ready for smoking into ham. Dry curing concentrates flavors for a more intense cured meat flavor.

Equipment Needed

Curing pork loin at home requires minimal specialized equipment:

A digital kitchen scale for weighing salt and meat precisely
Curing salt (Instacure #1 or Prague Powder #1)
Spices and seasonings of your choice
Cheesecloth for tying roasts
A cool cellar, garage, basement, or wine fridge to hang cured meat
Optional: Sausage stuffer for stuffing lonzino into a beef middle casing

Choosing the Pork

Use a whole boneless pork loin, about 2-4 lbs. Boneless loins allow for even curing.
Choose good quality heritage breed pork with ample marbling for the best flavor and texture.
Pork shoulder or leg roasts also work well for curing into ham.

Step 1: Weigh the Meat

Weigh the pork loin and write down its weight in grams. This is needed to calculate the precise amount of salt.
For lonzino, divide the loin into 2-3 smaller roasts about 12-18 inches long for easier curing.

Step 2: Mix the Cure

For a dry cure, use 2.5% of the pork’s weight in kosher salt or sea salt.
Add 0.25% of the pork’s weight in curing salt (Instacure #1 or Prague Powder #1).
Add any other seasonings like black pepper, juniper berries, garlic, etc.
For a wet brine, combine 1 cup salt per 1 gallon water. Add aromatics like bay leaves, peppercorns, etc.

Step 3: Apply the Cure

For dry curing:

Rub the cure mix all over the pork loin until fully coated. Get into every crevice.
Place loin in a bag and massage cure into meat for 5 minutes.
Refrigerate for 1-2 weeks, flipping and massaging daily to distribute cure evenly.

For wet curing:

Submerge pork in brine, weighing it down to keep fully submerged.
Cure in fridge for 1 week per inch of thickness, changing brine halfway through.

Step 4: Rinse and Dry

After curing period, rinse pork under cold water to remove excess cure.
Pat pork completely dry with paper towels.
For lonzino, tie into a uniform shape with butcher’s twine.
Place on a wire rack set over a sheet pan and refrigerate uncovered for 1-2 days until dry to the touch.

Step 5: Age the Meat

For lonzino or lomo, hang cured roasts in a cool cellar or wine fridge. Age for 1-6 months.
For wet cured ham, rest in the fridge for 1-2 days before smoking.
Monitor for mold growth and wipe with a vinegar solution if needed.
Pork is cured when it has firmed up and lost 30% of its weight.

Step 6: Enjoy Your Homemade Cured Pork!

Slice lonzino paper thin and enjoy on a charcuterie board.
Dice lomo and add to stews, rice dishes, omelets.
Smoke your wet cured ham in a pellet smoker before glazing and baking.
Home cured pork makes memorable gifts for fellow foodies!

Now that you know the basic process, let’s go through each step in more detail.

Step 1: Weighing the Pork Loin

The first step when cure pork loin is to weigh the meat in grams. Measuring by weight instead of volume is crucial for precision when calculating the amount of salt and cure needed.

Choose a boneless pork loin roast that is around 2-4 pounds. Larger roasts take longer to cure evenly. For lonzino, you can divide the loin into smaller 2-3 pound sections to make the curing process easier.

Use a digital kitchen scale for the most accurate weight measurements. Write down the weights of the loins you will be curing.

When buying pork, try to find heritage breed pork raised on pasture. Heritage breeds like Berkshire, Red Wattle, or Mangalitsa have darker red meat with ample marbling that results in superior flavor and texture when cured.

Step 2: Mixing the Cure

With the weights of your pork loins handy, you can now calculate the precise amount of salt and cure needed for dry curing:

For plain salt, use 2.5% of the pork’s weight in salt. Table salt, kosher salt, or sea salt will all work.
For the curing salt, use 0.25% of the pork’s weight in sodium nitrite curing salt. Prague Powder #1 or Instacure #1 are common brands.
So for example, if your pork loin weighs 1500g (3.3 lbs), you would use 37.5g of plain salt and 3.75g of curing salt.

In addition to the basic salt and cure, feel free to add any other seasonings you’d like to customize the flavor. Whole black peppercorns, crushed juniper berries, minced garlic, and dried thyme or oregano are all excellent options.

For a wet brine cure, simply dissolve 1 cup of salt per 1 gallon of water along with any aromatics like peppercorns, bay leaves, allspice berries, etc. No need to be as precise with measuring.

Step 3: Applying the Cure

Now it’s time to get the pork curing! This is where the process differs slightly depending on wet or dry curing.

For dry curing:

First, rub the cure mixture all over the pork loin until it is fully coated on all sides. Get the cure into every nook and cranny. Use your fingers to firmly massage the cure into the meat.

Next, place the coated pork into a sealable plastic bag or plastic wrap. Remove as much air as possible. This protects the pork from drying out.

Put the pork in the fridge. Each day for the next 7-14 days, massage and flip the pork in the bag to evenly distribute the cure. The pork may release some moisture into the bag; simply massage this back into the meat.

For wet curing in a brine:

Submerge the pork loin fully in the brine solution, weighing it down with a plate to keep it fully immersed if needed.

For meat less than 2 inches thick, brine for 5-7 days. For thicker roasts, cure for 7-10 days per inch of thickness.

Halfway through the brining time, drain and remake the brine to replenish the salt and flavors. Then submerge the pork again.

Step 4: Rinsing and Drying

After the cure period, whether dry cured or wet brined, it’s important to thoroughly rinse the pork under cold water to remove any excess surface cure and seasonings.

Pat the pork completely dry with paper towels. For lonzino, tie the loin into a tight, uniform shape with butcher’s twine. This helps the lonzino cure evenly.

Place the pork on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered for 1-2 days until the outside is dry to the touch. This forms the desired crust (“pellicle”) on the exterior that will allow proper air drying.

Step 5: Aging the Cured Pork

Now comes the true transformation as your cured pork ages and develops its characteristic texture and intense flavors.

For dry cured lonzino or lomo, hang the pork loin or tie a loop of twine around one end so it can hang freely. Age in a cool, humid place like a wine cellar, root cellar, or converted fridge or freezer.

Ideal conditions are 45°F to 60°F and at least 70% humidity. Use a humidifier or pans of water if needed. Age for anywhere from 1 month to 6+ months. The meat will become firmer and lose around 30% of its original weight as it dries.

For wet cured hams, rest in the fridge for 1-2 days after brining to allow the salt to equalize within the meat. Pat dry, then smoke at 150-175°F until the internal temp reaches 145°F. Finally, glaze with honey, maple syrup, or mustard and bake to an internal temp of 160°F.

As your pork ages, keep an eye out for any mold growth. White mold is safe, but green or black mold will need to be wiped off with a vinegar solution.

Step 6: Enjoying Your Home Cured Pork

After all your time and effort, the final step is the best – enjoying your homemade charcuterie!

For dry cured lonzino and lomo, thinly slice the meat and arrange on a platter with cured meats, olives, nuts, and crackers. The concentrated porkiness is fantastic.

Chop lomo into small cubes to add deep pork flavor to beans, soups, stews, rice, omelets. Use in place of ham or bacon.

For wet cured ham, carve thin slices and layer on sandwiches or biscuits. The sweet, smoky, salty ham is hard to beat.

How to Make Pork Loin “Capicola”

FAQ

How to cure a pork loin at home?

A pork loin or shoulder will need to sit in brine, completely submerged, for about 5 days; large chops will be ready in 2 or 3. Cooking time is not realistically reflected in this recipe as it depends on what you are cooking (whole loin or chops). Cooking times are indicated in instructions, though.”

How to cure and smoke a pork loin?

You start with two ¼ lb of pork loin, trimmed of the excess fat and membrane. I put them in a brine for 15 days. At the end of 15 days, I rinsed them, put them in netting and dried them in the Bradley for about one hour at 140ºF (60ºC). Then cold-smoked them below 80ºF (26.7ºC) for about 4 hours.

Can you cure pork at home?

Curing your own pork is a great way to customize flavors and control the preservation process. Decide what cut of pork you’d like to cure and choose a dry rub or wet brine. Coat the pork in a dry rub containing curing salt and seasonings or submerge it in a salty seasoned brine.

How do you cure pork the old fashioned way?

The old-fashioned way to cure meat simply involves completely covering the meat with salt for one to five days. The size of the piece of meat and the curing method you choose will determine how long the process takes.