How to Make Dry Pork Moist Again (Save the Day at Your Cookout!)

Who doesn’t love a nicely cooked pork loin?

The pork loin is a great source of protein and also very juicy when cooked well.

Anyone, even the greatest pitmaster, can overcook pork loin because of how lean the meat is in nature.

Eating overcooked pork loin can be an unpleasant experience as it can be dry and hard to chew.

It can be frustrating to overcook the pork and waste the meat, especially as it is the most expensive cut of pork.

A lot of people end up throwing out the meat but it is still possible to save the overcooked meat and put it to good use. This article will explain how to moisten overcooked pork loin.

How To Avoid Overcooking Pork Loin.

Wet brining the meat or using a simple marinade on the meat, can help the meat stay moist while cooking.

Simply soak the pork loin in a saltwater bath for at least 2 hours. Or use your favorite marinade recipe.

The marinade should have an acidic liquid like apple cider vinegar. This will help you avoid getting tough and dry pork.

It can be difficult to tell, visually, when the meat is done cooking.

So try to aim for an internal meat temperature slightly below 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is recommended by the USDA and this can be checked with a meat thermometer.

How To Know When The Pork Loin Are Overcooked.

Unlike chicken breast and some other cuts of meat, it may be hard to tell, visually, if the pork meat is overcooked.

Another way to know is if the internal temperature of the pork is above 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pro-tip.
The meat is done when it is golden brown on the outside and slightly pink on the inside after cooking.

Here Are Three Easy Ways To Fix or Prevent Overcooked Pork Loin

1. Cooking the Pork Loin in Broth.

Cooking the dry pork loin in broth can help bring them back to life and get some moisture into them.

Any type of broth can be used for moistening the dry roast pork loin, like beef or chicken broth, or vegetable broth.

Follow these easy steps to help moisten the pork loin with broth.

Step 1.

Take out the pork loin, while it is at room temperature and cut them into thin slices.

Step 2.

Heat 2 cups of broth in a pan and add the slices of pork. Then cook the meat on one side for 2-3 minutes and on the other side for another 2-3 minutes.

Step 3.

Cover the pan with a lid, and on low heat, let the pork loin simmer in the pan for a short period. Do this until the pork is moist.

Step 4.

Take out the meat and put a bit of barbecue sauce on it. This step will also help to moisten the pork loin.

2. Shredding the Pork Loin.

Another way to moisten pork loin is by shredding the meat and turning it into pulled pork.

Tossing it in sauce can help the dry pork because the liquid from the sauces will rehydrate it.

Barbecue sauce, adobo sauce, hoisin sauce, or any flavorful sauce of your choice can be used.

If you plan on making pulled pork from scratch, make sure you have an internal temp of 204°F before pulling it from the smoker.

3. Simmering the Pork Loin in Liquid.

Simmering can help get moisture into the meat because the liquids can penetrate the meat.

These liquids can be tomato sauce, gravy, or even water. If you end up using water for simmering, include some chicken stock cubes rub to add some flavor to the meat.

Follow these quick steps to tenderize the meat

Step 1.

Take out the overcooked pork loin, while it is at room temperature and cut them into thin slices.

Step 2.

Heat the liquid in a pan for some minutes and then add the pork loin.

Step 3.

Cook the meat on both sides for about 3 minutes on low heat while basting the meat with a water-based baste.

 Cover the pan with a tight light, and let it simmer till moist. A gas/electric pressure cooker can also be used to do simmer the meat.

Our Favorite Ways to Use Pork

Now that the overcooked smoked pork loin is moist, you can use them in different ways. The pork loin can be used in soups like pho and ramen/noodle soups.

Some of our favorite ways to use leftover pork loin and pulled pork can be used as filling in pulled pork tacos, empanadas, dumplings, and pork sandwiches.

How to Reheat the Pork Loin.

There are different ways to reheat leftover pork loin. You can use an oven, a microwave, or a frying pan.

The key is to ensure that you are being very cautious while reheating the pork loin so that they don’t get dry again.

It is not farfetched to overcook pork loin because of how lean the meat is. It is also possible to bring them back to save them using the above methods.

This will put them to good use instead of letting the meat go to waste.

What’s your go-to way of fixing overcooked meat?

Smoke On!

Charlie

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