Spanish Lomo Recipe: Cured Pork Tenderloin

Try this shaved thin on pizza.

Curing meats such as homemade bacon, ham, or pastrami is fun and the results are often better than store bought. But curing is very different from any other recipe because you are using a preservative, sodium nitrite. You must read and thoroughly understand my article on the Science Of Curing Meats before attempting to cure meat or before you ask any questions.

In Spain and Mexico, lomo is cured pork tenderloin. Sometimes it is smoked, sometimes it is served raw. I smoke it for flavor and safety. Note, this is made with tenderloin, not loin. Loin is a big thick muscle used for Canadian Bacon, as much as 9 pounds. Typically they are sold in sections about 3 to 5 pounds each. Tenderloin is small, about 1 pound, and the size of a baby’s forearm. They often come two per package but they are sitting on top of each other so they look like one muscle.

The beauty of tenderloin is that it is very lean and, you guessed it, tender.

Spanish Lomo: Cured Pork Tenderloin

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Make your own Spanish Lomo at home with this recipe and curing tutorial.

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Course:

Breakfast

,

Dinner

,

Lunch

Cuisine:

Spanish

Author: Zach Batastini

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Takes:

Prep Time: 3 days days

Cure Time: Cure time is calculated and displayed automatically below based on ingredient quantities entered in the provided fields.

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Ingredients

Adjusting Curing Ingredients

Enter the weight of the meat here:
(you can leave the fat cap on if you wish).

pounds pounds
kilograms

Squeeze the meat into a cylinder and enter the thickness of the meat here:

inches

inches
centimeters

The quantities on the following ingredients will be calculated based on what you entered above.

1.00 Gallon(s) warm distilled water.

cups
quarts
US gallons
liters

  or    of Prague powder #1

 

Meat Shape

flat
tube or cone

Cure time: 0.8 days

Notes:

About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works.

Metric conversion:

These recipes were created in US Customary measurements and the conversion to metric is being done by calculations. They should be accurate, but it is possible there could be an error. If you find one, please let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page

Method

• Prep. Put everything except the meat in a very clean nonreactive pot (stainless, enamel coated, glass). Dissolve the salts and sugar. The garlic will not dissolve thoroughly. Let it cool in the refrigerator. Scrub the exterior of the meat thoroughly (don't use soap).
• Cure. Put the pork in the pot and keep it in the fridge for the length of time in the calculations above (you can go about 20% longer if you have to). If necessary weigh it down with a dinner plate or something else.
• Cook. After the cure, it is time to smoke. Before smoking, rinse the surface really well because there will be a heavier concentration of salt on there. Smoke at 325°F (163°C) until it is 145°F (63°C) in the deepest part of the center. Depending on how thick your meat is, this will take about 1 hour. The reason we cook at 325°F (163°C) is to prevent the stall which will happen at lower temperatures and that can result in a much longer cook and drier meat. You can refrigerate it for up to two weeks or freeze it for longer. If you vacuum seal, it will keep longer still.
• Serve. I like to shave it thin and use it on top of pizza or flatbread.

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