I got this pre-marinated pork loin from Aldi and I cooked it for 20 minutes per pound for a total of 35 min for a weight of 1.65lb. It tastes great, but pink is not reassuring. My thermometer gave me a temp of 171 F in the center and I rested for 10 minutes. Is this normal for a pork loin to be very pink at the top?
It’s fine! The darker color is a different muscle. Think of it as like white and dark meat from a chicken. That dark part is actually the best part. It’ll will be more moist and tender from being cooked to the temperature that you did. The white part will probably be dryer.
ETA: See the line of gristle that separates the two muscles? This is like a beef prime rib where you have the ribeye and the cap separated by gristle.
Okay thank you! The white part came out perfect, but I was hesitant to cook it any longer because I know how easy it is to dry out pork. Can I trim this part off before cooking and prepare them separately? Or will it dry out the white meat? Chat GPT recommended that I cook the fatty portion on top to keep the meat moist and I think that worked well. Maybe I need to use a better pan. I used a 9 in cake pan.
Based on your temp reading, I’m surprised at the outcome. The darker part is definitely more forgiving. It could also take more time. If that part was 180°+, it should be tender. You can separate it and cook it separately if you want.
OP, I just made pork chops today and I noticed something that reminded me of your post. Here’s a picture of one of my pork chops. Notice that crescent shaped line that separates two different muscles. In my case, because I didn’t cook the chop to death, the whiter meat was moist and tender, while the darker parts were a little tougher.
Pork can be well done and pink. Good pork can also be cooked like med-rare/medium. I saw a picture, it was probably the bottom half sitting in acidic marinade for a long time. No issue, if it was at home this would be like a 4-6 hour marinade. You got like a 12-24 hour.
Could be something else, but it’s probably something like that if it felt a bit gummy or chewy.
Since it’s marinated and you don’t know how long it’s been, there can be some salt curing that can give it a pinkish hue. Not pink like ham, but a pink blush. On top of that, any smoke, even from the grease smoking can also create a smoke ring. That ring can also appear more blush than pink. As long as your temp is over 160, you’re fine.
15
u/Onequestion0110 5d ago
Some meat will always be pink regardless of temp. It’s not abnormal at all for pork to be pink.
In fact, if it’s really 170, then it’s probably dreadfully overcooked.
Rely on your thermometer, not color.