Roast Pork Cheater Pho

Roast Pork Cheater Pho

Prep Time: 5 Minutes, 8 hours of brining
Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
Serves: 2 people 
Recommended Pellets: Cherry

Ingredients:

For brine:

3 cups of water

2/3 c kosher salt

2/3 c brown sugar

1 tbsp black pepper

1tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried tyme

5 c of ice

For the Pho:

1 pork tenderloin (any size)

2 pks of your favorite brand Ramen noodles

3 cups of water

1 ramen flavor pack

favorite Traeger rub

1 lime for juice

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp fish sauce

pinch of pepper flakes

couple handfuls of bean sprouts (optional)

basil or cilantro (optional)

Preparation:

The morning before you make your soup, in a large pot add your 3 cups of water, 2/3 c kosher salt, 2/3 c brown sugar, 1 tbsp black pepper, 1tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp dried tyme. Turn your heat to high and watch your brine. As the mixture starts to heat up enough that it will dilute all of the salt and sugar turn off the stove and take the mixture off the heat. You don't need this mixture to boil, only to incorporate. You can boil it, it will just take longer to cool it off. Now that you have your brine, add 5 cups of ice. This should be enough to completely cool off your brine. When your brine feels at least room temperature, take out your pork tenderloin and put it into the brine. Secure this on the bottom shelf of your fridge. Keep in the brine for 6-8 hours. I'd suggest no more than 8 hours. 

After your pork has set at least 6 hrs in your brine, take it out and rinse it off. Once it has been rinsed well, dry it off with a paper towel then season it with your favorite Traeger rub.

After you have your pork ready to go, heat up your Traeger grill according to the recommended instructions. Turn your Traeger to the "smoke" setting with the grill door open for 3-4 minutes. While your grill is heating up you can get all of your supplies ready for the pho. I like to hand tear the cilantro into a bunch then set out my fish sauce and lime (or lime juice).

Once your grill is ready to go, set it to the "High" setting and allow it to at least reach 400 degrees with the lid closed. Once it hits 400, place your pork on the grill. Set your timer for 15 minutes to come out and check on your meat. After 15 minutes is up, rotate your pork loin so the back side can get some char marks as well. Set your timer for another 10 minutes, that should be plenty of time. As you're letting your pork loin cook for the additional 10 minutes, now is a great time to start your soup. In order to start, take a large pot and start boiling 3 cups of water. As your water comes to a boil, add your two packs of Ramen and turn off the heat. The boiling water should cook your noodles within around 3 minutes. When the 3 minutes are up add your 1 pk of seasoning from the ramen pack. You only need one pack of seasoning for 2 packs of noodles because you'll be adding other things. When you get your seasoning pack stired in, then you can add 2 tbsp of white sugar, 2 tsp fish sauce and a pinch of pepper flakes.

Now you should be reay to take your meat off of the grill.

After you check your pork to make sure its cooked all the way through, you're ready to slice it. Traditionally, the meat in Pho is usually cooked in the hot broth as its served, but being as this is cheater pho we're doing it a little different. Take your pork and slice it very thin. 

Now that the meat and pho is ready to go, all we have to do is assemble! This is when you take a nice, big bowl and load up your noodles and broth. Then top it off with some of your sliced pork, cilantro (or basil) and fresh lime juice. If you're wanting it to be a bit more traditional you can add some bean sprouts and slices of jalapeno. Also, a nice touch you could add would be a touch of Hoisin sauce and Sriracha for a nice little kick! This really is a great, quick soup that will have you coming back for more! You can thank me later.