Brined Smoked Pork Loin
Inside: For moist, tender smoked pork loin, a good pork brine is key. Soaking the meat in a simple brine solution prevents it from drying out on the grill or smoker.
Smoked pork loin is a lean, tender and flavorful dish. Making it at home is easier than you think. All you need is a simple pork brine, your favorite wood chips and a charcoal or gas grill or a pellet smoker. For smaller pork loin roasts, the meat can be ready in just over an hour.
Smoked Pork Loin
I have been making this smoked pork loin recipe for about six years, and it’s one of our go-to’s because it’s simple and juicy with a great smoke flavor that’s not overpowering.
It pairs well with any side dish from Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes to Saffron Rice to my Ultimate Mac and Cheese and the leftovers make the best Cuban Sandwich.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- It’s economical and feeds the whole family (usually with leftovers).
- You can make the brine ahead of time.
- You can use a charcoal or gas grill, a pellet smoker or bake it in the oven (but there won’t be a smoked flavor).
Ingredients:
- Center Cut Pork Loin Roast–I used a 3-pound loin for this recipe. A full pork loin can range from 8-10 pounds, but you can buy smaller roasts or cut smaller roasts from a whole one.
- Kosher Salt–I like Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt which is less salty by volume than Morton’s.
- Whole Black Peppercorns–I used Tellicherry Peppercorns. Don’t use ground pepper.
- Brown Sugar–you can use light or dark brown sugar.
- Cinnamon Sticks–don’t worry, it won’t make your smoked pork loin taste like an apple pie.
- Bay Leaf
- Boiling Water–to dissolve the salt and sugar in the pork brine.
- Apple Cider–you can use filtered or unfiltered cider.
- Bourbon–it doesn’t have to be the good stuff. For cooking, I use Jim Beam.
- Orange Peel–the peel has citrus oil and is more aromatic than the juice.
The difference between pork loin and pork tenderloin
Before we get to the recipe, you may wonder if a pork loin and pork tenderloin are the same. They’re not. Here’s the difference between the two:
Pork loins–a larger, thicker cut that comes from higher up on the back of the pig. A whole pork loin can weigh between 6 and 10 pounds, but it is frequently cut down to smaller roasts or pork chops.
Pork tenderloins are much smaller, come from an area beneath the loin, and are considered the most tender part of the animal. They weigh between ¾ and 1 pound each.
You’ll need a 3-4 pound center-cut pork loin roast for this recipe.
Instructions:
- In a medium bowl combine the kosher salt, brown sugar, whole peppercorns, cinnamon sticks and bay leaf. Pour in the boiling water and stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Stir in the apple cider and bourbon.
2. Add the orange peel and set aside for the pork brine to cool to room temperature.
3. While the brine cools, pat the pork loin dry with paper towels. Assess your roast; it will need a thin layer of fat. If your pork loin has a large fat cap (more than ½”), use a sharp knife to trim some away.
4. Transfer the meat to a zip-top gallon-sized plastic bag and pour in the pork brine. Squeeze most of the air from the bag and seal it tight. Transfer to the refrigerator to brine the pork loin for 2-3 hours.
Before smoking, remove the meat from the brining solution and pat dry with paper towels.
5. For a charcoal grill: About 20 minutes before you want to begin smoking the pork loin, light the charcoal using a chimney starter and when the briquets are hot and ashy, pour the briquets out on either side of the grill, leaving the center of the grates open and free from heat. This is an indirect cooking method.
For a gas grill, Set up your grill for indirect heat. Depending on how many flavor bars (heating elements) your grill has, this could mean heating one side of the grill and not the other or heating the far left and far right burners but leaving the center burner off.
6. For a charcoal grill: Place soaked wood chips or chunks on top of the charcoal. Once they emit white smoke, arrange the pork loin roast in the center of the grill so there is no direct heat beneath the meat. Secure the lid to smoke the roast.
For a gas grill: Place soaked wood chips in the smoker box set over the burners. When the wood chips begin to smoke, place the grilling rack into place above the flavor bars and place the loin on the grill grates in a spot where there is no direct heat or flame directly below it. Close the lid to smoke the meat.
7. Smoke the pork loin for 1-1½ hours or until an instant-read thermometer registers about 140-142°F. The roast will continue to cook even after removing it from the grill (carryover cooking).
8. Transfer the meat to a cutting board to rest for 10-15 minutes. The juices will redistribute within the roast, and it will finish coming to temperature.
Pro-Tips:
- I’ve found pork loin to be a very economical cut of meat (I source mine at Costco and can usually get a whole pork loin for about $20-$25). At home, I cut the pork into roasts and chop and even chunk the uneven trimmings for kebabs, soups and stews.
- Cool the pork brine to room temperature before adding the meat. Adding raw pork to hot brine will cook (technically poach) the outer layer. You can make the cider brine a day ahead and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to start the brining process.
- Don’t over-brine the roast. If the meat sits too long in the brine, the flesh will become soft and mealy instead of juicy and tender. Resist the temptation to brine the roast longer than 3 hours.
- Let the smoked pork loin rest. If you cut into it too early, the juices spill onto the cutting board instead of staying in the roast. Patience pays dividends.
Variations:
- Use apple juice instead of apple cider for the brine.
- If you don’t want to use alcohol, skip it.
- Smoke the loin on a pellet smoker (Traeger, RecTeq, etc.). These smokers generally cook at lower temperatures than a gas or charcoal grill. A good rule of thumb is to set the pellet grill to 225°F and smoke the meat for 30 minutes per pound. Use the thermometer to check for doneness.
FAQs
Apple wood, cherry, pecan and hickory are all good choices. You can even use oak. Avoid mesquite, though, as it’s too strong for the mild flavor of pork loin.
You can use wood chips or wood chunks to smoke meat, but the methods are slightly different.
Wood chips need to be soaked in water for about 30 minutes to an hour and then transferred to a smoker box or a pouch made from heavy-duty tin foil, poked with holes to set over the heating elements of a gas grill. If using a charcoal grill, you can simply sprinkle the wood chips directly over the embers.
Wood chunks–don’t need to be soaked before using, however, dry wood tends to catch fire when placed on or near charcoal embers or burner elements. If using wood chunks, I’d advise having a squirt water bottle handy to put out any flames that spring up.
This pork loin roast was about 4 pounds and took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the proper internal temperature, but the timing is not absolute. It will depend on the grill temperature and weight of the smoked pork loin.
The safe temperature for cooked pork is 145 °F or 62°C; however, the meat will continue to cook after you’ve removed it from the grill, so pulling it off 3-5° sooner is fine.
To verify the actual doneness of your smoked pork loin, I recommend a good instant-read meat thermometer. My favorite, and the one I stand behind, is the Thermoworks Thermapen One {affiliate link}.
Storage:
- Store leftovers wrapped in plastic wrap or foil in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freezing:
- You can freeze smoked pork loin by wrapping it well in plastic AND freezer paper. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost before enjoying.
Reheating leftovers:
- To reheat sliced leftover pork roast, loosely wrap the meat in tin foil (so there’s air space) and warm in a 325° oven for 10-12 minutes until warmed through.
This is a quick smoked pork roast, so you won’t get the distinct red smoke ring around the edge of the meat that you usually find with slow-smoked BBQ. However, you’ll see a light pink hue around the perimeter, indicating the smoke permeating the flesh. The photo below shows it in a little more detail.
What to serve with smoked pork loin:
- Ultimate Mac n’ Cheese
- Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Maple
- Baked Beans from Scratch
- Edamame Quinoa Salad
- Southwestern Skillet Cornbread
This roast is super tender and juicy with a distinctive smoked flavor that’s irresistible.
More grilled and smoked pork recipes:
- Kansas City Style Smoked Spareribs
- Caribbean Jerk Smoked Pork
- Tandoori Marinated Grilled Pork
- Smoked Pork Butt
Smoked Pork Loin (and Brine)
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
- charcoal or gas grill
- 3-4 Apple wood chunks OR 2 cups of apple wood chips
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE BRINE:
- 3 tablespoons Diamond Kosher Salt or 2 Tablespoons Morton Kosher Salt
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3 cups apple cider well chilled
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
- 2 3×1" strips orange peel with very little pith
FOR THE PORK ROAST:
- 3 pound pork loin roast
DIRECTIONS:
MAKE THE BRINE:
- In a large bowl, combine the kosher salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks and bay leaf. Pour the boiling water over the spices and stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Stir in the apple cider, bourbon and orange peel.
- Cool the brine to room temperature before adding it to the pork roast.
- Trim fat from the pork loin if there's a lot on the fat cap, leaving about 1/4". Transfer the pork loin to a large (1 gallon sized) plastic zip top bag. Pour the brine over the pork roast. Squeeze out as much excess air as possible and seal the bag. Put the bag of pork and brine back into the bowl you mixed the brine in and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
SET UP THE GRILL/SMOKER:
- Set up your grill for indirect cooking, so that the meat will cook residually by sitting opposite the heat source, not directly over it.
FOR A GAS GRILL:
- Set up your grill for indirect heat. If using a gas grill that means one side of the grill is lit and the other is not. The pork will go on the side that is not lit, while the wood chips or chunks are placed directly over the heating elements to smoke. If you're using wood chips, soak them for about an hour in water before adding them to the smoking pouches. If you have a smoker basket, add the wood chips to the basket. If you don't have a smoker basket, make one by placing the soaked wood chips in the center of a piece of tin foil. Seal the chips into a pouch and poke the outside of the pouch all over with a knife to create slits that the smoke can escape from.
- Heat the grill to about 350° – 375° and place the wood pouch or whole wood chunks over the heating element. Note: if the wood chunks start to burn, move them a little further from the flame and douse any flare ups with the water bottle. The idea is to get a steady smoke going. We had a few flameups early on using apple wood chunks and had to maneuver them around before we found the right spot where it would smoke and not burn.White smoke means it's infusing the pork with flavor. Black smoke means fire/burning.
- Pat the pork loin dry with paper towels and place it on the grill opposite the lit side so it doesn't get any direct flame. Smoke the meat with the lid on until the internal temperature reads about 140°. The safe internal temp is 145° for pork, but it will continue to cook after you remove it from the grill. It should take anywhere from 1 hour to 1½ hours.Use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness.
FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL:
- Start the charcoal using a chimney starter. Add loosely balled newspaper to the bottom of the starter and pour the charcoal into the top. Place the starter on the bottom grates of the grill and light the newspaper. Let the embers burn and simmer until they are ashy and glowing. Pour half of the charcoal onto one side of the grill and the other half opposite, so that there are embers on either side, but an open space in the center of the grill. Lay a piece of foil or a foil baking tray in between the embers to catch any juices. (Note: you won't want to use the juices on the meat, it will be too smoky.
- When the heat is steady between 350° and 400° add the wood. If using soaked wood chips, sprinkle half of the the wood directly onto the embers. If using wood chunks, place 1-2 chunks on or very close to the embers. Note: this is the method we used and the wood caught fire a number of times, but we sprayed the wood with water and it did start to smoke.When it starts to smoke, place the upper grate onto the grill. Pat the pork dry with paper towels and position the roast in the center of the grill between the two piles of embers, over the foil.Smoke the pork at 350° to 375° for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer reaches about 140°.
RESTING AND CARVING:
- When the pork roast has reached 140°, transfer it to a cutting board and tent it for 10-15 minutes to let the juices redistribute before carving.
- Slice the roast into 1/4" to 1/3" slices.
NUTRITION:
Pin “Brined Smoked Pork Loin” for later!
So moist, juicy and the smoke really comes through. Really good!
We are smoking it right now on our traeger. My husband left the fat on. What side should we cook it on, the fat or the bare side?
Fat side up!
Fat side up so fat runs down the meat for more flavor.
Wow! What wonderful flavors in this pork. I can just imagine how wonderful it smells and tastes. Cannot wait to try this myself.
I have a pork loin in the freezer that I am needing to use so I am going to try this this week!
My family and I are going to love this recipe! I can’t wait to give this a try! Looks so delicious and flavorful!
I hadn’t ever thought of using apple cider for a brine but I am sure glad I know about it now! Makes the meat so tender and delicious.
We love pork loin at our house, and this apple cider version looks amazing! I can’t wait to make it for dinner this week!