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. You only need a simple brine for the pork, your favorite wood chips, and a charcoal, gas, or pellet smoker. For smaller pork loin roasts, the meat can be ready in just over an hour.
This smoked pork loin recipe has been family favorite for about six years. It’s easy to make, juicy, and has a great smoke flavor that isn’t too strong.
Smoking a pork loin results in tender, juicy meat with incredible flavor. However pork loin can easily dry out during the smoking process. That’s why brining is a crucial step to keep the meat moist and seasoned. This article will explain how to properly brine a pork loin before smoking it to perfection.
Why Brine Pork Loin?
Brining pork prevents the meat from drying out as it smokes The salt in the brine seasons the meat and helps it retain moisture Here are some of the benefits of brining pork loin before smoking
- Keeps the meat juicy and tender during smoking
- Allows the meat to absorb flavor from spices and herbs in brine
- Provides a jumpstart on seasoning so rub adheres better
- Results in more evenly seasoned and flavored smoked pork
Brining is simple but makes a big difference in the final texture and taste of smoked pork loin.
Choosing the Pork Loin
For smoking, choose a center cut boneless pork loin roast that is about 3-5 pounds. Make sure there is a decent layer of fat cap on top to keep the meat moist. Trim off any excess hard fat or silver skin before brining.
The thickness of the roast is also important so it has time to smoke without overcooking. A roast that is too long and thin may dry out before it finishes smoking.
The Brine Solution
A basic brine for pork loin contains just a few ingredients:
- Water
- Salt
- Sugar or maple syrup
- Herbs and spices
The salt and sugar help the meat retain moisture while also seasoning it. Herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage and garlic add great flavor. Spices like cracked black pepper, coriander and mustard seeds also enhance the flavor.
Here is a sample brine recipe:
- 1 gallon water
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 5 garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Combine all brine ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool completely before using. The brine must be completely cool before adding the raw pork.
Brining the Pork Loin
- Place pork loin in a container like a large plastic bag or food-safe bucket.
- Pour the cooled brine over the meat. The pork should be fully submerged.
- Seal the container removing excess air.
- Refrigerate for 8-12 hours.
- Remove pork from brine, rinse and pat dry.
Brining for 8-12 hours gives the salt, sugar and spices time to fully penetrate and flavor the meat. Don’t brine for longer than 12 hours or the texture may become too soft.
Apply Rub and Smoke
After brining, pat the pork loin completely dry with paper towels. Apply a generous layer of dry rub over the entire surface. Use your favorite pork rub or make one with salt, sugar, spices and herbs.
Set up your smoker to maintain a temperature around 225-250°F using wood chips like apple, cherry or hickory. Place the pork loin on the racks and smoke until it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F, about 1-2 hours.
Let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing into juicy, tender smoked pork perfection.
Brined Smoked Pork Loin Recipes
Here are two delicious brined smoked pork loin recipes:
Bourbon Apple Cider Brined Pork Loin
Brine
- 1 quart water
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme
Pork and Smoking
- 3 lb pork loin roast
- Brine 8-12 hours
- Pat dry and coat with olive oil
- Rub with 2 Tbsp barbecue rub
- Smoke at 225°F until internal temp reaches 140°F
- Rest 15 minutes before slicing
The apple cider and bourbon brine gives incredible flavor. Smoke with apple wood for amazing results.
Brown Sugar Mustard Brined Pork Loin
Brine
- 1 quart water
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup mustard
Pork and Smoking
- 5 lb boneless pork loin roast
- Brine 8 hours
- Rinse, pat dry and coat with avocado oil
- Rub with favorite barbecue rub
- Smoke at 250°F until internal temp hits 145°F
- Let rest 10 minutes before slicing
The brown sugar mustard brine adds a tangy sweet flavor that pairs perfectly with smoke.
Brining is the secret to incredibly moist, well-seasoned smoked pork loin. Make a simple brine with salt, sugar and your favorite herbs and spices. Submerge the pork loin for 8-12 hours before a long, low smoke. The brined meat will turn out succulent and full of flavor every time.
What to serve with smoked pork loin:
This roast is super tender and juicy with a distinctive smoked flavor that’s irresistible.
The difference between pork loin and pork tenderloin
You may be wondering if a pork loin and a pork tenderloin are the same thing before we get to the recipe. 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. Pork loins can be as big as 10 pounds, but most of the time they are cut up into smaller roasts or chops.
Tenderloins of pork are much smaller and come from below the loin. They are thought to be 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.
- Kosher salt, brown sugar, whole peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaf should all be mixed together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the boiling water and mix it in until the sugar and salt are gone. 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 the fat cap on your pork loin is more than ½ inch thick, cut some of it off with a sharp knife.
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, light the charcoal with a chimney starter about 20 minutes before you want to start smoking the pork loin. When the briquets are hot and ashy, pour them out on either side of the grill, leaving the middle of the grates open and cool. This is an indirect cooking method.
For a gas grill, Set up your grill for indirect heat. This might mean heating one side of the grill but not the other, or it could mean heating the far left and far right burners but not the center burner. It depends on how many flavor bars (heating elements) your grill has.
6. For a charcoal grill: Place soaked wood chips or chunks on top of the charcoal. When they start to give off white smoke, put the pork loin roast in the middle of the grill so it doesn’t get direct heat. Secure the lid to smoke the roast.
For a gas grill: Place soaked wood chips in the smoker box set over the burners. Place the grilling rack on top of the flavor bars once the wood chips start to smoke. Then, place the loin on the grill grates so that it is not directly under any flames or heat. 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.
- In my experience, pork loin is a very cheap cut of meat. I usually buy a whole pork loin at Costco for around $20 to $25. When I cook at home, I cut the pork into roasts and chop and chunk the spare parts to use in kebabs, soups, and stews.
- Bring the pork brine to room temperature before adding the meat. Putting raw pork in hot brine will cook the outside (technically it’s called poaching). You can make the cider brine ahead of time and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
- Don’t over-brine the roast. The meat will not be juicy and tender if it stays in the brine for too long. Instead, it will become soft and mealy. Don’t let yourself brine the roast for more than three hours.
- Let the smoked pork loin rest. There will be juices on the cutting board instead of in the roast if you cut it too early. Patience pays dividends.
- 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. ). Most of the time, these smokers cook food at lower temperatures than a gas or charcoal grill. As a general rule, smoke the meat for 30 minutes per pound on a pellet grill set to 225°F. Use the thermometer to check for doneness.
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.
It took about an hour and fifteen minutes for this 4-pound pork loin roast to reach the right internal temperature, but that’s the exact time. It will depend on the grill temperature and weight of the smoked pork loin.
The safest temperature for cooked pork is 145 °F (62 °C), but the meat will keep cooking after you take it off the grill, so it’s fine to take it off 3-5° earlier.
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}.
- Wrap leftovers in foil or plastic wrap and put them in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Smoked pork loin can be frozen if it is well wrapped in freezer paper and plastic. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost before enjoying.
- Place leftover pork roast slices on a baking sheet and cover them loosely with tin foil. Place the sheet in a 325° oven and heat it for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the meat is warm all the way through.
You won’t get the clear red smoke ring around the edge of the meat like you do with slow-smoked BBQ because this pork roast was smoked quickly. 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.
Apple Brined Pork Tenderloin I Tuffy Stone
FAQ
Should I brine my pork before smoking?
How long can pork loin stay in brine?
Is it better to brine pork loin wet or dry?
Do you rinse pork after brining?
How do you brine a pork loin?
Combine the water, salt, syrup, garlic, and thyme in a bowl, and then whisk. Place the pork loin in a large ziplock bag and add brine. Let the pork loin sit in the brine refrigerated for 6-12 hours. Remove loin from brine and pat dry. Rub the surface of the loin with oil. Sprinkle rub over loin, make sure the entire surface is covered.
Can you cook smoked pork in a brine?
You don’t want to throw the pork loin in a hot brine. Internal Temp: The USDA recommends cooking pork to an internal temperature of 145°F. I usually pull my smoked pork when it reaches about 140°F and then cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Does pork need to be brined before smoked?
Pork loins can be brined overnight before being smoked. This process is not necessary for fatty cuts like pork shoulders, picnics, and butts, as their internal fat keeps them tender and juicy. If you’d like to add more flavor to your pork loin, consider adding additional ingredients to the brine.
Should a pork loin be brined before smoking?
Brining a pork loin before smoking it is crucial for ensuring a juicy and flavorful end result. Pork loin is a lean cut of meat that doesn’t have much fat to keep it moist while smoking. Brining is the process of soaking the meat in a saltwater solution, which not only adds flavor but also helps the meat retain moisture. Brining a pork loin before smoking is essential.