Smoked Pork Loin: A Juicy & Flavorful Pellet Grill Recipe
Master the art of smoking pork loin with this irresistible recipe, designed for your pellet Traeger grill. Marinated to perfection and cooked low and slow, this method yields an incredibly flavorful and tender piece of pork that pairs beautifully with a myriad of side dishes. Prepare for an easy, yet impressive, culinary experience.
There’s something truly special about the rich aroma and succulent taste of perfectly smoked meat. While many cuts can benefit from the kiss of smoke, a well-prepared smoked pork loin stands out as a crowd-pleaser that’s surprisingly straightforward to achieve at home. This recipe, crafted specifically for a Traeger pellet grill, will guide you through creating a masterpiece that’s tender, juicy, and packed with an incredible depth of flavor.
If you’re looking to elevate your grilling game or simply seeking a delicious and reliable recipe for your next gathering, you’ve come to the right place. Our method emphasizes a “low and slow” cooking approach, which is the secret to tenderizing the pork loin while allowing it to absorb maximum smoky goodness. While a Traeger is fantastic for this, don’t fret if you have another type of pellet grill, an offset smoker, or even a charcoal grill. The core principles of indirect heat and consistent smoke remain the same. Just ensure the meat is never directly over scorching heat, which can dry it out prematurely.
For those without a grill or smoker, or perhaps when the weather isn’t cooperating, remember that other cooking methods can yield delicious pork, albeit with a different flavor profile. For instance, my crock pot pork tenderloin recipe offers a fantastic alternative for a tender and flavorful meal without the smoke.
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Why Choose Smoked Pork Loin for Your Next Meal?
When the sun is shining, and the air is crisp, there’s nothing quite like getting outdoors and firing up the grill. A smoked pork loin is not just a fair-weather friend; its incredible taste might have you reaching for your smoker even in the rain, sleet, or snow! Just one look at that beautiful pink smoke ring will tell you it’s worth it.
Pork loin offers several advantages that make it an excellent choice for smoking. Firstly, it’s generally more budget-friendly than many cuts of beef, offering a fantastic value without compromising on flavor or tenderness when cooked correctly. Secondly, it’s quite forgiving and typically cooks faster than larger beef roasts, making it a more accessible option for weeknight dinners or less experienced grill masters. The smoking process infuses the meat with a remarkable depth, creating a savory, slightly sweet, and aromatic profile that is truly unique. Plus, if you’re a fan of pan drippings, you can still easily collect the flavorful jus to create a wonderful gravy.
The Magic of “Low and Slow” Smoking
The “low and slow” approach to smoking is critical for pork loin. Unlike high-heat grilling, this method involves cooking at a lower temperature (typically between 225-275°F) for an extended period. This allows the connective tissues in the meat to break down gradually, resulting in an incredibly tender product. Simultaneously, the steady influx of smoke penetrates the meat deeply, imparting that signature smoky flavor and creating a beautiful reddish-pink “smoke ring” just beneath the surface, a hallmark of expertly smoked meats.
Crafting the Perfect Smoked Pork Loin Marinade
The journey to an extraordinary smoked pork loin begins with an exceptional marinade. This step is non-negotiable for maximizing flavor and ensuring a juicy outcome. You’ll want to give your pork loin ample time to soak up all those delicious flavors – at least three hours, but ideally, preparing it the night before for an overnight marinade will yield the best results. If you opt for an overnight soak, make sure you have enough marinade to fully submerge the pork loin. For shorter marinating times, simply flip the pork loin about halfway through to ensure even saturation.
A crucial technique often overlooked is scoring the pork loin before marinating. Using a sharp knife, make shallow cuts, about a quarter-inch deep, in a crisscross pattern across the surface of the loin. This isn’t just for aesthetics; these small incisions allow the flavorful sweet and spicy marinade to penetrate deeper into the meat, infusing every bite with taste. Furthermore, scoring helps to create a beautiful, crispy sear on the exterior of the pork during the smoking process, adding a delightful textural contrast.
Why Leftovers are a Must-Have
When planning your smoked pork loin, always aim to make extra. It might be challenging to resist eating it all fresh off the smoker, but trust us, ensuring you have leftovers is a brilliant move. Why? Because cold, sliced smoked pork loin transcends a simple meal. It becomes an epic ingredient for future culinary adventures. Think sliced thin for gourmet sandwiches, tossed into vibrant salads for a smoky protein boost, or even incorporated into quick and easy wraps or tacos. Leftover smoked pork loin is truly like the culinary equivalent of a smoking hot guitar solo – it rocks hard, making you want to bang your head and point at the sky with your arms raised high!
For our signature marinade, we combine the crisp sweetness of apple juice with the rich, natural sugars of honey and brown sugar. These create a base that caramelizes beautifully and keeps the pork moist. Dried oregano and freshly ground black pepper add a fragrant, peppery kick, while a quality Traeger chicken and pork rub introduces a complex blend of savory spices. Simply whisk these ingredients together in a saucepan and gently heat over medium heat on your stovetop until the brown sugar is fully dissolved. This gentle heating helps to meld the flavors and ensures a smooth, consistent marinade. Once dissolved, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool slightly before pouring over your pork.
Here you can see the pork loin, expertly scored and ready to embrace the marinade. This visual demonstrates how the scoring creates small channels for maximum flavor absorption.
Once the marinade has cooled, pour it generously over the scored pork loin in a pan deep enough to comfortably hold the meat. Ensure the loin is well-coated before transferring it to the fridge to marinate for at least 3 hours, remembering to flip it halfway through to ensure even flavor distribution.
With your pork loin perfectly marinated, it’s time for the smoke! Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F. The choice of wood pellets significantly influences the final flavor. For this recipe, we achieved fantastic results using Mesquite pellets, which impart a strong, earthy, and slightly spicy smoke flavor that beautifully complements pork. Alternatively, Apple pellets work wonderfully, offering a much sweeter and fruitier smoke that can give the meat a ham-like taste. Other popular choices include Hickory (strong, classic smoky flavor), Cherry (mild, sweet, beautiful red hue), or Pecan (nutty, subtle). Experiment with different woods to find your personal favorite!
Achieving Perfection: When is a Smoked Pork Loin Done?
The single most critical factor in achieving a perfectly tender and juicy smoked pork loin is cooking it to the correct internal temperature. The USDA recommends cooking pork to an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C), followed by a 3-minute rest. This temperature ensures the pork is safe to eat while remaining wonderfully succulent. All too often, people overcook their pork, leading to dry, tough, and even tasteless results. This is especially true for leaner cuts like pork loin and tenderloin, which have less fat to keep them moist.
So, trust your thermometer implicitly. When you slice into your pork loin and see a blushing light pink in the center, that’s exactly what you’re aiming for. This slightly pink hue is a sign of perfectly cooked pork, retaining its moisture and maximizing its flavor. If the center lacks any pink color, it means you’ve likely overshot the ideal temperature, resulting in a less juicy outcome. While still edible, it won’t have the same exquisite tenderness and flavor.
The Importance of Resting Your Meat
After reaching 145°F, it’s essential to remove the pork loin from the smoker and let it rest for at least 5-10 minutes before slicing. During cooking, the meat’s juices are pushed towards the center. Resting allows these juices to redistribute throughout the entire loin, ensuring every slice is incredibly moist and flavorful. Cutting too soon will cause the juices to run out, leaving you with drier meat.
My Thermapen Mk4 is undoubtedly the BEST meat thermometer I have ever owned. Its almost instant-read capability and super accurate readings take all the guesswork out of cooking. I particularly love its pivoting design, which makes it incredibly versatile for checking temperatures from all angles and in various cuts of meat. You can discover more about its impressive features and functions on the Thermapen website.
Love This Recipe? Pin It for Later!
If you’re as excited about this smoked pork loin recipe as we are, and you can’t wait to try it, make sure you save it! Pin it to your favorite Pinterest recipe board now so you can easily find it whenever that smoking craving hits. Don’t let this incredible recipe get lost in the scroll!
Understanding the Difference: Pork Loin vs. Pork Tenderloin
While their names sound strikingly similar, a pork loin and a pork tenderloin are actually two distinct cuts of pork, and understanding their differences is crucial for successful cooking. Mistaking one for the other can lead to disappointing results, as their ideal cooking methods and times vary significantly.
**Pork Loin** (often called pork loin roast, top loin roast, or center-cut roast) is a larger, thicker cut of meat that runs along either side of the backbone. It’s often sold as a boneless roast, typically about 5-6 inches in width and weighing anywhere from 2-5 pounds, sometimes even more. This cut is robust and can be fabricated into various chops or roasted whole. Because it’s a larger, leaner muscle with a bit more connective tissue, it benefits immensely from slower cooking methods like smoking or roasting, which allow it to become tender and juicy.
**Pork Tenderloin**, on the other hand, is a long, thin, and very lean muscle that runs along the inside of the loin. It’s much smaller, typically only about 1.5-2 inches in diameter and weighing less than 1.5 pounds. As its name suggests, it’s one of the most tender cuts of pork due to its lack of heavy use by the animal. Because of its lean nature and delicate structure, pork tenderloin cooks very quickly and is best suited for high-heat, fast cooking methods like searing, grilling, or roasting at higher temperatures to prevent it from drying out. Its smaller size and tenderness mean it will cook in a fraction of the time compared to a pork loin.
For this smoked recipe, we are specifically focusing on the **pork loin** to harness its capacity for absorbing deep smoke flavor over a longer, low-temperature cook, resulting in that wonderfully tender, flavorful roast perfect for slicing.
What Pairs Perfectly with Smoked Pork Loin
The versatility of pork truly knows no bounds, especially when it’s been imbued with the rich, smoky flavors from a pellet grill. Smoked pork loin is incredibly adaptable, meaning you can serve it with almost anything. Often referred to as “the other white meat,” it complements a wide array of side dishes typically associated with chicken, beef, or even fish. Its savory profile with hints of sweetness from the marinade makes it a truly flexible main course.
For an Asian-inspired twist, consider a fragrant basil garlic fried rice. The fresh herbs and garlic would provide a bright contrast to the smoky pork. If you’re leaning towards a lighter, refreshing option, a crisp Tomato Cracker Salad offers a delightful crunch and tanginess that cuts through the richness of the meat.
You can never go wrong with classic comfort food, and Grandma’s Baked Beans are an absolute winner. Their sweet and savory depth makes them a perfect match for smoked pork. If potatoes are on your mind, a creamy and flavorful classic picnic-style potato salad would be an excellent choice. For something fresh and vibrant, a simple yet elegant green salad with a zesty lemon-thyme vinaigrette offers a cleansing palate alongside the hearty pork.
Beyond these, consider roasted vegetables like asparagus or Brussels sprouts, a creamy polenta, or even a side of fluffy couscous. The beauty of smoked pork loin is its chameleon-like ability to enhance almost any accompaniment. As we like to say, pork is like khakis; it literally goes with everything and makes it look tasteful and effortlessly delicious!
Explore More Delicious Pork Recipes
While smoked pork loin holds a special place in my heart as one of my absolute favorites, the world of pork offers an incredible variety of flavors and textures to explore. If you’re a true pork enthusiast, you’ll definitely want to check out some of my other fantastic recipes. For a tantalizing blend of sweet, spicy, and savory, my latest creation, Sweet & Spicy Bacon Wrapped Pork Ribs, is an absolute must-try. And here’s a handy tip: if you can’t find ribs at your local store, a pork loin chop can often be used as a delicious substitute!
Dive into these other mouth-watering pork dishes for more culinary inspiration:
- Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin: A quick and elegant dish perfect for weeknights.
- Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Sauerkraut Stuffing: A unique and flavorful twist on a classic.
- Pork Loin Roast with Balsamic Cranberry Glaze: Ideal for holidays or special occasions.
- Teriyaki Pineapple Pork Tenderloin Sliders: Fun, mini sandwiches bursting with tropical flavor.
- Fuggedaboutit Pork Roast: An incredibly easy, hands-off recipe for a tender roast.
- Pork Roast & Sauerkraut: A comforting and traditional pairing.
- Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin: (Duplicate link, ensuring variety) A fan favorite for its balance of sweet and tangy.
- Grilled Cuban Mojo Pork Roast: Zesty, garlicky, and perfect for a taste of the tropics.
Any way you slice it, this Smoked Pork Loin is an absolute must-make on your smoker! Its tender texture and rich, smoky flavor will undoubtedly impress. Now that you’re equipped with all the tips and tricks, let’s get down to the detailed recipe! Happy smoking!
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Print Recipe
Smoked Pork Loin
Equipment
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Traeger Pellet Grills Pro Series 780 Pellet Bronze Grill, Smoker
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Thermapen Mk4 Instant-read Thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 8-9 pound Pork Loin
- 1 3/4 cups apple juice
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup Traeger Chicken/Pork Rub
- 1 Tablespoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup dried oregano
Instructions
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In the morning, mix up the marinade: apple juice, honey, brown sugar, Traeger rub, pepper and oregano, in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved.
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Trim fat from pork loin, and using a sharp knife score the loin going about 1/4 inch deep, and 1 inch apart. Repeat going the opposite way.
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Place the loin in a deep pan, and pour the marinade over the loin. Refrigerate for 3 hours, flipping the loins half way through marinading.
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Using Mesquite pellets, Preheat smoker to 225 degrees for 15 minutes with the lid closed.
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Place loin directly on the grates and smoke until the internal temperature of the meat is 145 degrees. (about 2 hours)
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Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Reduce the marinade for smaller portions of pork.