Smoked Pork Loin
On July 31, 2019
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This Smoked Pork Loin is the perfect roast to make for the entire family or when a group of friends come over for a backyard BBQ. It’s juicy, easy to make, and only requires a few ingredients. So fire up that smoker, grab some of my Sweet Rub, and let’s get cooking!
Smoked Pork Loin Roast
This pork loin roast is an awesome roast to cook when you have a crowd to feed. It doesn’t have a ton of fat, but it has enough to keep it juicy while it is on the smoker. Temperature is everything with this roast. I set my smoker to 225 degrees F and smoke for 2-3 hours. Keeping the temperature nice and low in your smoker ensures that this roast doesn’t dry out and maintains moisture.
I love cooking pork loin roast with my signature sweet rub (make your own using this recipe, or buy a bottle pre-made from the Hey Grill Hey Store) and smoke it with a mild fruit wood like apple or cherry. Personally, apple wood and pork are a winning combo in my book, but feel free to experiment with wood flavors or whatever you have on hand.
Pork Loin vs. Pork Tenderloin
Believe it or not, pork loin and pork tenderloin are not the same, and they cannot be substituted in a recipe. They cuts actually come from two different parts of the pig, and they taste and cook quite different.
Pork loin is a center cut loin chop cut from tissue along the upper side of the rib cage. Pork loin is a large cut of meat that can be further cut into smaller slices, known as pork chops or pork steaks. If you’re looking for these smaller portions that have already been sliced and are ready to cook, check out my recipe for Smoked Pork Chops here.
Pork tenderloin, on the other hand, comes from the muscle that runs through the central spine of the pig. It is the most tender portion of the pig, and it doesn’t have a very strong “pork” flavor. This cut is long and thin, and it makes for an extremely delicious meal. My recipe for Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Beer and Mustard Glaze is one of my favorite ways to cook pork tenderloin.
Smoked Pork Loin Rub
This pork loin goes from good to great with the addition of my amazing sweet rub. This rub combines 8 different seasonings that come together to make a wonderfully sweet, and slightly spicy rub. If you’d like to make your own at home, check out my post for my Best Sweet Rub.
Better yet, head on over to Patio Provisions and stock up on your own Hey Grill Hey Signature Sweet Rub. You can buy this rub in 6- or 12-oz bottles, and you can even get a 2-pound bag for refills. Not only does this make the most amazing smoked pork loin rub, but it’s great on chicken, salmon, veggies, and more.
How to Smoke a Pork Loin
The best way to smoke a pork loin is to get is prepped correctly and keep your smoker nice and low. Follow these 5 steps to smoke your pork loin to perfection.
- Get the smoke going. Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F. My go-to smoker is my Camp Chef Woodwind Pro, but you can use whatever is on your patio.
- Trim and score your pork. Pat the roast down with a paper towel. Trim excess fat that is over 1/4 inch thick. Finish prepping by using a sharp knife to score through the fat cap about 1/4 of an inch deep in a diagonal pattern. Because pork loin comes cut so thick, it is difficult to get flavoring and seasoning to the center. Scoring gets the fat cap to render down as it cooks and gets more seasoning into the meat.
- Season the roast. Rub the pork with olive oil to ensure even coating. Sprinkle liberally on all sides with my Best Sweet Rub.
- Smoke! Once you trim and season the pork, place it directly on the grates of your smoker. Close the lid and smoke until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. This can take anywhere from 2-3 hours.
- Tent, rest, slice, and serve. Remove the pork from the smoker and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes under a tent of foil. Slice against the grain and serve warm to your hungry guests.
Quick note: You don’t need to brine this cut before your smoke it, but if you would like to give brining pork loin a try, my recipe for Cider Brined Pulled Pork has a awesome brine that would taste amazing with this pork loin.
How Long to Smoke a Pork Loin
Smoking a pork loin can take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours to fully cook. There are a handful of variables that affect cooking time for a pork loin, including what type of smoker you are using, the consistency of the temperature in your smoker, and how thick the pork loin is.
You will hear me frequently recommend cooking to temperature and not to time when smoking meats. I like to use my ThermoWorks Mk4 or Smoke 2-Channel Alarm when smoking meat to ensure I’m cooking to my preferred doneness. For this pork loin roast, smoke until your meat reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Once it has reached this temperature, allow it to rest for 10-15 additional minutes while tented with foil.
More Smoked Pork Recipes
I love me some good smoked pork, do you? The smoke really enhances the flavor of the pork, and it’s an easy weeknight dinner to make for family. Check out more smoked pork recipes below:
Smoked Pork Loin Recipe
Follow the recipe, and I’ll teach you the simple steps to making your own smoked pork loin at home. Hey Grill Hey is dedicated to help you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero. You can find more of my smoking and grilling recipes and videos on YouTube, Instagram, or our Facebook Page.
Smoked Pork Loin
Video
Ingredients
- 4-5 pound pork loin roast
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2-3 Tablespoons Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub
Instructions
- Preheat. Set your smoker to 225 degrees F and allow to preheat.
- Trim pork. Pat the pork loin roast dry with a paper towel. Trim any excess fat on the top that is over 1/4 inch thick. Use a really sharp knife to score through the fat cap – cut down about 1/4 of an inch in a diagonal pattern.4-5 pound pork loin roast
- Season. Drizzle the pork loin on all sides with olive oil, and rub with your hands to ensure it's evenly coated. Sprinkle on all sides with Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub. You can be a bit aggressive with the sweet rub, so ensure it is nice and coated.1 Tablespoon olive oil, 2-3 Tablespoons Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub
- Smoke. Place the pork loin directly on the grill grates of your smoker. Close the lid and smoke for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. It can take up to 3 hours to fully cook this pork depending on the thickness of the meat. Cook the pork until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F.
- Rest. Remove the roast from the smoker. Tent with foil. Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes, then slice against the grain and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**I originally published this post in July 2019, but recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. However, the recipe remains the same.
Wonderful. My roast was smaller so I adjusted the time and it was wonderful. Thank you!
This is truly an amazing recipe for the very affordable pork loin roast! I followed the directions closely, making my own Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub. Living in Hawaii, we have an abundance of strawberry guava trees (which grow like weeds!), so I used guava wood as my smoke. The sweetness of the guava, which is somewhat similar to cherry in flavor, really enhanced the pork flavor. My Weber water smoker stayed pretty consistent at 225 degrees (amazingly), and my two separate roasts (each about 3.5 lbs) got to an internal temp of 145 in right at 2 hours. Both roasts were perfectly cooked and juicy, with a beautiful smoke rind and caramelized tops. The scoring of the tops really impressed the guests…that makes it look really classy, as well as gets the tasty rub deeper into the meat. Can’t wait to make it again!
Hi Susie, I love smoking pork loin. I like to slice apples, a little more than 1/4″, put 2 or 3 layers of apple slices in an aluminum pan, and dust a little brown sugar/cinnamon on them. Then I place the loin, as described in your recipe, on top of the apples, and continue to line the apple slices around the sides and top of the loin. Then dust your rub on top of the apples with a little extra brown sugar. Smoke the loin as above, and when it is finished, so are the apples for a real nice side.
On the Ninja Woodfire Grill using Smokin’ Pecan pellets and followed your directions. At 135 internal temp, I coated the loin with the Maple Bourbon Glaze and let it finish to 145. It was a great addition, plus we added a small drizzle of the glaze over the slices. It is definitely a recipe worth repeating. Thank you for your guidance to a juicy pork loin!
Excellent recipe. Will definitely make again. Big fan of your site.
Awesome. Brined in homemade apple cider turkey brine for 4 hours and smoked the loin per the recipe. Blew my mind.
Great pork loin recipe. I tried for years to get some real flavor into a loin and this finally did it.
Susie:
I’m a VERY big fan of yours and make alot of your food. Today, I made your apple cider smoked pork loin according to the recipe. It came out FANTASTIC! Used the RecTec RT-700 pellet grill. Wish I could send the pictures I took of the roast. Thanks for your guidance!