This juicy Smoked Pork Loin is easy to make, and doesn't take long to get that wonderfully smoked flavor! It's perfect for serving to summertime gatherings of family and friends, and the leftovers make incredibly delicious sandwiches!!
I love a good pork loin, and part of what makes a really good pork loin for me is when it turns out incredibly tender and juicy! So take the time to let this pork loin roast sit and marinate, it's totally worth it! A minimum of 4 hours, but ideally for 8 - 24 hours to really let the pork take on the marinade flavor.
My usually smoking had to wait this year, as my poor little electric smoker needed a replacement cord. I ended up buying a Traeger smoker after I made this recipe and have repeated this process using the Traeger. Cook times for me were pretty spot on!
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❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe!
A Beautiful Flavor - Pork belongs with apples and this brings them together perfectly!
Easy - This recipe is super simple any type of smoker will work whether you have a electric, pellet, gas or wood smoker.
The Leftovers are really good! Make a sandwich, or just warm up a plate.
🥘 Ingredients
Super simple ingredients, the apple cider marinade is worth the small effort.
- Pork Loin Roast - Choose a good sized pork loin then trim fat as needed.
- Apple Cider -If you can't find the cider in your store, you can use apple juice. If using apple juice reduce or eliminate the honey in the marinade as the juice will be sweet enough.
- Honey - Raw unprocessed natural honey is my go-to choice.
- Garlic - Adds just enough bite to help balance the sweetness.
- Dijon Mustard - Ground mustard can work in place of Dijon.
- Kosher Salt - Kosher is my first choice for smoking meats, but table salt or sea salt are OK as well.
- Ginger - Fresh is best, but you can substitute dry ginger.
- Pepper - White or Black, freshly ground.
- Ground Sage - A must try flavor with pork!
- Parsley - Fresh or dried.
💭 Tips & Recipe Notes
I am using apple wood with my apple cider marinated pork loin roast, but hickory, sugar maple, pecan and oak are also good choices. Fruit woods like orange and peach have a citrus hint to them and pear is a close flavor to apple.
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
To get your smoked pork loin started, prepare the pork loin roast portion by removing from packaging and patting the roast dry with a couple of paper towels. Remove fat in excess of a quarter inch in thickness and silverskin, if desired. *I left my fat cap in place as it wasn't super thick and I want the fatty section to melt down into my pork loin as much as possible.
Apple Cider Marinade
- Using a one gallon Ziploc plastic storage bag, add the marinade ingredients including: apple cider, honey, minced or crushed garlic, Dijon mustard, kosher salt, minced or crushed ginger, coarse ground pepper, ground sage, and chopped parsley.
- Squeeze the bag to mix the marinade ingredients, then place the prepared pork loin roast into the Ziploc storage bag.
- Squeeze out as much air as possible when sealing the plastic bag, then massage the marinade around the pork loin until well coated.
- Place the bag of pork and marinade in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours, with 8 - 24 hours being optimal.
Smoking The Pork Loin
- Once the pork loin has been marinating and you are ready to fire up your smoker, remove the pork loin in marinade from the refrigerator and allow it to warm at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your smoker to 225ºF (107ºC) and load your wood tray with wood chips of your choice.
- When the pork has warmed and the smoker is preheated, remove the pork loin from the bag of marinade, drain off any excess marinade. Place directly onto your smoker grill grate and discard the remaining marinade.
- Pat the pork loin mostly dry using paper towels, then (optional) rub two tablespoons of light brown sugar over the entire surface of the pork loin roast.
- Transfer into your preheated smoker and close the door or lid to start the smoking process.
- Smoke the marinated pork loin roast for 2 ½ - 3 hours or until the internal temperature is 145ºF (63ºC) as read by a digital meat thermometer.
- Remove the smoked pork loin from your smoker and transfer to a serving plate or cutting board.*Smoking times will vary based on the thickness of your pork loin roast portion, your model of smoker, and the temperature consistency while smoking.
- Loosely 'tent' the pork loin with a square of aluminum foil and allow the pork to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Serve your perfectly delicious smoked pork loin with some of my creamy smoked mac and cheese or fabulous au gratin potatoes (that you can smoke with the pork loin during the 1 ½ hour of cook time).
Looking for more great pork recipes?? Try my tasty marinated grilled pork chops, or pork tenderloin with mushroom gravy!
📋 Recipe
Smoked Pork Loin
Ingredients
Smoked Pork Loin
- 5 lb pork loin roast
Smoked Pork Loin Marinade
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ tablespoon garlic (minced or crushed)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (or ¼ teaspoon ground mustard)
- 1 teaspoon salt (kosher salt)
- ½ teaspoon ginger (minced or crushed, or ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (fresh ground)
- ½ teaspoon ground sage
- ½ teaspoon parsley
Instructions
- Remove pork from packaging and trim excess fat, more than ¼ inch thick, and silverskin if desired. Pat your pork loin roast dry.5 lb pork loin roast
- Combine the marinade ingredients in a one gallon Ziploc plastic storage bag (apple cider, honey, garlic, Dijon, salt, ginger, pepper, ground sage, and parsley). Squeeze the contents until well combined.2 cups apple cider, 1 tablespoon honey, ½ tablespoon garlic, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon ground sage, ½ teaspoon parsley
- Transfer the prepared pork into the Ziploc storage bag with marinade, then squeeze the air out while sealing the bag. Massage the marinade into and around the pork loin roast to coat thoroughly. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours, up to 12 hours.
- Once the pork loin has marinated and you are ready to get it started smoking, remove the marinating pork loin from the refrigerator, drain, and allow it to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Preheat your smoker to 225°F (107°C).
- When your smoker is preheated and the pork has warmed, remove from marinade and place directly onto your smoker grill grates. Discard the remaining marinade. Pat the marinated pork loin to remove excess liquid. (Optional) Rub entire pork loin with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, if desired.
- Transfer the prepared pork loin to your preheated smoker and close the door or lid. Smoke for 2 ½ - 3 hours (depending on the thickness of your pork portion) or until the pork loin reaches an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C).
- Remove the pork loin when done and place on serving tray or cutting board. Loosely 'tent' a square of aluminum foil over the pork loin roast and allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Equipment You May Need
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
Vitalii says
Hi.
I can't find cider in the stores. Do you use cider or perhabs apple cider vinegar?
Used apple juice instead of cider.
Apple juice works! It's sweeter than the cider, but you can always add some cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, or allspice to add some warmth and depth of flavor to the marinade. How was it with the apple juice?? I'd love to hear! Thanks! ~ Angela