Smoked Pork Loin – Made with 3 ingredients in only 3 hours!

Give the grill a break and impresses your friends and family at your next BBQ with this incredibly simple 3 ingredient smoked pork loin that can be made in about 3 hours. One of my favorite things about this recipe is that there is no messy brining required!

I know that using a smoker can seem a bit intimidating but trust me, it’s actually incredibly easy and a lot of fun! Not to mention that it smells AMAZING when your cooking.

There are a lot of different options when it comes to styles of smokers and sources of heat. I use a gas smoker that burns woodchips, which I find to be a good compromise between traditional wood heated smokers and electric smokers. And you can find a good variety of wood chip types at stores like Walmart and Home Depot.

a quick note about wood chips

Before you start seasoning the pork loin you’re going to want to soak your wood chips. They need to soak for at least 30 minutes before you add them to the smoker. If you don’t allow enough time for them to soak they wont release enough smoke.

Since this dish is only cooked for 3 hours (a relatively short time in a smoker) you’ll want to use wood chips and not wood chunks. For this recipe, I like to use a 50/50 mix of apple and cherry wood chips. The combination of the two fruit woods provide a sweet subtle flavor that doesn’t overpower the meat. I would stay away from strongly flavored woods such as mesquite or hickory, they could cause a lean cut like this to have a bitter taste.

Take about two handfuls of each type of wood chip and add them to a large pot of water. Let them soak while you’re preparing the pork loin.

Seasoning the Pork Loin

One of the great things about this smoked pork loin is that it requires very little in the way of prep work. When it comes to choosing the right cut of meat, go with a center cut pork loin that has a bit of fat on it. Do not use a pork tenderloin, it’s to thin and lean for this recipe

For ease of transport to the smoker and quick clean up, I like to season the pork loin on a foil covered baking sheet. Pat the pork loin dry with paper towels. Cover the entire thing with yellow mustard then coat it with your favorite BBQ seasoning. And that’s it, you’re all done and the pork is ready for the smoker. I wasn’t kidding when I said this recipe is incredibly easy.

I’m a little bit obsessed with Pork Barrell BBQ All American Seasoning Mix (this is not an ad or a sponsored post, I just really love this seasoning!). I discovered it a few years back and I’ve used it on almost all my smoked recipes ever since. One container of it will last you a LONG time. You can pick some up here on Amazon.

No brining? Wont you get dry pork?

Pork loin can be a tricky cut of meat to smoke because it’s so lean. To keep the pork loin from drying out during the smoking process most recipes call for brining it for anywhere from 24-48 hours. I’m honestly not a fan of brining. I find it too messy and I generally don’t have the space for it in my refrigerator.

So how do you keep the smoked pork loin from drying out without brining?

• When the pork reaches an internal temperature of 120 remove it from the smoker and place it in tinfoil.
• Before you wrap the tinfoil around the pork pour a 1/4 cup mixture of apple juice and whiskey over the pork (you can omit the whiskey if you want).
• Then wrap the pork loin tightly and place it back in the smoker for around another hour or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.

Get that Pork in the smoker

The wood chips have soaked and you’re pork is seasoned. Now its time to get the smoker going. Each smoker is going to operate slightly differently so make sure to follow the manufactures instruction.

First preheat the smoker to 225 degrees. While the smoker is preheating, drain the wood chips and add them to the smokers chip compartment and fill the smokers water pan. Once the smoker is at 225, carefully add the water pan and the meat. Last you’ll add the chip container. Close the door and let the smoker do its job.

Cook the pork loin for about 2 hours or until the internal temp reaches until around 120 degrees. Once it reaches 120 degrees remove the pork loin, place it in tinfoil, add the apple juice and whiskey mixture, and wrap the pork tightly.

• The easiest way to do this is to use a sheet pan, place one piece of tin foil horizontally then another vertically. Take the pork loin out of the smoker using tongs or two forks. Place the pork loin in the center of the two pieces of tinfoil. Poor the apple juice and whiskey combination over top. Then wrap the tinfoil tightly around the pork loin.

Return the wrapped pork to the smoker for approximately another hour or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing and enjoy!

I hope this smoked pork loin recipe has inspired you to get out there and give the smoker a try! I can guarantee you’ll be happy you did!

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