Smoked Pork Loin with Summer Spice Dry Rub

Smoked Pork Loin with Summer Spice Dry Rub. Tender, juicy, thinly sliced, smoky pork with a tasty blend of herbs & spices. Makes delicious cold cuts too.

The few seconds of video below shows the pork loin after several hours of slow smoking at 250 degrees F. You can tell from the video just how juicy it is inside! Sliced thinly, it goes great with beans, cornbread and coleslaw or it makes terrific sandwiches, hot or cold.

Summertime is barbecue and grilling time for me; I just love it and there's nothing I love more during the season that smoked pork loin. Maybe it's because the season is so short here in Newfoundland that I try to cram in as much as barbecue as I can in those few short months.

You really have to make the most of when the weather is agreeable; or maybe I grill and smoke so much during this time of year because of all the BBQ I have sampled all over the US during several long road trip vacations there.

There's nothing like finding a great BBQ joint in a small town or even big city along the way. This smoked pork loin is a real favourite in our family and we make it at least every couple of weeks during the summer.

The brine for Smoked Pork Loin. Keeping it simple.

It was on the road that I first tried a version of this brined and smoked pork loin, which was thinly sliced and served on a mixed platter with brisket, chicken and ribs.

The pork loin is what I remembered most though, because I had never seen smoked pork loin in another BBQ restaurant.

The centre loin especially, is far too lean to take long periods of smoking, like the pork shoulder that's used for pulled pork does. Brining the pork does the trick though, to get past that obstacle, as it deeply seasons and adds moisture to the meat.

I've kept the brine mixture very simple in this recipe and used my own ultra versatile Smokin' Summer Spice Dry Rub on the outside to slowly smoke this loin to pork perfection. (Be sure to visit the dry rub recipe page just to see all the ways I use it!)

It's wonderful to serve with baked beans and cornbread for a terrific BBQ dinner but I just as often eat it as cold cuts withe a side salad, pasta salad or on sandwiches. I also often use it, lightly fried in place of bacon at breakfast. It really is delicious that way.

Because it is brined it does last a little longer in the fridge, so that's why I always cook 2 center loin roasts at a time when making this recipe because it will serve for several meals throughout the week.

While I do have a backyard smoker, any BBQ can be adapted to add a little smoke flavour using readily available hardwood chips. See below.

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR INDIRECT BBQ AND SMOKING USING A GAS OR CHARCOAL GRILL

If you are using your gas grill to slow barbecue your pork, place the meat on one side of the grill and use the burner or burners on the opposite side so that it is not directly over heat. Regulate the gas to keep the temperature at about 250 degrees F for slow barbecued flavour.

The same technique can also be used with a charcoal grill, just keep the charcoal on one side and the meat on the opposite side.

You can add smoke flavour by soaking hardwood chips like mesquite, apple, cherry or hickory in warm water for about a half hour. A couple of handfuls will do.

Wrap the soaked wood chips in a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil and poke only two holes in the foil, one at either end to allow the smoke to escape.

On a gas grill,I place the foil packets in a vegetable grill pan so that the packet is not sitting directly on the gas burner. On a charcoal grill, simply toss the packet directly onto the hot coals.

You can add more soaked wood chip packets as they burn out, it all depends on how much smoke favour you wish to add. One or two of these packets replaced every hour should be enough for pork.

Anything on the side?

We have plenty or summer side dish inspiration to explore. Everything from baked beans & corn bread to deliciously different potato and pasta salads. Be sure to check out our collection of 35 Best BBQ Side Dishes . 

Originally published My 2015. Updated Aug 2020.

Like this Smoked Pork Loin recipe?

Find dozens more great idea's for the gas grill Charcoal barbecue and backyard smoker in our BBQ and Grilling Category.

2016 photo using a darker mesquite smoke. So delicious!

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Smoked Pork Loin with Summer Spice Dry Rub

Yield: 12 servings

Prep Time: 1 day

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 1 day 3 hours

Smoked Pork Loin with Summer Spice Dry Rub - tender, juicy, thinly sliced, smoky pork with a tasty blend of herbs & spices. Makes delicious cold cuts too.

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Ingredients

• 4 pound center loin pork roast
• 4-6 tablespoon Smokin' Summer Spice Barbecue Dry Rub (approximately, use as much as you like)
• 6 cups water
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs

Instructions

1. Mix all of the brine ingredients together until the brown sugar and salt have dissolved.
2. Place loin roast in a plastic or glass container and pour the brine over the top of the meat. The brine should cover the meat entirely.
3. Place in the fridge and let stand for 24-48 hours.
4. Pat the meat dry with paper towels. Liberally cover the loin roast with Summer Spice Dry Rub. You can then leave the roast for 2-8 hours before smoking if you like to let the flavour of the spices permeate the meat. How long is your choice.
5. Barbecue over indirect heat at 250 degrees F for up to 3 hours or longer depending on the size/thickness of the roast you are using. The best way to ensure your pork loin is fully cooked is to use a meat thermometer to ensure the center reaches 160 degrees F. Any higher than that, you risk losing moisture from the meat. This temperature is what is recommend by health Canada. In the US the guideline is 140 degrees F or higher. I've used both temps in the past and both may leave the pork slightly pink at the centre which is considered perfectly fine these days.

Notes

While I do have a backyard smoker, any BBQ can be adapted to add a little smoke flavour using readily available hardwood chips. See below.

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR INDIRECT BBQ

If you are using your gas grill to slow barbecue your pork, place the meat on one side of the grill and use the burner or burners on the opposite side so that it is not directly over heat. Regulate the gas to keep the temperature at about 250 degrees F for slow barbecued flavour. The same technique can also be used with a charcoal grill, just keep the charcoal on one side and the meat on the opposite side.

You can add smoke flavour by soaking hardwood chips like mesquite, apple, cherry or hickory in warm water for about a half hour. A couple of handfuls will do. Wrap the soaked wood chips in a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil and poke only two holes in the foil, one at either end to allow the smoke to escape. On a gas grill, I place the foil packets in a vegetable grill pan so that the packet is not sitting directly on the gas burner. On a charcoal grill, simply toss the packet directly onto the hot coals. You can add more soaked wood chip packets as they burn out, it all depends on how much smoke favor you wish to add. One or two of these packets replaced every hour should be enough for pork.

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1 serving
Amount Per Serving Calories 327Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 2gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 95mgSodium 479mgCarbohydrates 31gFiber 1gSugar 26gProtein 34g

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