Smoked Pork Loin

My husband is a bit obsessed with his electric smoker, and I am totally okay with that! 😉 He’s come up with a bunch of easy smoker recipes along with this new stuffed and smoked pork recipe. The reason we added fruit was so our kids would love it too and success!

Smoked boneless pork loin in the backyard came about because it was HOT that time of year and I didn’t want to turn on the oven (that wasn’t happening). Instead I asked him to cook it “his way” and now it out go to cooking method for this cut of pork.

From there since it was such a success we added it to our list of electric smoker recipes. Those will work too if you’re looking for more ideas. Honestly it can be fed by pellets or wood chips. Either way just keep it at a steady temperature and you’ll find success like you see here too.

Ingredient Notes

Center cut pork loin is best. Those are thicker and wider than a tenderloin. This is important so you have room to create a cavity to stuff it with all the things in the center for the apples and sweet elements.

I used light Brown Sugar that was not packed and basically used enough to fill it well and not trickle out as that would be a huge mess. I haven’t tried Splenda sugar-free variations as an alternative but I think that is a 1:1 ratio so I think it would work just as well.

As far as added sweetness I prefer organic local Honey in there. Agave nectar or maple syrup would be alternatives if you preferred something else in there though. And to counterbalance those flavors I prefer sea salt or kosher salt sprinkled on top of that too.

If your smoker doesn’t have a built in digital thermometer you’ll want that too.

How to Season

You can choose to add our steak dry rub ingredients on the outside of the whole thing or just use simple seasonings. I will say that we do use the mixture linked below in our printable recipe card below on our how to smoke steaks and smoked pork steaks too. Choose either way or both and see which you prefer best.

How to Stuff a Pork Loin

Like our pork roulade, in this case we added fuji apples sliced with some brown sugar and honey to make it sweet for the kiddos. Some like to instead use cream cheese and jalapenos (not my style). The other option that I am going to try next is filled with our Sausage Stuffing Recipe. You just slice the middle 3/4 of the way thru and fill!

For the best meats to smoke I like to use apple or hickory. Some electric smoker machines use wood chips instead of pellets. There is no need to soak in water or apple juice beforehand.

How Long to Smoke Pork Loin

You are going to need about 3 hours to get this done. Remember with pork you need to make sure that the thickest part reaches a safe 145F inside before eating. Remember that it will rise about 5 degrees as it rests, covered, too.

Do you wrap pork loin in foil when smoking?

We did not. If you want that smokey flavor on the outside of your meat and a crustier/browned exterior you shouldn’t. If you want to you can alternatively sear outside in a large skillet before or after cooking.

How do you keep pork moist when smoking?

Wrapping it aluminum foil will help keep it moist all over. When doing so the moisture will remain trapped inside. Just note it won’t have the same smoked flavor or outside texture. Or spray, pour apple cider over it a few times while cooking as we did with our smoked pulled pork here.

Ideal Internal Temperature

145 degrees F. is the minimal temperature your loin should be in the thickest part before consuming. The range is from 145-160 to keep it moist, any higher than that and it will likely be dry when sliced no matter what you do. Check internal meat temperature with a thermometer

What goes well with smoked pork loin?

We love vegetables like smoked corn on the cob or smoked baked potatoes personally. A side salad is always an easy side dish too. Apples, honey and brown sugar were the main flavors with a bit of salt of course to bring it all together.

I have never been a huge fan of pork but ever since he’s created several smoked pork recipes like these smoked bacon wrapped pork chops I can’t get enough.