Smoked Pork Loin is an incredibly simple BBQ meal to make, and the time requirement involved is a heck-of-a-lot less than brisket! As easy as this is, the results are deliciously similar to a good brisket (not that it tastes like brisket), and I suspect I'll be making this for Saturday lunch or dinner a lot more frequently.I marinated two pork loin's in zesty Italian dressing with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and some coke. I wanted to use apple juice as well, but I was out, and simply forgot to buy more, so this pork had a different taste than usual. Not bad, but I wish I had used apple juice too.
I rubbed each one with a thick layer of rub, and once the smoker was up to temperature, it was a simple matter of placing the meat on the upper rack and walking away. The trusty remote digital thermometer kept me informed, and after about an hour I needed to slow things down a little. The temperature of the meat was rising a little faster than I wanted, so I closed the vents a bit more and watched the temperature... it leveled off and the pork loin stayed around 140 degrees for quite some time.
I'm smoking my food with hickory considerably more often than with mesquite lately. Mesquite and hickory both do very well with pork, as do cherry and pecan. Any of these favorite smoking wood choices will last longer if they are pre-soaked in water for at least 20 minutes. Otherwise, even very large pieces will burn off very quickly. After soaking, remove them from the water to drain off the water prior to use.
Pork has a "well done" temperature of 170 degrees. Rather than rush quickly to this temperature, it's best to slowly and steadily climb to that temperature. Rarely have I ever taken pork to it's well done temperature on my smoker. I prefer to pull the meat off at about 160 degrees and wrap it up tight in heavy aluminum foil where it will rest in my oven (no heat) to gradually warm up internally, then ease back down slowly.
Smoked Pork Loin cooked in this fashion yields ultra-tender, flavorful meat with a sweet, spicy and crispy crust. It cuts like butter with a sharp knife. The rest period of about 40 minutes seemed to be PERFECT!
