Smoking a pork loin is easy to make. Try this guide to make bacon-wrapped smoked pork loin. A good way to use an inexpensive cut of pork.
Ok, y’all, of those who know me by now, ain’t going to lie to you. So you can believe me when I say this bacon-wrapped smoked pork loin may be the best slice of pork I have ever put into my mouth!
However, you should have seen the look on David’s face when he came home from hunting to find there was a huge pork loin in the refrigerator. I wasn’t all that excited about it.
I know what you’re thinking… Is David ok? Why doesn’t he want pork?!?!
Let me explain…
David was very skeptical about the idea because pork loins are known to be very lean and can dry out if they aren’t cooked right. He kept saying they are dry because there isn’t enough fat.
We decided the best approach for how to smoke pork loin would be to brine the pork loin and wrap it in bacon for smoking for extra juiciness.
We both researched how to smoke pork loins and put our heads together to figure out the best method to smoke a pork loin.
After some deliberation, David fired up the smoker to smoke the pork loin.
GRACIOUS ME! The result was astounding!
Ultimately, we sat down to tender, slightly spicy bacon-wrapped smoked pork loin smothered in tangy barbecue sauce. Soft succulent meat with full-bodied hickory smoked flavor. If you love to smoke meat, you have to try this!
Let us show you how to smoke a pork loin!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Boneless pork loin roast
- Pork loin brine, recipe to follow
- Pork loin rub, recipe to follow
- Bacon, thick sliced
- Apple juice
- Water
- Barbecue Sauce, your favorite, or use THIS ONE
The Pork Loin Brine Solution Ingredients
- Liquid: Water, Apple Juice, Maple Syrup
- Herbs and Spices: garlic powder, onion powder, red crushed pepper flakes
- Sugar: Brown sugar
- Salt: Kosher salt
The Pork Loin Rub Ingredients
- Brown sugar
- Paprika
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- Kosher salt
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Cayenne pepper
Helpful Equipment and Supplies
- meat injector
- 2-gallon zip-top bag or large pot
- paper towels
- parchment paper or butcher’s twine
- water smoker or charcoal grill
- 1 package of hickory wood chunks (cherry or apple are great too)
- grilling gloves
- charcoal
- charcoal chimney
- tongs
- Meat Thermometer
- grilling brush with a saucepan
- cutting board or serving platter
- carving knife and fork for slicing
What is a pork loin?
A pork loin is a cut of meat that runs along either side of the backbone, just below the shoulder and down the leg. The top of the loin is usually where a loin roast is cut from. The pork loin roast is cut from the center of the loin. Its size and shape are uniformly about 5 inches across with a thin layer of fat that runs over the top (AKA: Fat Cap).
Compared to a pork tenderloin, the meat of a pork loin is lighter in color, and the flavor tends to be a bit milder.
How to Make Bacon-Wrapped Smoked Pork Loin
Detailed instructions are provided in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Start with a pork loin in the 5-pound range, which is just the right size to fit on any smoker or grill.
#1 Prepare the Pork Loin for Brine
- Rinse the meat under cold running water, and blot dry with paper towels.
- Trim the fat cap and silver skin from the loin. Leave at least a ¼-inch of fat. Any less and the pork will be drier, and anymore the fat will prevent the brine solution and rub from seasoning the meat.
- Score. Use a sharp to add a crosshatch pattern on the pork.
How to Score the Pork Loin:
Scoring meat is a culinary term that means cutting slits on the surface of the
- Make diagonal cuts approximately 1-inch apart across the surface of the fat cap, only allowing the knife to penetrate about ⅛ to ¼ inch deep.
- Turn the meat 90 degrees to add a crosshatch. Scoring across in the opposite
- Inject the Pork
- Combine all the brine solution ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk well until the salt has dissolved completely.
- Submerge the meat injector into the bowl and fill it with the brine solution.
- Plunge the needle deep inside the meat while pushing the plunger with a slow and steady force. Withdraw the needle gradually with each plunge. Minimize the number of holes you put into the meat. You can do this by angling the needle in 2 or 3 different directions using the same entry point.
- Inject. Continue to inject the meat cannot hold any more liquid, and the brine solution begins to leak from the holes.
- Brine the Pork Overnight: Squeeze as much air out of the zip-top bag and seal tightly so that the pork loin is completely submerged in the brine solution. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Tips on Injecting Pork
- Allow the brine solution to sit for 2 to 3 minutes to settle. This will allow the crushed red pepper to float to the top, keeping the meat injector from clogging up.
- If the meat injector clogs, push the plunger to release some brine solution and then pull it again to fill it with brine solution.
#2 How To Make a Bacon Weave
I have always wanted to make a bacon weave and used this pork loin as my golden opportunity to try it. This method is the easiest way to make a bacon weave.
I made an instructional video to help demonstrate the bacon weave you’ll notice in the video that I screwed the pattern up, but hey, I think it was a great effort for my first time.
Tips for Making a Bacon Weave
- You may not use all of the two pounds of bacon, but some of the leftover bacon may be needed if the weave doesn’t wrap the pork loin completely.
- I learned from reading BarbecueBible.com that you can cover the bacon weave with plastic wrap and gently roll it with a rolling pin to tighten the weave. As a result, the rolling helps to expand the dimensions of the weave slightly.
- If your bacon weave is not large enough to fit around the pork loin. Line some strips of bacon across the uncovered portion of the pork loin and use butcher’s twine to help secure it.
#3 Rub and Wrap the Pork Loin In the Bacon Weave
- Use tongs, to lift the pork loin out of the brine solution inside the zip-lock bag. Blot dry with paper towels.
- Lay the bacon weave out on a piece of parchment paper or butcher paper. Then lay the pork loin fat cap side up in the center of the bacon weave.
- Rub the pork rub mixture onto the meat, making sure to cover each end. Flip the pork loin over so that the fat cap is down, and rub the bottom of the pork loin. The pork loin should be covered entirely in rub with the fat cap side down in the center of the bacon weave.
- Wrap the bacon weave around the pork loin as if it were
a bacon blanket, using the parchment paper to help roll the bacon weave around the meat. If it doesn’t completely cover the pork loin, finish covering it with extra strips laying across the gap horizontally. - Butcher’s twine to help hold the bacon weave securely in place around the meat. Tie the twine around the meat in 2 to
3-inch sections. Then tuck any loose edges of the bacon weave into itself or the twine.
#4 Prep the Smoker or Grill
Smoking is a form of indirect cooking and usually takes place over a period of hours over low temperatures.
- Set up your smoker for what is called the burn-down method. To do this, fill the charcoal bed with unlit coals and add only a few lit coals to the very top. The coals on top slowly light the ones underneath and burn down slowly over time. If using a charcoal grill, set it up for an indirect heat technique with a drip pan.
- Fill the drip pan with half water and half apple juice (About 32 ounces of each, it doesn’t have to be exact.) directly underneath the meat to stabilize the temperature.
- Preheat the grill from 225 to 250 degrees F. To maintain this low temperature, use only half as much charcoal as usual. (A half chimney-full.) Toss 2-3 pieces of hickory wood chunks onto the coals and cover the grill.
#5 Smoke the Pork Loin
When the smoker or grill is in the ideal temperature range, and you see a blueish color smoke, you are ready to smoke. Place the bacon-wrapped pork loin seam side down onto the hot grate directly over the drip pan.
Bring the temperature up to 225 degrees F, using the vents to regulate the temperature.
Knowing the temperature inside your smoker or grill is crucial. Even if your smoker or grill has a temperature gauge, we still highly recommend that you purchase a digital BBQ thermometer such as Smoke™ from Thermoworks. Thermoworks thermometers are some of the most accurate thermometers money can buy. This particular model was designed for competition BBQ teams and professional chefs. It has a two-channel alarm that uses probes to read the temperature of the meat and the pit accurately.
Smoke comes with a digital receiver that beeps and vibrates at the alarm, taking all the guesswork out of smoking meat. The receiver displays temperatures and alarm settings on a large LCD screen, which comes in handy when cold outside. You don’t have to keep letting cold air come in the house running in and out to check the smoker so often.
David also decided to smoke some smoked venison backstraps wrapped in bacon from his hunt.
#6 Low and slow
You will need to add fresh coals and more wood chunks to each side of the grill every hour for at least the first 4 hours.
Check the temperature of the grill every hour, staying as close to 225 degrees F as possible. Resist the temptation to open the lid. Only open the charcoal door or the lid if you need to add more charcoal or wood to maintain temperature and smoke. After at least 4 hours, check the temperature of the meat to see where it is and get an idea of how much more time it will need to smoke.
#7 Test For Doneness
You want to smoke the pork loin until the internal temperature of the pork is at least 145 degrees F (medium rare) at a minimum. A 3-4 pound pork loin typically takes about 2 ½ to 3 hours to reach 145 degrees, smoking at 250 degrees. (Use an instant-read thermometer to check the loin in various places to ensure it’s done through.)
The cold weather definitely played a factor in the cooking time! Our pork loin was an overachiever. Its weight was close to 6 pounds, so it took twice the amount of time! David put the pork loin on the grill around 12:30 p.m., and it was taken off at about 6:00 p.m. We also like our pork well done, so we want the internal temperature somewhere around 150 degrees F.
#7 Saucing the Pork Loin
During the last ½ to 1 hour of smoking, baste the pork loin with barbecue sauce using a brush or mop. How often and how much sauce you put on is up to you.
Since this was a combined attempt at smoking pork, David wasn’t as generous with the saucing as he usually does since he knows I’m not a huge fan of grilled-on sauce.
#8 Resting the Pork Loin
When the bacon-wrapped smoked pork loin is done, carefully remove it from the smoker or grill and place it onto a platter or cutting board. Tent with foil and allow it to rest as you would with grilled or roasted meats.
Allowing the pork to rest before slicing lets the meat fibers relax; moisture that was driven out is redistributed and reabsorbed by some of the dissolved proteins. Rested meat holds on to more of its natural juices. This also keeps your platter or cutting board from flooding with meat juices when you slice it into the pork. A good 10 to 15-minute rest should do.
#9 Slicing and Serving Bacon-Wrapped Smoked Pork Loin
Serve drizzled in sauce or with sauce on the side.
I was craving Adult Mac and Cheese for months and months! It is one of my favorite side dishes. So I made a half-batch macaroni and cheese and steamed broccoli on the side. The smoky pork loin paired well with a nice glass of Rosé from a local winery not too far down the road from the mountain.
David’s skepticism melted away like the succulent juices that dripped off the pork loin. He was thrilled with how it turned out, and this will not be the last time we use the brine for smoking meat. He’s already talking about using the brine on something else.
We wanted unbiased opinions about how this smoked pork loin turned out. David took the leftover portion to work for his coworkers to try. He said that everyone that tried it loved it too!
My perseverance and optimism paid off. As a result, David was persuaded to do something he usually would not have done on a smoker. This is our best effort on how to smoke a pork loin. We hope that you find our process the best you’ve ever tried too!
Bacon-Wrapped Smoked Pork Loin
Useful Equipment:
- 2-Gallon Zip-Top Bag or Briner Bucket
- Hickory Wood Chunks Use your favorite. apple and cherry wood are great for smoking pork
- Charcoal
- Heavy-Duty Aluminum Foil or Pink Butcher Paper
Ingredients
Ingredients Needed:
- 5 pound boneless pork loin roast
- pork loin brine recipe to follow
- pork loin rub recipe to follow
- 2 pounds bacon thick sliced
- 32 ounces apple juice
- Water
- Barbecue Sauce your favorite or use THIS ONE
The Pork Loin Brine Solution Ingredients:
- 7 cups water
- ½ cup kosher salt
- 2 cups apple juice
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon onion powder
The Pork Loin Rub Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
Brine The Pork Loin
- Start with a pork loin that is in the 5-pound range, which is just the right size to fit on any smoker or grill.Rinse the meat under cold running water, blot dry with paper towels. Using a clean, sharp knife, trim the silver skin and fat cap so as to leave at least a ¼-inch of fat. Any less and the pork will be drier and anymore, the fat will prevent the brine solution and rub from seasoning the meat.Next, using a sharp knife, score the fat cap and set aside.
Score The Pork Loin:
- Scoring meat is a culinary term that means cutting slits on the surface of the food. Add a crosshatch pattern, starting with diagonal cuts approximately 1 inch apart across the surface of the fat cap, only allowing the knife to penetrate about ⅛ to ¼ inch deep. Turn the meat 90 degrees to add a crosshatch. Scoring across in the opposite direction. Scoring makes little pockets that allow the bacon fat, rub and sauce to penetrate into the meat below the fat cap, making the meat flavorful and juicy.
Combine all the brine solution ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk well until the salt has dissolved completely. Allow the brine solution to sit for 2 to 3 minutes to settle. This will allow the red crushed pepper to float to the top, which will keep the meat injector from clogging up.Next, submerge the meat injector into the bowl and fill with the brine solution.If the meat injector clogs, simply push the plunger to release some brine solution and then start pulling it again to fill with the brine solution.Place the meat inside the zip-top bag to inject the pork loin. (Sometimes a quick plunge can cause the injector to squirt brine solution everywhere and the bag will keep you from having to wash your cabinets or even worse rinse your eye out! Not that I am speaking from experience or anything…) Plunge the needle deep inside the meat, while pushing the plunger with a slow and steady force. Withdraw the needle gradually with each plunge. It’s important to minimize the number of holes you put into the meat. You can do this by angling the needle in 2 or 3 different directions using the same entry point. Continue to inject the meat cannot hold any more liquid and the brine solution begins to leak from the holes.Squeeze as much air out of the zip-top bag and seal tightly so that the pork loin is completely submerged in the brine solution. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Wrap The Pork Loin In Bacon
- After applying the rub, you can easily wrap the pork loin in bacon strips by wrapping individual strips around the pork loin using the butcher's twine to secure it to the meat.ORMake a Bacon Weave: Start by laying 7 or 8 slices of bacon tight against each other, horizontally in rows on a sheet of parchment paper or butcher’s paper. If the bacon is larger at one end than the other, alternate the direction the bacon slices end to end can compensate for any curve so that the weave will be more square. The width of the bacon slices should match the length of the strips.Begin to build the weave by folding back every other strip half onto itself. Lay one strip of bacon perpendicular to those folded strips, flush up against the back of the folds. Unfold the folded row of strips back over the perpendicular slice of bacon.Next, fold back every other strip that wasn’t folded back before. Lay one strip of bacon perpendicular to those strips, tightly up against the back of the folds. Then unfold the folded strips back over the perpendicular strip of bacon.Repeat the process, continuing to weave the bacon, alternately folding and unfolding the horizontal over the perpendicular strips of bacon. When the weave is complete, there should be the same number of strips going down as there are going across.Chill the bacon weave until needed.
Rub and Wrap the Pork Loin
- Using tongs, lift the pork loin out of the brine solution inside the zip-lock bag. Blot dry with paper towels.
If not already, lay the bacon weave out on a piece of parchment paper or butcher paper. The lay the pork loin fat cap side up in the center of the bacon weave. Rub the pork rub mixture onto the meat, making sure to cover each end. Flip the pork loin over so that the fat cap is down and rub the “bottom” of the pork loin. The pork loin should be completely covered in rub with the fat cap side down in the center of the bacon weave.Wrap the bacon weave around the pork loin as if it were a bacon blanket, using the parchment paper to help roll the bacon weave around the meat. If your weave doesn’t completely cover the pork loin, finish covering it with extra strips laying across the gap horizontally. Use butcher’s twine to help hold the bacon weave securely in place around the meat. Tie the twine around the meat is 2 to 3-inch sections. Then tuck any loose edges of the bacon weave into itself or the twine.
Prep the Smoker or Grill
- Smoking is a form of indirect cooking and usually takes hours over low temperatures. Set up your smoker for what is called the burn-down method. To do this, fill the charcoal bed with unlit coals and add only a few lit coals to the top. The coals on top slowly light the ones underneath and burn down slowly over time. If using a charcoal grill, set it up for an indirect heat technique with a drip pan.Fill the drip pan with half water and half apple juice (About 32 ounces of each, but it doesn’t have to be exact.) directly underneath the meat to stabilize the temperature.Preheat the grill from 225 to 250 degrees F. To maintain this low temperature, use only half as much charcoal as usual. (A half chimney-full.) Toss 2-3 pieces of hickory wood chunks atop the coals.
Smoke the Pork Loin
- When the smoker or grill is in the ideal temperature range, and you see a blueish smoke, you are ready to smoke, place the bacon wrapped pork loin seam side down onto the hot grate directly over the drip pan. Bring the temperature up to 225 degrees F, using the vents to regulate the temperature.
Low and slow
- You will need to add fresh coals and more wood chunks to each side of the grill every hour for at least the first 4 hours.Check the temperature of the grill every hour, staying as close to 225 degrees F as possible. Resist the temptation to open the lid. Only open the charcoal door or the lid if you need to add more charcoal or wood to maintain temperature and smoke. After at least 4 hours, check the temperature of the meat to see where it is and get an idea of how much more time it will need to smoke.
Test For Doneness
- You want to smoke the pork loin until the internal temperature of the pork is at least 145 degrees F (medium rare) at a minimum. A 3 to 4-pound pork loin typically takes about 2 ½ to 3 hours to reach 145 degrees smoking at 250 degrees.Our pork loin was an overachiever. Its weight was close to 6 pounds, so it took it twice the amount of time! David put the pork loin on the grill around 12:30 p.m. and it was taken off about 6:00 p.m. We also like our pork well done, so we like the internal temperature somewhere around 150 degrees F.
Saucing the Pork Loin
- During the last ½ to 1 hour of smoking, baste the pork loin with barbecue sauce using a brush or mop. How often and how much sauce you put on is up to you.
Resting the Pork Loin
- When the smoked pork loin is done, carefully remove it from the smoker or grill and place it onto a platter or cutting board. Tent with foil and allow it to rest as you would with grilled or roasted meats. Allowing the pork to rest before slicing lets the meat fibers relax, moisture that was driven out is redistributed and reabsorbed by some of the dissolved proteins. Rested meat holds on to more of its natural juices. This also keeps your platter or cutting board from flooding with meat juices when you slice it into the pork. A good 10 to 15-minute rest should do.
Slicing and Serving Bacon Wrapped Hickory-Smoked Pork Loin
- First, remove cut and remove the butcher’s twine from around the smoked pork loin. Then slice the pork loin into slices about ½ to 1 inch thick. Any thinner and the bacon tries to come off from around the slice.
Serve drizzled in sauce or with sauce on the side.
Ronit says
I don’t have the equipment, nor the dedication for making such a dish, but I can definitely admire the mouthwatering result and great tutorial! Great job.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks Ronit. It’s a labor of love for sure. 😊
Joshua says
Is it possible to use a whole pork loin for this? Roughly 9 pounds.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Hi Joshua! You could, but I’m not sure the bacon weave would be large enough to cover it. You may want to just wrap individual strips around the loin until it is covered completely with bacon. That may take a bit of bacon. I would say at least 2-pounds to be sure you have enough. I hope this helps answer your question. Good luck! Debbie
The Mountain Kitchen says
Ronit, I understand where you are coming from. Although you wouldn’t get the smoked flavor, this would work pretty well in the oven also… Just a thought! 😉
J says
Oh Debbie! This pork loin looks so succulent and juicy in the pic! I bet it was so darn good! This is something I will think about now and do when it’s summertime! 😂
Good job David! 👍
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thank you! It was delicious!!
Dana says
Ahhhhh what a life!! #mountainlife
REALLY digging all the pictures Debbie, they (and you guys) look sooo good!!
In CLE visiting grandpa. Love to you <3333
The Mountain Kitchen says
So good to hear from you, Dana! Missed your face! Hope you had a nice visit with your grandpa. What a lucky woman you are! <3
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Your smoked pork loin looks absolutely delicious. I noticed snowflakes, David gets an extra “good job” for smoking on such a cold day. 😀
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thank you, Karen! He sure does love to grill! 🙂
mimi rippee says
This is just plain beautiful. I love your bacon weaving video!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thank you, Mimi! Very amateur, but we all start somewhere. 😉
Janet Bradley says
Although I can not rate this for the taste of the roast. I am definitely giving it a 10 STAR rating for the detailed instructions.
THANK YOU…. THANK YOU….. THANK YOU…..
Janet
Sandy says
Hi,
I have two 2 1/2 pound tenderloins. Do you think these would work for this recipe? If so, are there any modifications that I should make?
The Mountain Kitchen says
Hi Sandy! Yes, this recipe will work with a smaller loin. We wouldn’t make any changes because of size difference. There may be a little extra rub leftover and depending on the size you may not need all of the bacon to cover it.
Gord Stewart says
When my kids were young, we had to tell them that pork was chicken when we served it. Now, this recipe is their #1 request at family get-togethers. When we entertain, the WOW! factor is off -the-scale. Our guests always ask for seconds. Thanks all.
Benoit C. says
At the base, il was searching a recipe for a brine for my whole pork Loin from Costco! And this recipe is WONDERFUL! IT have enough brine for the whole loin Cut in 2 or 3 in a big Ziploc bag. I don’t Do it with the bacon wrap … But I put the spice and bbq sauce at the END! Cut 1/8 or less and it make a perfect meat style delimeat! Next Time I’ll make it, i Will take out my slicer to make perfect 1/16 minced slice!!! I Will try it with the bacon too if i have visit coming and have a loin to make!
Highly recommended