Smoked Pork Loin and Sirloin
I wanted to smoke some Salvadoran inspired pork to go with my curtido and rice, so I brined a pork loin and sirloin for a day. I made a dry rub consisting of paprika, guajillo chili powder, garlic, oregano, and black pepper. The pork roasts got rubbed nicely. They were thrown into a 250 degree preheated smoker. At the 2 hour mark, I probed them with a thermometer. You want the internal temperature of pork to be 150 degrees before you pull it. It took another 15 minutes to reach that. I let the pork rest for 15 minutes before slicing.Now to compare the textures of both the loin and sirloin. The pork loin is leaner, but nothing short of juicy. The sirloin has a little more fat to it, but is still fairly lean. It turned out juicy and tender as well. Both cuts were 3lbs and took the same amount of time to smoke. You don’t even have to have a dry rub with the pork. It will be plenty flavorful from the brine. Or you can season it with any specific flavor you want.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 3 lbs pork loin or sirloin
Brine
- 1/2 gallon water
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 medium white onion sliced
- 1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1/2 tbsp white peppercorns
- 4 bay leaves
Dry Rub
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp ground guajillo chili powder
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
- pecan wood chips
Instructions
- Mix all of the brining ingredients together. Add the pork to a gallon sized storage bag. Pour in the brine. Brine for 1 day.
- Let dry on a rack in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before smoking.
- Mix together the dry rub spices.
- Rub the pork on all sides. Let rest at room temperature for an hour before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees according to the manufacturer’s directions. Place the pork in the smoker and maintain the smoke for 2 hours.
- At the 2 hour mark, temp the pork with a probe thermometer. Continue to smoke until the internal temp reaches 150 degrees. It was another 15 minutes for the 3lb pork roasts.
- Let the pork rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
