Pork Loin on Pellet Grill

If you are looking to cook a great meal for a large crowd on your pellet grill, this Traeger Smoked Pork Loin Roast is a must try! It is made with three simple ingredients and is so tender and juicy. Add your flavors of choice with your favorite rub. Whether you like sweet or spicy, you can make it your own.

The pellet grill is a fantastic way to smoke meat for just about anyone. It takes all the guess work out of keeping your grill at a steady temperature. Just set it and forget it! Some may say it’s cheating or slacking, but I call it working smarter, not harder.

slice of juicy pork loin on serving fork

Pork Loin Vs. Pork Tenderloin

This Traeger pellet grill recipe is for a pork loin roast, not to be confused with a pork tenderloins. Pork tenderloins are a thin small cut of meat that comes from a different part of the pig. They are often found pre-marinated in the meat section and are usually best cooked over high heat. This Pressure Cooker Pork Tenderloin recipe is a fantastic example way to use tenderloins.

Pork loin come boneless or with bone in and are a thick long cut of meat and are great for slower cooking on a grill. For this pellet grill pork tenderloin, we use a boneless cut of meat and smoke it on low for an hour before turning up the temperature to cook it through in a reasonable time frame.

Pressure Cooker Pork Tenderloin

pork loin sliced rubbed with everything rub

Should you cook pork loin low and slow?

Cut of pork like shoulders or other roasts are best cooked low and slow, but pork loins don’t really need a long slow cook because they are a more tender cut with less connective tissue. The initial hour of slow cooking on the pellet smoker is required because those lower temperatures produce the best smoke to infuse flavor into the meat.

Can I use pork loin instead of tenderloin?

The short answer is no. Tenderloins cook much faster than pork loins with their small size and wouldn’t make a good substitute in this smoked pork loin roast recipe. The times and temperatures won’t be accurate.

If you realized you have a tenderloin and not a loin, check out these great pork tenderloin recipes!

How to cook pork loin on Traeger grill

Depending on how you purchase your pork loin roast, you may need to remove skin and fat. Cut back the fat on the pork loin so it is about 1/4 inch thick. Most of the time when I get a pork loin from the grocery store, it is ready to go. Don’t cut off all the fat, or your pork will be more likely to dry out.

Should I cook the pork loin fat side up or down

There are two schools of thought when it comes to cooking meat fat side up or down. A large group of people believe that you should cook the meat at side up so the fat can melt off and baste the meat as it cooks.

Other believe that you should cook the meat with fat side down to protect the meat from the direct heat.

Honestly, either way will result in a great piece of meat, but I opt for fat side down on my Traeger grill. The heat source is coming from the bottom and I like the fat directly on the grill grates to protect it from drying out.

pork loin on sheet pan rubbed with mustard

everything rub sprinkled on mustard rubbed pork loin

How to season pork loin

Place your pork loin on a sheet pan and rub generously with mustard. I like to use a stone ground mustard, but any mustard will work.

Grab your favorite rub from the spice cabinet and coat the mustard rubbed pork generously with it. I love this Everything Rub my friend sells. It is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. I brought some of this leftover pork loin to my neighbor and she asked me to order her a couple bottles of the rub because she loved it so much too!

You can always make your homemade rub, but I’m all about quick and easy so I’ll just buy a bottle and support a family owned business. (And a pretty amazing family at that!)

smoked pork loin sliced on cutting board

How long to cook pork on pellet grill

While you are seasoning your pork loin to smoke, preheat your Traeger pellet grill to 215°F. Place the pork loin on the grill and cook for one hour.

After an hour raise the temperature to 375°F and cook until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 140-145°F. This will take anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 hours depending on the size of your pork loin. Just be sure to check the temperature at 1.5 hours so you don’t over cook it.

If you are pressed for time, you can raise the temperature to 400°F and you’ll still end up with a great piece of meat that is juicy and flavorful.

Checking the temperature of meat

My go-to tool for checking food temperatures is the Thermapen. Unfortunately they don’t sell on Amazon, but they really are a great investment for grilling and roasting meats. They are top of the line and give an instant readout that is accurate and so convenient.

slice of tender pork loin on serving fork

Do I need to let meat rest

YES! Allowing meat to rest helps the juices stay in the meat. If you slice into any piece of meat directly from the grill, you are going to see the juice flowing right out of the meat. This will leave you with a dryer piece of meat.

I’m the furthest thing from a patient person, but resting meat is one place I refuse to skip ahead and be impatient. I implore you to let the pork loin rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing into it. 20-25 minutes is more ideal.

seasoned pork loin sliced thinly on cutting board

How to serve smoked pork loin

Just about any time I eat pork loin at a cookout, I usually slather a generous amount of BBQ sauce on it. I kid you not, this meat is so juicy and flavorful, that it honestly didn’t need any sauce. The rub has lots of sweet and spicy flavors and the meat is tender and amazing all on it’s own.

When I served this smoked pork loin at a family picnic, everyone reached for the BBQ sauce but quickly commented on how it didn’t need it!

When slicing up pork loin, I always like to cut it into thinner 1/2 inch thick slices. This not only makes for a more tender bite, but also allows guests to takes as much or as little as they would like.