Smoking Pork - Pork.org

Smoking Pork

The thought of being outside, making memories and firing up the smoker has never sounded better.

There are many ways to do smoked pork whether you’re a novice or artisan. Delicious, smoky pork can be prepared on a kettle grill, pellet grill, in your preferred dedicated smoker, or even on a gas grill (many modern gas grills come equipped with a metal smoker box that sits on top of a dedicated burner). The most popular pork cuts to smoke are pork shoulder, pork loin, pork chops, pork belly and pork ribs.

There are three methods of smoking meat: cold smoking, smoke roasting or hot smoking. Hot smoking is the most used and exposes the meat to both heat and smoke, cooking it and giving it flavor at the same time.

How Long to Smoke Pork

PORK CUTTOTAL COOK TIMESMOKER TEMPFINISHING NOTES
Loin back ribs3 to 5 hours225-250° F*Cook times will vary depending on thickness of the cut used
St. Louis style ribs5 to 7 hours225-250° F*Cook times will vary depending on thickness of the cut used
Spareribs5 to 7 hours225-250° F*Cook times will vary depending on thickness of the cut used
Pork butt/Picnic/Whole shoulder1 hour/15 minutes per pound195-200° FCook to an internal temp of 185-190° F – bone will easily slip from the meat
Pork loin1.5 hours225-250° FCook to an internal temp of 140° F – let rest in a warm place for 10 minutes until temp reaches 145° F
Pork chops45 min to 1 hour225-250° FGrill-mark the chops prior to smoking; cook to an internal temp of 145° F followed by a 3-minute rest
Pork belly4 hours for smoke; wrap and cook for an additional 3 hours225-250° FCook to an internal temp of 190° F or until meat is fork-tender when pierced by a skewer

Best Recipes for Smoking Pork