Smoked BBQ Pork
I have been wanting to get a smoker for ages, because what is better than smoked meat?? So since I can't bring myself to buy a real smoker quite yet, I bought a cute little smoke box on Amazon for $10. This is a nifty little metal box that you can put wood chips in and just set on your normal has grill to harness some of that smoky goodness. I had a smallish pork loin stashed in my freezer so I figured it would be a good first victim. Wouldn't be a huge loss if I messed it up, but would also be a nice Sunday dinner if it turned out.
While reading up on where to start, I was getting mixed signals on whether or not to soak the woods chips first, so I decided to do what the wood chip bag said and soak them. While those were soaking, I prepared the pork loin. You'll need the following;
Wood chips (I used apple rum chips)
Mustard (I used southwest mustard)
Paprika
Salt
White pepper
Cayenne
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Rib Ninja asian rib rub
Apple cider vinegar
Start by rubbing the mustard all over the pork, just a thin layer. I learned here that it probably would have been best to use some paper towels to pat down the meat first. Then put a nice even coating of the seasonings all over the pork to your taste. I went heavier on the Asian blend. Then I let the loin rest while I prepared the sauce.
This is what the Rib Ninja seasoning looks like:
I made another batch of scratch BBQ sauce to go with this. This one honestly wasn't as good as the last one and I'm not sure why. I thought smoking half of an onion was going to provide a unique and delicious flavor, but it just didn't end up how I envisioned. Here's what went into it:
Ketchup
Worcestershire
Liquid smoke
Rice wine vinegar
Cholula
Brown sugar
Chili garlic paste
Honey
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Cayenne
White pepper
Minced garlic
Ground mustard
1/2 onion (smoked)
So I mixed everything together except the onion and let it sit in the fridge. Once the onion was done on the grill, I blended everything up and let it simmer on the stove for a little bit to come together. I ended up adjusting the spices quite a bit. It still ended up decent, had a hint of sweetness and a low burn, but man my last batch was so much better.
Back to the pork though! Since this was entirely experimental, I had to play around with the heat and burners a bit. I started with just one burner on high with the smoker box over the flame. After the grill was preheated, I put the pork and onion over the burners that weren't on. Once every hour I would check progress and spritz the pork with apple cider vinegar. I took the onion off when it was nice and soft (this is when I blended it into the sauce and started it on the stove). Part way through we ended up turning a second burner on medium high, and at about the last 30 minutes I moved the pork closer to the heat and brushed it with a bit of my BBQ sauce. All in all it took the pork about 4 hours to cook, which was a bit longer than it should have been I think. Next time I know to start with both burners and to invest in a secondary grill thermometer. This is what the final product looked like!
It ended up really tasty! Just a hint of smokey flavor since I only used a smoker box, but still so good! It was very tender and moist! I sliced that bad boy up and served it with the sauce, and a simple pasta side since I didn't have many sides on hand given this wasn't really planned.
Next time I know where to start and what to do differently. I can't wait to try out some smoked chicken! Paired with my homemade coleslaw and mac n cheese!... maybe I'll smoke the mac too 🤔🤤
Have you ever smoked anything on the grill? How did it turn out? What was your process? Let me know!