Pork Loin Roast With Brine Marinade and Rosemary Rub Recipe

Holle loves to cook. She creates a lot of delicious recipes and enjoys sharing them.

Pork Loin Roast

I bought a pork loin roast yesterday morning, as they were on sale at a local supermarket. What I got was a bone-in pork loin—not a pork tenderloin or a boneless pork loin. I much prefer this cut of pork over the two other pork roasts I’ve mentioned. They’re a heck of a lot cheaper, for one thing. Regardless of the price, in my opinion, the bone-in loin is far superior in taste. It doesn’t dry out like a pork tenderloin does because it has more fat. I prefer it to a boneless pork loin because the bone-in version includes some of the back ribs, which are actually my favorite part. This pork loin recipe includes a pork marinade and a rub recipe, so you get incredible flavor. My pork loin roast can be baked in the oven, but it’s better on the smoker. We smoked the loin on our Brinkmann electric meat smoker over pecan wood. Of course, you might want to use some other type of BBQ wood, but from our experience, pecan wood is great for pork, chicken, and turkey. To find out how to make my rosemary pork loin roast, read on!

Bone-In Pork Loin:

Brining Pork

I often use marinades for meats, including pork, beef, chicken, turkey, and wild game. The pork marinade I used with this recipe functions as a brine. The ratio of liquid to salt is the same as you’ll find in most brine recipes. Brining pork is definitely worth the effort. It’s easy to do, and it helps make the meat very tender and juicy. Brining meat can also help carry flavors into the muscle tissue. Don’t leave the meat in the solution for too long, though. If you do, the meat could wind up too salty to eat. For large cuts of meat like a pork loin roast, allowing the meat to marinate overnight shouldn’t be a problem.

Pork Loin Marinade – Brine

My brine recipe for pork worked out great. The cooked pork roast had undertones of sherry, apple, onion, and garlic, with just a hint of black pepper. This is the first time I’ve ever used this recipe, but I’ll definitely be using it again. I don’t normally use sherry with pork that’s going on the meat smoker, but just happened to have had some on hand, so I decided to do some experimenting. The flavor was awesome!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups apple juice or apple-cherry juice
• 1 cup sherry
• 1/3 cup diced onion
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a large pot and heat over medium-low setting. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Do not allow to boil. Cool marinade before pouring over meat.

Basic Brine for Meats:

Pork Rub Recipe

Whenever we smoke meats, I almost always use BBQ rubs. Rarely do I buy ready-made rubs, as I prefer creating my own. Sometimes I use dry rubs, and sometimes I use wet rubs. Since the loin I purchased was lean for a pork roast, I decided on a wet rub so that I could add a little oil to the meat. You’ll also see that I used vinegar in the wet rub. Because vinegar is so acidic, it helps the seasonings penetrate the meat and get deeper into the muscle tissue. I’m never stingy with my rubs for pork and chicken. I try to apply as much as the meat will hold. Here’s the pork rub recipe I used on the pork loin recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 5 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons Lawry’s garlic salt with parsley
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions: Combine all ingredients to make a thick paste. Massage the paste into the meat. If the pork loin roast isn’t nicely coated, make another batch of wet rub and apply it, too.

Another Recipe for Smoked Pork Loin:

Rinse the pork loin roast and pat it dry.

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Pork Loin Recipe

If you like the wonderful taste combination of rosemary and pork, please give this pork loin recipe a try. It’s large enough to feed 10 or 12 adults, so it would be great on Thanksgiving menus and Christmas menus. I think it would be a nice change from turkey and ham.

Rate my pork loin recipe! Thanks!

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 5-6 pound pork loin roast
• pork marinade-brine recipe (above)
• pork rub recipe (above)

Instructions

1. Rinse pork loin and pat dry with paper towels. If silver skin is present on the rib side of the roast, peel it off, if you wish. Place pork in a large zippered food bag or non-reactive vessel.
2. Pour marinade over meat and refrigerate for at least four hours. I marinated my loin overnight in a large plastic bowl. Since the meat wasn’t covered with the brining solution, I had to turn the roast occasionally.
3. Remove pork from marinade and allow excess liquid to drip away. Rinse briefly under cool water and pat dry. Rub pork all over with wet rub. Allow rubbed pork loin to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
4. While the meat is resting, get the smoker ready. Place your choice of BBQ wood on the smoker and fill the pan with water or fruit juice. We like the flavor we get from using apple juice, by the way. When the smoker is smoking and the heat is up to around 225-250 degrees, place the pork loin on the top rack. It’s up to you whether you place it fat-side up or rib-side up. This time, hubby did ours rib-side up.
5. Smoke the rosemary pork loin roast until internal temperature reaches 150-155 degrees. Smoking will take several hours. Remove pork roast from the meat smoker and wrap tightly in two layers of foil. Allow the roast to rest at room temperature for ten minutes. If the pork isn’t brown enough to suit your taste when it comes off the smoker, preheat the oven to 500 degrees and place the roast on a baking pan. Heat, uncovered, until the meat is brown. To serve, slice crosswise, against the grain of the meat. I usually remove the rib section first and then cut the roast into chops. Like I’ve mentioned, that’s my favorite part of the roast. This pork loin roast is great with yellow rice, wild rice, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, garden peas, steamed broccoli, and asparagus!

Comments

Holle Abee (author) from Georgia on December 15, 2019:

Thanks, Wandaful! I'm so glad you and your group enjoyed the pork loin!

Wandaful on December 15, 2019:

I used this recipe over Thanksgiving this year. I had a 4 rib organic pork loin roast. I marinated it for ten hours, but used enough juice to cover the roast (different than the recipe), and less salt than it calls for as I didn't want it too salty. After the marinade, I cut long slices in the meat along the length of the roast through the fat layer, against the direction of the ribs, and applied a thick layer of the rub to the entire roast. I roasted it at the recommended 350 for about an hour. The roast came out so unbelievably tender, and the flavor was all the way through the roast. Everyone raved about the flavor and tenderness of the meat, and ate the entire roast. I highly recommend this recipe, with a few alterations!

Mary Norton from Ontario, Canada on June 06, 2015:

That marinade recipe is one I'd like to use. The sherry is a great addition.

Beth Perry from Tennesee on June 06, 2015:

I saw this article was Hub of the Day and that mouth-watering photo just drew me in! I have got to try this recipe!

Steve Dowell from East Central Indiana on June 06, 2015:

I'm definitely going to try out the pork loin roast, my mouth is watering right now! Thanks for this and congrats for "Hub of the Day".

Nira Perkins on June 06, 2015:

I can honestly say that those pictures are amazing. Food looks nice to me sometimes but this really makes me want to eat it. This is really well done and totally worthy of Hub of the Day. Congrats!

poetryman6969 on June 06, 2015:

Voted up. Any meat this well prepared has got to be good!

Thelma Alberts from Germany on June 06, 2015:

Oh my! I´m getting hungry looking at the photos. I love pork loin roast. I would love to try this soon. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Congratulations on the HOTD!

Susan Deppner from Arkansas USA on June 06, 2015:

Mmm, I love pork roast and this one looks and smells awesome! Okay, I can't really smell it, but between the pictures and the descriptions of the flavors, my mind thinks I can. Congrats on HOTD!

Rachelle Williams from Tempe, AZ on June 06, 2015:

Thorough and interesting - most recipes are cut and dry, this one is fascinating. And of course, the pork loin looks delicious! You should think about starting a YouTube Cooking Channel...

Kristen Howe from Northeast Ohio on June 06, 2015:

Congrats on HOTD! This looks like a hearty meal for pork lovers. Voted up for useful!

Chazz from New York on June 06, 2015:

Looks Delicious! Will definitely try this one.

Akriti Mattu from Shimla, India on June 06, 2015:

Excellent recipe.

Holle Abee (author) from Georgia on September 17, 2013:

Yeah! Bones are good! lol

carol stanley from Arizona on September 17, 2013:

I guess you might say my mouth is watering.. This looks so yummy and I love the bones to chew on later. Delicious..

Holle Abee (author) from Georgia on September 12, 2013:

teaches, so true about brining. It works especially well with turkey.

Dianna Mendez on September 12, 2013:

Great recipe idea and one that I will definitely use for a home cooked meal soon. Brining is one technique that really makes the meat tender and gives it extra flavor.

Holle Abee (author) from Georgia on September 12, 2013:

Doc, I don't think you're old enough yet for a drool cup, are you? lol

Holle Abee (author) from Georgia on September 12, 2013:

hatter, you're very welcome!

Holle Abee (author) from Georgia on September 12, 2013:

random, when cooked right, a pork loin roast is awesome!

drbj and sherry from south Florida on September 12, 2013:

I knew I should not have looked at these graphic pork roast images before lunch. Now I am drooling - all over the keyboard. Can't wait to try this magnificent pork roast recipe. Thank you, Holle.

Martin Kloess from San Francisco on September 10, 2013:

Thank you for this recipe.

Rose Clearfield from Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 09, 2013:

I learn so much from your recipe articles! I have never made a pork loin roast, but I might have to give it a shot now.