How to Smoke a Pork Loin on a Pellet Grill (2026 Guide)

Pork loin is one of the most-searched pellet grill smoking topics precisely because it’s easy to get wrong — not from a hard technique, but from confusing it with pork tenderloin, a completely different cut with a completely different cook time. Here’s the straightforward process for the real thing: a wide, lean roast that rewards a simple low-and-slow smoke and an accurate thermometer.

Quick Answer

To smoke a pork loin on a pellet grill: smoke at 225-250°F until the internal temperature hits 145°F — about 30-40 minutes per pound, or roughly 2.5-3 hours for a typical 3-4 lb roast, per Traeger’s own smoking guide. Rest 10-15 minutes before slicing. Pork loin is not the same cut as pork tenderloin — loin is a much larger roast that takes hours, while tenderloin is a narrow, sub-1.5 lb muscle that cooks in under an hour — and mixing up their timing is the most common reason home cooks end up with a raw or overcooked result.

Pork loin vs. pork tenderloin

Both cuts pull at the same 145°F, but the timing gap is enormous — treat a loin like a tenderloin and it comes off the smoker raw in the middle; treat a tenderloin like a loin and it’s dry and overcooked well before the clock says it should be done. If you’re shopping and unsure which one is in your cart, weight is the fastest tell: anything under 2 lb is almost certainly tenderloin.

Step 1: Trim and season

Pork loin is one of the leanest cuts on the pig, with a thin fat cap on one side and very little internal marbling. Trim the fat cap down to about 1/8 inch — thick enough to baste the meat during the cook, thin enough to render fully and not block smoke. Pat the roast dry and season generously; because there’s so little fat to carry flavor, a well-salted rub matters more here than on a fattier cut like pork butt.

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Step 2: Smoke at 225-250°F to 145°F

Preheat the grill to 225-250°F and let it settle for 10-15 minutes. Place the loin fat-side up, insert a leave-in probe into the thickest part — avoiding any bone if the roast is bone-in — and close the lid.

Budget 30-40 minutes per pound, per Traeger’s own smoking guide, so a typical 3-4 lb loin takes roughly 2.5 to 3 hours to reach 145°F internal. Some recipes instead hold the grill at a lower 180°F for 3-4 hours before finishing at 350°F for 20-30 minutes to build more color on the bark; both approaches work, but the straight 225-250°F cook is the simpler method if this is your first pork loin.

Step 3: Pull at 145°F and rest 10-15 minutes

Pull the loin at 145°F internal and tent loosely in foil for 10-15 minutes before slicing. That 145°F number isn’t a guideline — the USDA officially lowered pork’s safe minimum internal temperature from 160°F to 145°F plus a 3-minute rest back in 2011, once research showed the older, drier standard was no longer necessary for the trichinosis risk it was designed to prevent. Because loin carries so little fat, pulling much past 145°F dries it out quickly; there’s no large fat cap or connective tissue left to fall back on the way there is with pork butt.

Pellets for pork loin

Cherry is Traeger’s own recommendation for pork loin — a mild, slightly sweet smoke that suits a lean cut without overpowering it. Apple is the other standard pairing for pork generally, and a 50/50 apple-cherry blend is a common starting point if you want a little more depth. Hickory works too, but it’s assertive enough that on a shorter 2.5-3 hour cook it can come across stronger than intended — use it sparingly or blend it with a fruit wood.

Our best wood pellets for smoking guide covers the full brand and flavor lineup. For the probe thermometer this cook depends on, see our best pellet grill accessories roundup.

Common pork loin mistakes

• Confusing it with pork tenderloin. The single most common mistake — a tenderloin recipe’s timing on a full loin leaves the center raw.
• Confusing it with pork butt. Pork loin is lean and roasts in hours; pork butt is fatty, full of connective tissue, and takes far longer to break down for pulling. They’re not interchangeable, and a loin cooked like a butt just dries out.
• Pulling past 145°F “to be safe.” The USDA’s own 145°F-plus-rest standard already accounts for safety — cooking further just sacrifices moisture on a cut with little fat to spare.
• Skipping the rest. Ten to fifteen minutes lets carryover cooking finish and juice redistribute; slice immediately and it runs onto the board.
• Trimming the fat cap bare. A thin cap still bastes the roast during the cook — going fully lean removes the little natural moisture insurance the cut has.

What to cook it on

Any pellet grill that holds a steady 225-250°F handles pork loin well — it’s a forgiving, low-capacity cook, so grill size matters less here than for something like a full brisket. See our best pellet grill rankings for the full lineup, or best pellet smoker for beginners if this is your first smoke. Want the pulled-pork version of pork instead? Our how to smoke a pork butt on a pellet grill guide covers that much longer, fattier cook. Prefer a fast reverse-sear roast? How to smoke a tri-tip on a pellet grill walks through the same lean-cut logic on beef.

Sources: Traeger, Traeger recipe.