Smoked Pork Roast with Cherry Sauce

Smoked Pork Roast with Cherry Sauce

 It’s time to get back to the smoker with a Smoked Pork Roast. This Smoked Pork Roast with Cherry Sauce is just the thing! Summer is over, the kids are back in school so I thought it was the perfect time to celebrate with something yummy.

I first saw this recipe on the Food Network. Matt Dunigan had a show called “Road Grill” and created something very similar to this. I did tweak it just a bit but I have to say it didn’t need much, so I tried to stay pretty close to the original.

Here’s a little know fact (perhaps); Matt Dunigan is a former quarterback and coach for the Canadian Football League (CFL). He led his teams to 2 Grey Cup Championships in 1987 and 1991. He currently works in sports broadcasting here in Canada.

Cherry Sauce

The flavors of smoky pork and cherries marry so well together. Of course, the smoke adds a great deal of flavor to the meat. I also like that we have the rib bones in this roast. Not only does it add flavor, but it also looks great and makes it easy to slice and serve!

I like to use either hickory wood or cherry wood chips for pork; for this one I used cherry. Mostly to stay with the cherry theme, but the flavors work very well! Oooooh, just look at those beautifully tasty cherries!!

How long does it take to smoke a rib roast at 225?

It takes about 3 to 3 1/2 hours to smoke the pork rib roast like this at 225 degrees F. At about 6 pounds you have a fair bit of meat to cook so it does take a while! You want the internal temperature to reach between 155 to 160 degrees F.

Use a good quality meat thermometer; I use a Thermapen instant-read thermometer. It provides me with a very accurate internal temperature in seconds. You need to make sure that you do not touch the bone, simply insert it into the thickest part of the pork roast.

SMOKING MEATS

To start you need to prepare your roast, this is very important. Firstly, you will want to make sure your pork is at room temperature. Then you will want to apply the dry rub. I used rosemary, garlic, and lemon zest. Of course, you need to remember the salt and pepper too! Then I cover the roast with a drizzle of olive oil.

I use an electric smoker, and I love it! To start off with it is relatively inexpensive to buy and they are easy to operate. I find that I’m generally so busy every day with so much going on for work and the house I don’t have a lot of time to invest strictly into smoking.

I am sure I am not different from a lot of you, but you still want a great meal at the end of the day.

Although, I would love to have the time to babysit a charcoal smoker all day. I just don’t ever seem to be able to find the time!

The wonderful thing about my electric smoker is that I don’t have to stay around and watch it. Once I set the time, and the temperature it is good to go!

You do have to reload the hopper with wood chips now and then but for a roast like this I usually only have to add a few more wood chips after about 2 hours.

What’s the Best Pork Roast to Smoke?

You can basically smoke any type of pork roast that you can find at your butchers. Pork naturally lends itself to being smoked because of its higher fat content!

This recipe is great for just about any kind of pork roast you are looking to smoke. Whether it is a pork loin, shoulder or butt, or a nice rib roast like the one I used here.  All of these types of pork roasts cook the best when you cook them low and slow.

This allows the smoke flavor to penetrate the meat and impart that wonderful smoky taste! The size of your roast will dictate the time that it will take to cook. Here is a tip for you; if you are cooking a larger piece of meat for more than say, 5-6 hours, you don’t need to continue to add wood chips.

After about 5 hours the meat will have absorbed all the smoke flavor that it is going too. So just continue to cook it low and slow and save your wood for the next smoking project!

Finishing it Off!

Making the cherry sauce for this is dead easy! You simply toss everything into a saucepan and cook for 15 – 20 minutes then add the cornstarch slurry and cook for a few more minutes. 30 minutes and you’re ready to serve an amazing cherry sauce with your smoked pork rib roast!

As always make sure after you remove the pork from your smoker that you allow it to rest. Leave it on a cutting board and tent it with aluminum foil. You should allow it to rest for a good 15 minutes before serving.

This recipe was initially shared over at Noshing With The Nolands but I had to share it again here!! Follow this link for the recipe. I know you are going to love this one!