Maple-Brined, Maple-Glazed, Maple-Smoked Pork Loin

There's a certain honesty in a recipe that commits fully to a single flavor. This pork loin doesn't hedge its bets—it's maple in the brine, maple in the glaze, and maple wood providing the smoke. The result is not, as you might fear, cloyingly sweet. Instead, the maple serves as a unifying thread, its earthy sweetness balancing the natural savoriness of the pork and the slight bitterness of the smoke. Brining is the often-skipped step that separates good pork from great pork. Pork loin, being a lean cut, tends toward dryness when cooked. The brine—a solution of salt, sugar, and aromatics—penetrates the meat over twenty-four hours, seasoning it throughout and fundamentally changing its protein structure to retain more moisture during cooking. The molasses and maple syrup in this brine add complexity and help form that lacquered, mahogany exterior that makes smoked pork so visually compelling. The injection step might seem excessive given the brine, but it serves a different purpose: the apple juice and maple syrup injected directly into the meat create pockets of flavor that the surface-based brine can't reach. Think of it as flavor insurance—every slice, regardless of where you cut, will deliver.