1st time cooking pork tenderloin

[todd22]

I cooked a turkey in my Masterbuilt smoker last week and it did awesome. my gf got me some pork tenderloins so I thought i'd try cooking them in the smoker as well. there's 3 of them, 1.52, 1.55, 1.64 ounces individually.   any suggestions as to how long to cook them and at what temp? i'm thinking of doing each with different rubs. will wrap one in bacon and just do a dry rub on the other two.

i'm new to all this so, be gentle.....   thanks for the help in advance.  ;)

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Tenderlion doesn't take long to cook. You want to cook them to an IT of 145°, take off the smoker and wrap in foil and rest for 30 minutes prior to slicing. I like to run my smoker around 180°-200°. Lighter woods are nice for pork. Apple, cherry, peach, alder or mixtures of these are all good. Sine you have 3 you may as well try some different rubs. I like to keep things really simple and usually go for salt, pepper,garlic, onion.

 

[todd22]

thank you for info. I was told to preheat smoker to a desired temp. should I do same with the tenderloins or can I put them in and start smoker up. also when you say they don't take long, how long is "not that long"?  ;) is it a certain amount of time per pound or ounce that I've read before?

sorry for what may seem ignorant questions, just don't want to overcook them either.

thanks alot

 

[dirtsailor2003]

 
thank you for info. I was told to preheat smoker to a desired temp. should I do same with the tenderloins or can I put them in and start smoker up. also when you say they don't take long, how long is "not that long"?  ;) is it a certain amount of time per pound or ounce that I've read before?

sorry for what may seem ignorant questions, just don't want to overcook them either.

thanks alot

You will want to get the smoker up to temp first then add the meat. Because of the small size they wont take more than a hour to hour and half if running your smoker at the temps I mentioned. Getting yourself a good digital read therm is a must. A duel probe model will allow you to monitor pit temps and the temp of the meat. More often than not the stock therms on the smokers are not accurate and it is common for them to be 20-30 degrees off. iGrill2 is what I use and really like it. Others here use the Maveric732, or 733. For a quick read probe therm for testing meat this link is a good therm:


Cooking to temp not time will give you the best results. Therns need to tested and calibrated. Here's a link on how to do that:

How to calibrate your therm taking altitude and atmospheric pressure into account

A bit more reading to get you going:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/191066/dirtsailors-mega-mother-of-all-cooking-links-index

 

[todd22]

very much appreciated bud. ​

 

[weedeater]

 
thank you for info. I was told to preheat smoker to a desired temp. should I do same with the tenderloins or can I put them in and start smoker up. also when you say they don't take long, how long is "not that long"?  ;) is it a certain amount of time per pound or ounce that I've read before?

sorry for what may seem ignorant questions, just don't want to overcook them either.

thanks alot

Yes Preheat your smoker.  I would plan on it taking plus or minus 2 hours if I had to guess but time is not a good way to cook.  I would cook to the temp that I wanted using a temp probe.  Minimum temp I would want would be 145 degrees.  Some like to take a little higher.  Be sure to let it rest for at least 30 minutes wrapped up.  Should be good.  Be sure to post some qview pics.  Joe

 

[GaryHibbert]

 
thank you for info. I was told to preheat smoker to a desired temp. should I do same with the tenderloins or can I put them in and start smoker up. also when you say they don't take long, how long is "not that long"?  ;) is it a certain amount of time per pound or ounce that I've read before?

sorry for what may seem ignorant questions, just don't want to overcook them either.

thanks alot

You've been given lots of great advice.  Everyone does it similar but different.  I cook mine at 240* to an IT of about 140, then let it rest for about 30 mins.  We like the meat still pink and juicy.  My last smoke took about 1 hour and 45 mins, but as said, always go by internal temp, not time.  Time is just a rough guideline.

Hope it turns out great.

Gary

 

[todd22]

    thanks guys for all the info. will post pics after I'm done.          

 

[drewed]

I've had better luck with tenderloins on the grill with some wood chips chuck on the coals rather than in the smoker.  Pork LOINS, being a bigger hunk of meat I've smoked with no problems, but TENDERLOINS ( yep different part of the pig) ended up dry.  No real tissue to break down.

 

[cael]

 
I cooked a turkey in my Masterbuilt smoker last week and it did awesome. my gf got me some pork tenderloins so I thought i'd try cooking them in the smoker as well. there's 3 of them, 1.52, 1.55, 1.64 ounces individually.   any suggestions as to how long to cook them and at what temp? i'm thinking of doing each with different rubs. will wrap one in bacon and just do a dry rub on the other two.

i'm new to all this so, be gentle.....   thanks for the help in advance.  ;)

Since some folks on this forum pointed out to me that pork tenderloin doesn't have as much connective tissue to break down as other cuts do, I tried mine at 275 the first time, and they were done in 35-45 minutes.   I was shocked.    The next ones I did went in with some other stuff and cooked at 240, still done in about the same time (40-45), but that smoker was full and hot by the time they got added.   the first time they were all alone in there.    Then wrap and hold about 30 min.

Both times the pork was very tender and had an ok taste the first day.    But both times the pork was OMG heavenly the next day.   My hubby says we should only ever eat them the second (and third and fourth and so on) days.    The difference is astronomical.     

So now if I'm smart I always toss a tenderloin on when I'm cooking something else for supper.   That way its perfect for the next day.   :)

 

[todd22]

What's funny Cael is that I was being forced to do just that. I was planning on eating them tomorrow evening but I have to go away til late tomorrow afternoon so I'm putting them on this morning and cooking then today. Was thinking about slow cooking them at about 180 for several hours and then checking the internal temp and if I needed to I could bump it up. Need to work for about 3 hrs so I thought the lower temp would allow me to do what I need to do and still not over cook the pork .Thoughts?

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Most small cuts, like tenderloin, pork chops, steaks, Tri tip, beef roasts I smoke at 180-200. It allows more time for the meat to be in the smoke. I'd still watch them closely as they may be done well before your 3 hour time frame.

 

[cael]

By work do you mean leave your smoker?    Cause I would be worried that they might overcook as Dirtsailor said.   On the other hand, at that low it still might not be an issue.   I guess you will have to try it and see.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

You have gotten some great info. and it will help you greatly , however ,I noticed no Q-view , here's the obligatoty

:worthless

Happy smoking and as always . . .

 

[todd22]

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• todd22
• Sep 17, 2015

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• todd22
• Sep 17, 2015

got it oldschool.......here ya go.... these are pre cooking. I rubbed each with a recipe I found online. just rubbed the two in the silver pan, rubbed then wrapped in bacon the one in blue pan. set the smoker at 170. smoked them with some apple and cherry wood chips that i mixed together. smoked for 3 hrs. checked with my thermometer (which is cheap and will be getting a nice one that dirtsailor suggested) and the ones in the silver were at 143 internal so i pulled them off. the bacon one was at 130 so i added more wood and set at 180 for 1 1/2 hrs.

 

[todd22]

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• todd22
• Sep 17, 2015

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• todd22
• Sep 17, 2015

these are what they look like now......  I have let them set and will eat them tomorrow........look and smell incredible....... will let you know how they taste tomorrow......  

 

[vibe]

How do you go about reheating them if you're having them tomorrow?


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