First Smoke- Pork Tenderloin

[j-rod]

Hey guys just finished my first tenderloin and it turned out pretty good. I wasn't intelligent enought to realize that I could just leave my digital therm probe stuck in the thing while it was smoking. Instead I was opening the door every hour, then every half hour, sticking in the probe, waiting until I had a reliable reading. I am sure this screwed with my temp and extended the overall cooking time. Because of this the tenderloin was a little overcooked. My biggest problem was too much smoke flavor. I used hickory chunks and I loaded the cast iron with all it would. How much wood do you guys use?? It was a small tenderloin only 2.5 lbs, I am assuming that I should have used about half the amount of hickory. Any suggestions? Am I on the right track?

 

[richtee]

Probably too much wood total, given it's a small hunk of meat, but more importantly, smaller amounts at a time. What did your smoke look like, the left or the right in the picture in this post:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...38971#poststop

 

[kookie]

How many pan loads did you use of wood? Most things I smoke I only use 2 or 3 pans of chips then I just let the meat cook in the smoker with out any chips in pan.

Kookie

 

[ds7662]

As said already most likely to much wood. Using chunks or chips?
I start off with 2 chunks and then add 1 from there on out, when the others have quit smoking. Did you apply smoke for the entire time?
Might not do that next time if you did.

 

[flash]

Since tenderloins are usually quite small I always opt for a standard grill instead of the smoker. Really only two reason for an over smoked flavor. Either too much smoke or the wood you used was too strong for YOUR taste.
I have a neighbor who is like that. Where most of us like hickory, they find the flavor too strong. I only lightly smoke their food, then finish it on the grill when they come over. Not much else I can do besided telling them to bring there own.

 

[teacup13]

dont worry, the hard part is over. you completed your first tenderloin smoke...congrats

the next time you will remember to keep the temp prob in at all times..lol

next time cut down on the amount of wood you use, the loin is a wonderful cut of meat that seams to take on flavors easily. it is better to have a milder smoke flavor than an overwelming flavor that isnt pleasant.

me personally, i dont use all hickory for loins, too strong of a flavor for me. i mix in some apple,cherry or maple

good luck on your next smoke

 

[j-rod]

To answer your questions, the smoker started out with a nice thin smoke for about 1 hour then got pretty aggressive for about an hour. I wanted to slow things back down but , short of jerking out the wood box, I didn't know how. I used at least 6 large chunks and surrounded them with all the small chunks I could fit, I don't have anything that I would consider chips right now. I never added any additional wood once I got things going but I had smoke for at least 2.5 hours. I definetly feel that I used too much wood, and I think that I would be better served to find a mild wood to mix in with the hickory. Do most of you guys use chunks and chips together?

 

[gorillagrilla]

did 2 large tenderloins this weekend using apple wood . used quite a bit actually , not overwhelming at all . I find hickory can be a little easier to oversmoke with. Apple worked well

 

[ron50]

Depends on the smoker but most people use chunks as they last longer before the need to replenish. As was said in a prior post, start with 1 or 2 chunks of wood, maybe one of apple and one of hickory, keep the smoke thin and blue and replenish as the wood turns to ash, maybe with apple wood.
Tenderloins are tough as they cook quick, not much internal fat so they don't need much cooking time and they dry out quickly.

 

[j-rod]

Thank you for the input, it makes good sense. I hope to go round two this weekend with a couple of beer can chickens.

 

[richtee]

Higher temps are the consensus. Get the smoker to 300 ish when the avians roost... keep a 270 ish for a good brown skin.