Question about doing a stuffed tenderloin...

[Sir_McGyver]

Hail all!

I am going to do the Roll-cut Apple pie filling stuffed pork tenderloin for Christmas. I purchased two tenderloins. Each has a total weight of approx 8 lbs. for a total weight of 16 lbs. (Note: they are both one tenderloin that the butcher cut in half - each half approx 12" long).

I am going to do them the way BearCarver cooked them which appears very straight forward...my question is Time. I have the times that he put in his step-by-step but that was for what appears to be One tenderloin (full size - cut in half). He took 4.5 hours (12 Noon to 4:30) to cook them, 5 hours if you count the temp turn back time period to put them in a holding pattern until time to server.

I am planning on putting the tenderloins on rack 3 and rack 2 (I have an MES 140S with 4 racks), putting the AMNPS on the drip pan under the Empty Water pan. The tenderloins will go in tinfoil pans to catch the drippings. I saw that was how Bear did it, so I figure it is the way to go.

We are planning on eating at 2:00-ish so my game plan was as follows:

Night Before: Prep meat and put in fridge

Morning of:

0815-0830 - Start the smoker to bring it up to 220 degrees, Get AMNPS ready to go.
0845 - Get AMNPS lit and burning for 0900 start time.
0900 - Put meat in on Rack 2 and Rack 3, inset temp probes, place smoking AMNPS on drip pan.
MAGIC HAPPENS HERE (i.e. Monitor Temps. if Top rack gets too much hotter than lower rack, Swap them out to even temps out)
14:00 - Hopefully there will be 4 ea. Rolled Stuffed Tenderloin halves ready to come off and sit for a bit before slicing.

I am aiming for the 145-150 Temp range for the tenderloins, and will adjust temp of smoker as required (raise if not cooking fast enough, lower if cooking too fast).

Just don't really want to screw the pooch on this as 1) Christmas Dinner and 2) only the second time to use the smoker for this. The first was the ribs, and they turned out great, so I am probably overly worried...but, I know how Murphy can be.

So to the experts, does this seem like a good plan? As I am doing two full tenderloins, should I start earlier or does my time frame seem right?

Thanks all for any feedback you have...It is greatly appreciated!

See you through the smoke!

McGyver

 

[chef jimmyj]

Message Bearcarver , His recipe so he would be able to suggest the direction you need to go.
A bit of FYI. Even a Large Pork Tenderloin weighs less than 2 pounds. They are sold 2 in a pack averaging 3 pounds total. What you have are Whole Pork Loins. This Loin runs outside and along the Spine from the Shoulder, over the Ribs, almost to the Back Legs. The Tenderloins are two small pieces of meat on the inside of the Spine, starting a short distance back from the ribs and ends before the Back Legs...This is a common misunderstanding...JJ

 

[smokerjim]

I agree with chef jimmy, check out bearcarvers step by step or send him a pm, also agree they can't be tenderloins , if the butcher charged tenderloin price I think I would tell him about it, beef tenderloins run 7-9 lbs.

 

[mike243]

LOL I was going to ask if the hog was 1600 lbs or more, a loin is what somebody is talking about, still great meat, hope it turns out great

 

[Winterrider]

Notes I have from an Apple stuffed pork loin( like what you have, I cut it into 3 sections)
Each were 2.6# split, filled, tied
10° outside
MES 40 set 230°
3rd rack placement
3 hrs went to 151° ( kinda dry, should pull at about 145°

 

[Bearcarver]

McGyver,
Sounds like a good plan, but like JJ said, those are Pork Loins---Tenderloins are much smaller.
As for the AMNPS, I think you'll find that in that "140S" of yours, it will work better on the right end of the bottom Smoker Rack, just above the chip dumper. Then you can pull the dumper out a few inches to allow more air flow to the AMNPS. Just don't let anything Drip on it.
160° is too high, but I never had any 145° to 150° that were Dry. I always take pork between 145° and 150° to be a little on the safe side.

Bear

 

[chef jimmyj]

McGyver, If your Loin weight is similar to Bear's and you use the Temp he did, then your 4 pieces will cook in about the same amount of Time as Bear's 2 pieces. The difference will be the Temp Recovery time will be somewhat longer because there is twice the meat. Add 20-30 minutes to CYA...JJ

 

[Sir_McGyver]

Thanks guys...yeah, I knew they were pork loins, but my fingers typed Tenderloins...I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to have a nicely cooked loin on one rack, and a nice Pork Tartar on the other. Still learning the smoking trade...So I guess while 6 or 7 inches of separation isn't too much, in the scheme of things, it isn't that big of a deal. I was able to finish my smoker stand last night, just as the first few drops of rain started coming down, gotta love Phoenix Snow. Hopefully it will stop raining tonight, so that I can smoke the loins tomorrow. Time will tell...Otherwise, I will have to jury rig something over the top of it to keep the rain off....I'll McGyver something together.

Take Care all and have a Great Holidays!