Smoking Pork Tenderloin

This last Saturday, my wife or I had not planned anything for dinner.

I wanted to smoke something since it had been a few days since Brunhild Traeger had smoked anything so at noon I grabbed a couple pork tenderloins at the local grocery store. This simple but delicious cut of meat will take on many different flavors in a short amount of time if you do it right.

So I hurried home and mixed up a quick marinade and threw the tenderloins in a Ziploc bag and put it in the fridge for a few hours. The beauty of these small tenderloins is that you can smoke them in a relatively short amount of time.

Brisket, ribs and even chicken can take quite a while to take on any smoke flavoring and still need time to cook.

These tenderloins were smoked and cooked through in two and a half hours. Just in time to eat dinner and still watch the college football game I’d been looking forward to all day.

GO UTES!!!

The other bonus to this cook was that we were able to share our food with our neighbors. My family wasn’t about to eat two whole pork tenderloins so we shared our meal with people we love and hopefully it helped them out a little bit.

For us, food is more than just the way it tastes. It’s about the process and being able to share our blessings with those around us which brings us closer as family and friends.

Smoking Pork Loin

Smoking pork loin is a pretty uncomplicated process. Here are a few things to keep in mind before you start cooking:

What Temp to Smoke Pork Loin

We recommend smoking pork loin at 225 degrees. This is a good point between being so low that it takes too long too cook and too high that you don’t get that smokey, moist flavor.

Smoked Pork Loin Internal Temp

The true key to smoked food is going by temperature – not time. For this recipe, we recommend smoking the pork loin until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

Smoked Pork Loin Cooking Time

Although we don’t suggest cooking by time, the following are time estimates for what you can expect to make this recipe:

• Marinating time: Overnight (or at least two hours if you are in a hurry)
• Cooking Time: Approximately 2.5-3 hours when smoked consistently at 225 degrees
• Rest Time: 5-10 Minutes

Smoked Pork Loin Rub

For this recipe, we recommend the following marinade and rub:

• 1/2 C Orange Juice
• 1/4 C Brown Sugar
• 4 Tbsp Honey
• 2-3 Thyme or Rosemary sprigs
• 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tsp Salt

Whisk orange juice, brown sugar, honey, pepper, and salt and combine with tenderloins and herbs in a Ziploc bag.

How to Cut Pork Loin

There are various ways to cut pork loin. This website shares a good technique for cutting various parts of the pork loin.

Tools Used

Traeger Timberline 1300 Smoker

Internal Thermometer

Smoked Pork Tenderloin