While much of the pork that we smoke and grill is anything but healthy, smoked pork tenderloin rivals lean white meat chicken in calories, fat and cholesterol. Eat it because it tastes amazing and enjoy the fact that it’s also healthy!
Course Entree
Cuisine Hot Smoking
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 2 hourshours
Total Time 2 hourshours20 minutesminutes
Servings 4-6
Author Jeff Phillips
Ingredients
Pork Tenderloinusually come 2 to a package
Mayonnaiseoptional
Yellow mustardoptional
Jeff's original rub
Jeff's Texas style rub
Instructions
Step 1: Rinse
These often come packaged in sets of (2) and it rarely says so on the package for some reason. A good way to tell is by the weight-- most tenderloins will weigh around 1 lb each so a 2 lb package probably has (2) tenderloins. If it says 1.17 lbs, there's probably only one in there.
Remove these from the package and give them a good rinse under cold water.
Pat dry with a paper towel and lay them on the cutting board.
Step 2: Remove Silverskin
Use a very sharp knife to remove the silverskin that will often be along one side.
Slip the knife under one end and just follow it to the end. If you miss a part of it, just give it another go.
While you have the knife in hand, it's a good idea to remove any excess fat as well.
Step 3: Apply Rub
I normally use my original rub on all pork but I wanted to try out the Texas style rub on these pork tenderloins so I did one with the original and one with the Texas.
As an afterthought, I also decided to use a different sticking base for each one.
Mayonnaise contains oil and egg and makes a great base for applying rub and helping it to stick. I often use this on chicken but felt it would marry better with the Texas style rub.
I used my normal mustard base with the original rub on the other pork tenderloin.
Make sure to get the rub applied well to all sides and the ends.
Step 4: Set up Smoker
Set up your smoker for cooking at about 225-240°F.
If your smoker came with a water pan, use it.
When your smoker is up to temperature and holding steady, it's time to cook.
Step 5: Smoke Cook
I placed the tenderloins on a rack to make it easy but you can also just place them directly on the smoker grate.
Keep the smoke going for at least 30 minutes but it's ok to keep a light smoke going for the entire time as well.
I highly recommend the use of a remote digital probe meat thermometer.
Is it vitally important that the pork tenderloin be removed from the smoker at 145°F. This is the safe temperature for pork.
Step 6: Serve
Place a foil pan or a piece of foil over the tenderloins for about 10 minutes to let them rest.
Once rested, slice the pork into pieces and serve immediately.