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Looking to smoke a beef tenderloin for Christmas. From the research I've done, it appears to be do-able in less than an hour or so. Any tips? Any wood suggestions?
I smoke beef tenderloin fairly frequently- right now readying 3 5 pounders to smoke for myself and friends. I use a Cokshack smoker Amerique, and on that using about 1 oz of hickory and 1 oz of pecan it will take about 2.5 hrs at 235 degrees.
I don't marinade my beef but do coat it with a paste of either honey or maple syrup and cracked peppercorns and a vidalia onion BBQ sauce. The last batch I did just before Thanksgiving received good reviews. Today I am going to add a touch of fresh horseradish to the paste and see how that does.
I also use a Fast Eddy PG. That takes longer to cook but it gives a better looking mahogany coat, and great flavor.
fantastic...thanks. That's longer than I'd seen. Are you going to about 130 degrees internal temp, or higher? I believe the instructions I saw were running hotter - around 300 degrees - which would obviously cook faster.
I have a probe at the center of the meat and cook to a temp of 125 F. It will increase a bit to about `30 or so if left in the smoker for a half hr after reaching temp. I believe that cooking at a higher temp tends more to dry out the meat and one would lose some of the moist tenderness. I have gone to 260 F and found the drying out more than I would like!
Additional word! Yesterday I smoked beef tenderloins and used a combination of Jack Daniels whiskey casks and hickory. That left a bit of a harsh taste- the sour mash flavor did not come through. I won't use the whiskey casks again!