pork tenderloin?

[1974smokinsal]

I am smoking in my electric smoker for the first time. The temp is at 225 f for 7.5hrs. the loins are 2.5 lbs each. and I have the damper closed .the thermometer is in. am i doing some thing wrong?

 

[eman]

Loin or tender loin ?   Why do you have the damper closed???  and smoke to temprature not time .

 Done to me is 160 for a loin. maybe 155 for tenderloin . FDA recomends 160 min for pork.

 I have found that a loin will dry out pretty quick if it has very little fat cap or it is not wrapped in bacon The tender loin needs to be bacon wrapped imho as it has very little if any fat.

 the first tenderloins i smoked came out very dry as i didn't know about the bacon wrap.

 it was all good as i was able to use them to season a big pot of beans.

 

[mythmaster]

Welcome aboard!

Hoping that you loins don't dry out! 

 

[meateater]

Welcome to the SMF. Glad to have you here. Lots of good folks, great recipes and knowledge. Looking forward to your first qview.

 

[mballi3011]

First off welcome Sal to SMF. You'll like it here cause there are alot of really good folks that would just love to help you with anything to do with smoking. Now we like having new folks here to give a new prospective on some of the ways we do things around here. Now if you are really new then I would suggest that you sign up fir the 5-day E-course it free and it will give you the basics on smoking and a few recipes too. Here's a link to it:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/list/127

then you will have a method to your newly found madness and believe me it will be a madness. Then when you start smoking things you will have to learn how to post the pictures / Qview 

here. So here's a link to a tutorial on how to post your Qview so we can see what your doing.

 http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/82034/how-to-post-qview-to-smf

Now the next thing you have to do is run out and get something to smoke. Then just smoke it and if you have any questions just post  them here and we will answer all your questions that you might have. Oh yea there's no stupid questions we were all there in the beginning and we just really like to help others enjoy the fabulous smoked foods that we do. So again

 

Welcome to Your New Addiction

 

[caveman]

I should have done this on the other post.  Welcome to SMF 1974smokinSal.  Always keep that top vent open.  Have fun & enjoy yourself while you are here.

 

[rcaf36]

I'm a new guy to smoking. I'm going to smoke a pork tenderloin today, about a pound in size and need some help. I have a regular charcoal grill that says it's a smoker and by using chunk Maple charcoal and some cherry chips, I believe it. Please tell me if this is the right way.

I'm going to put a rub on and wrap it in bacon. I have an external thermometer and plan on taking it out of the smoker when it reaches 165F. I'm going to try to keep the smoker temp about 225F.

Two hours smoke, two hours tightly wrapped and perhaps 1/2 hr unwrapped. Is this too long considering the small size? I also plan on a pan filled with a beer/honey mixture over the coals to provide steam to keep it moist. Does this sound right?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Old timer 

FAILURE!!!!

I COULDN'T CONTROL THE TEMP; WITHIN TEN MINUTES IT WAS OVER 400F AND STILL CLIMBING. I THINK IT IS BECAUSE THERE IS ALL KINDS OF AIR LEAKING IN AND I CAN'T STOP IT! SPOKE TO THE MFG AND THEY TOLD ME TO USE LESS CHARCOAL LUMPS. ANYBODY OUT THERE WITH A GOOD IDEA?

 

[flash]

I'm a new guy to smoking. I'm going to smoke a pork tenderloin today, about a pound in size and need some help. I have a regular charcoal grill that says it's a smoker and by using chunk Maple charcoal and some cherry chips, I believe it. Please tell me if this is the right way.

I'm going to put a rub on and wrap it in bacon. I have an external thermometer and plan on taking it out of the smoker when it reaches 165F. I'm going to try to keep the smoker temp about 225F.

Two hours smoke, two hours tightly wrapped and perhaps 1/2 hr unwrapped. Is this too long considering the small size? I also plan on a pan filled with a beer/honey mixture over the coals to provide steam to keep it moist. Does this sound right?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Old timer 

 Tenderloins take so little time to smoke, I usually just throw them on a hot grill instead. You can smoke them though.  Take them to no more than 150 to 155º internal, then wrap in foil for 1/2 hour, slice and serve. You should have alittle pink in there still.

 Flavors in the water pan do little to promote flavor in the meat, atleast that is my opinion. Also, water in the pan does create some moisture for the meat, but very little. The water pan is there as a heat sink.

 

[richoso1]

Have you calibrated your therm? If not, you may not be smoking at the temp you need.; Factory therms are usually not accurate. Check the temp at grate/rack level to be sure.

 

[flyfishjeep]

Have you calibrated your therm? If not, you may not be smoking at the temp you need.; Factory therms are usually not accurate. Check the temp at grate/rack level to be sure.

What He said ^^^^^^

 

[chefrc]

Ahhh Tenderloins , No Fat,No fun. Love the fat for flavor. But we love them. They cook very quickly and they will dry out. I agree with Flash. Grill it and keep an eye on them  ( It's more fun and you will learn from that ) Welcome Friend

 

[rcaf36]

Thank you friends:  when the manufacturer said this was a grill and smoker, he lied. Within ten minutes of lighting the charcoal, the temperature was rapidly going past 400F. What a revoltin' development! Just too much air getting in and there was no way to stop it.        As it turned out, we enjoyed a perfectly grilled tenderloin. I used the internal meat temperature as a guide but I may have set it a bit high; 165F. Next time I'll go, as you suggested, 150-155F.

Told my bride I'd like a real smoker for my birthday, but she told me I'd already used up my birthday, next fathers' day and the next two

Christmases with this grill. We'll have to see...

 

[dick foster]

I love tenderloin too but like you was afraid of them drying out for a longer term, lower temp smoke. I took the usual two strips of loin and seasoned them up with a dry herb rub instead of my usual dry spice and pepper rub I use for almost everything. Then I put the two strips together and wrapped them with a basket weave of bacon to bind them together and prevent them from drying out. It took a whole package of bacon to do but the results were most excellent and better than I expected. It's hard to go wrong with tenderloin and well bacon is bacon so there is that too. How could it not turn out OK.

I put them in the smoker for about 4.5 hours at 225 waiting until the package got up to an internal temp of 170.

My wife says I need to repeat that one too. I think I may be turning her into a Q freak.  

 

[flash]

Thank you friends:  when the manufacturer said this was a grill and smoker, he lied. Within ten minutes of lighting the charcoal, the temperature was rapidly going past 400F. What a revoltin' development! Just too much air getting in and there was no way to stop it.        As it turned out, we enjoyed a perfectly grilled tenderloin. I used the internal meat temperature as a guide but I may have set it a bit high; 165F. Next time I'll go, as you suggested, 150-155F.

Told my bride I'd like a real smoker for my birthday, but she told me I'd already used up my birthday, next fathers' day and the next two

Christmases with this grill. We'll have to see...

Now you didn't light all the coals at once did you?  Yeah, 150º is good, especially if you wrap in foil for 30 minutes, it will continue to cook.

 

[rcaf36]

Yes, I did light all the coals at one time. (Duh...) I think what I'll do next time on this grill is light a small amount of coals and wrap up some soaked wood chips in a foil pkg and try to generate smoke that way.

By the way, I found a butcher here in Barrie Canada who is heavy duty into smoke. I bought a small used freezer from him for $25.00. Next time I go there, I'll ask if he has a second hand smoker for sale. He is a Prince of a guy and very helpful.

rcaf36

 

[tukson]

I got a new smoker for Fathers Day and it being a monster (for me) charcoal/wood type... that I was a bit afraid of! So, I did a dry run with 10lbs of charcoal and the next day I did another dry run with mesquite wood... I not only seasoned it, but it really helped me to get a feel of the beast and now I love the PUPPY! This way I didn't even toast my first rack of ribs... in fact even the grandkids liked them... and they are my worst critics.....

 

[flash]

Yes, I did light all the coals at one time. (Duh...) I think what I'll do next time on this grill is light a small amount of coals and wrap up some soaked wood chips in a foil pkg and try to generate smoke that way.

By the way, I found a butcher here in Barrie Canada who is heavy duty into smoke. I bought a small used freezer from him for $25.00. Next time I go there, I'll ask if he has a second hand smoker for sale. He is a Prince of a guy and very helpful.

rcaf36

Study up on the Minion method if you are using charcoal. It will allow the heat to build slowly. I also prefer chunks over chips, which just seem to burn up too fast.

 

[smokinthesmc]

Sal What kind of smoker/ grill is it. And or do you have any pic's. You may still be able to work with it. Just need to know what you've got there.