Smoked Pork Tenderloin

Step-by-step instructions on how to smoke pork tenderloin. Soaked in a citrus brine and coated in the most flavorful BBQ spice rub, this is a "no-hassle" smoker recipe the whole family will love!

Jump to:

• Quick Recipe Overview
• Why This Recipe Works
• Pork Brine Ingredients
• Ingredients You'll Need
• Preparing the Smoker
• Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Expert Tips
• BBQ Sides
• More Pork Recipes
• Smoking Meat Made Easy!
• Smoked Pork Tenderloin

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If you're looking for pork tenderloin recipes, then you're in the right place. Pork tenderloin is exactly that...tender. And it's juicy. But if you've never smoked it before, you're in for a mouthwatering treat!

Tender and delicious, this is the most flavorful smoked pork tenderloin recipe! You know I have a special love for creating smoker recipes, like my smoked whole chicken recipe and my smoked ribs, and now I have a smoked pork tenderloin recipe for you to add to your collection.

Juicy, tender pork is a family favorite dinner at my house and since we're in the barbeque season, an easy pork tenderloin recipe is perfect for dinner and so easy to make. From the citrus brine to the pork dry rub, you're going to love everything this smoked meat has to offer!

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Pork Brine Ingredients

This pork brine recipe has a citrus base which really helps tenderize the meat. Here's the secret to brining pork. The brining process allows the meat to absorb the liquid to not only make the meat juicer and more tender, but to add flavor.

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I make each brine based on what flavors I want to pull out of the meat. For pork tenderloin, I like to use a citrus brine because of the acidity in the orange and lemon. These are the ingredients I use in my pork brine.

To start the process, place the piece of pork in a large 13x9 dish. Combine all the brine ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Then, pour the liquid brine mixture over the pork. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours. If you have the time, brine for 10-12 hours.

Ingredients You'll Need

After the brining process, I remove the pork and place it on a large cookie sheet. Don't dry it off with paper towels. It should be wet when you apply the dry rub. For this recipe, I lather both sides of the meat with my pork dry rub which has a brown sugar base and includes flavors of smoked paprika, garlic salt, and onion powder.

Using your fingers, really press the dry rub into the pork and ensure all sides are covered. The tenderloins are still going to be wet from the brine which helps the dry rub stick to the meat better. There's no need to let them marinate in the rub. As soon as the smoker is preheated and ready to go, you can place the tenderloins in the smoker and start smoking.

Preparing the Smoker

It doesn't matter what type of smoker you use for this recipe. The smoke time and methods will be the same. But for this post, I'm going to tell you how to prepare a charcoal and propane gas smoker, as well as a pellet smoker.

Charcoal and Propane Gas Smoker

There’s a couple of things you should do before you start smoking your meat in a charcoal or propane gas smoker. First, you'll need a water pan. A lot of smokers come with a water pan but you can also use a disposable aluminum pan. I like to wrap the metal water pan that comes with the smoker with heavy-duty aluminum foil before I add the water. By doing this, you’re saving yourself a lot of mess. Less cleanup is always better! For this particular recipe, I also add a tablespoon of Liquid Smoke to the water to help contribute to the smoky flavor. But that's an optional step.

Wood Chunks

You'll also need wood chunks for smoking, which means you'll need a smoker box. I prefer using wood chunks instead of wood chips because chips burn out so quickly. It's also been my experience that wood chunks produce more smoke for a longer period of time.

Whether or not you're soaking wood chips or chunks is entirely up to you. In my opinion, it's about personal preference. There is a lot controversy on this topic, but I don't feel that it's a requirement to always soak the wood before starting the smoking process.

Some think that by soaking wood, it will slow the combustion and create a longer smoke time than wood that wasn’t soaked. When I use dry wood, I get an immediate smoke and the wood chunks last for 3-4 hours before burning out. However, when I'm doing a long smoke on something like a brisket recipe, I will soak the wood chunks because I have found they last longer.

When smoking pork, I like to use apple wood. But I've also had great flavor success when I've used a mixture of both apple and cherry wood chunks. Since pork is such a mild meat, you'll need to use a subtle and mild flavored wood. Pecan wood is also a great choice. Remember, smoking is an art and when it comes to the flavor of wood and how you prepare it, there are no hard and fast rules.

Foil Packet

Another controversial topic when it comes to smoking meat is if you wrap the wood in a foil packet or not. Here's the thing... again, smoking is an art. Sure, there is a lot of science around smoking meat and all it entails, but a lot of techniques and methods come down to preference and what gives you the best results.

For me, sometimes I wrap my wood chunks in heavy-duty aluminum foil and poke large holes in it with a knife. When I'm doing long smokes, I have found that the foil packet helps the smoke to release slowly due to a lesser amount of oxygen being exposed to the wood. For this recipe, I don't use a foil packet because pork tenderloin only takes a couple of hours to smoke.

Pellet Smoker

Whether you're using a pit boss, a Traeger, or some other pellet smoker, the preparation is really easy. There's just not a lot to do when preparing a pellet smoker. Simply add the wood pellets to the chamber and set the temperature to 225°F and let it do all the work!

Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions

Prepare the smoker and preheat until the internal temperature reaches 225°F. Place the meat directly on the smoker grates. Close the lid and smoke the meat for 1 hour.

Once an hour has passed, open the smoker lid and baste on your favorite easy bbq sauce recipe to both sides of the meat. This is the point in the smoking process when I insert the digital thermometer and start monitoring the internal temperature.

When the internal temperature reaches 145°F, remove the meat from the smoker and let it rest for 5 minutes. Grab your meat carving knife, slice, and then serve. The key to success when smoking a pork tenderloin is smoking it low and slow. And the results are full of mouthwatering flavor everyone wil enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

Expert Tips

• When you smoke any meat, smoke it low and slow. You don't have to, but when you do the flavor is more enhanced and the meat is super juicy and tender.
• Trim off any excess fat with a sharp knife before smoking.
• You'll sometimes find a layer of silverskin. You can easily remove this with a sharp knife or ask the butcher to remove it for you.
• Skip the bbq sauce process if you want to stick strictly with the rub. The flavor is fabulous with only the dry rub, but I love bbq sauce so I wanted to take this recipe to the next level flavor wise.
• If you can't find Byron's Butt Rub, you can skip that ingredient. But you can typically find it at Costco or on Amazon. Even a small amount adds to the flavor!
• It typically takes about 2 hours to smoke pork tenderloin, but always rely on the internal temperature gauge and not the smoking time. You want the internal meat to reach 145°F before removing it from the smoker.
• For storage purposes, it will last in the refrigerator in a covered container for 3-4 days.
• If you're looking for the best way to reheat the meat, use a cast iron skillet and bake in the oven at 300°F for about 20 minutes.

BBQ Sides

If I'm taking the time to prepare the smoker and smoke meat, I always smoke several side dishes. My easy smoked mac and cheese pairs amazingly well with pork and so do these herbed smoked red potatoes. And, you can never go wrong with smoker bbq beans!

Pork tenderloin is such a forgiving piece of meat...it's really hard to mess it up. It's perfect for any holiday, a weekend BBQ, or for when you meal prep. I love using leftovers in a burrito bowl with rice and beans and then topped with cheese and lettuce. It's also fabulous in a quesadilla.

More Pork Recipes

If you love pork recipes like I do, try making this easy slow cooker bourbon pulled pork. It's easy to make because the slow cooker does all the work and it has layers of amazing flavors. Also, check out how to smoke a pork butt. There's nothing to it and it's a huge fan favorite!

Update Notes: This post was originally published in August 2019, but was re-published with updated step-by-step instructions, pictures and tips in March 2022.