This smoked pork tenderloin is tender pork soaked in brine, then coated in homemade BBQ spice rub and smoked to perfection. The best smoked pork you’ll ever eat!
You can never go wrong with smoked chicken thighs, smoked turkey and this easy and fabulous smoked pork. It’s tender, juicy and packed with tons of flavor.
Pork tenderloin is one of my all time favorite cuts of meat. It’s easy to cook, inexpensive and has plenty of flavor. This smoked pork tenderloin has been declared by my family and friends to be “the best pork ever!” It’s really that good.
Add some fantastic summer side dishes like dill potato salad, grilled peaches or avocado corn salad for a delicious dinner!
Table of Contents
Smoked Pork Tenderloin Ingredients
When you smoke pork tenderloin you will first need a brine made with apple cider (not apple cider vinegar), water, salt, sugar, garlic, peppercorns, an orange, a lemon, rosemary and bay leaves. To smoke the pork you will want pork tenderloin, BBQ dry rub and BBQ sauce.
How Do You Smoke Pork Tenderloin?
The first step to this recipe is to trim any excess fat or silver skin. Some pork tenderloin is sold already trimmed and you can skip this step. Next prepare a simple brine made with apple cider, salt, sugar, citrus, garlic and herbs. The pork needs to soak in the brine for 2 hours. Brining the pork helps to prevent it from drying out during the low and slow cooking process. After the pork is brined, it’s rolled in homemade spice rub and then goes into the smoker. Heat it to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Use a meat thermometer to keep track of the temperature. Slather on BBQ sauce put it back in the smoker at a lower temperature for 30 minutes. Then you’ll be ready to eat!
Tips For Smoked Pork Tenderloin
- I prepare this recipe with two tenderloins so that it feeds more people. Often you can find two tenderloins packaged together. If you prefer to smoke just one piece of meat, you can easily cut the recipe in half.
- You can cook your pork directly on the grill grates of the smoker, or in a disposable aluminum foil pan which makes clean up a lot easier.
- Use a sharp knife for cutting nice, even slices of pork.
- If you have the time, I recommend whipping up a batch of my homemade BBQ sauce to go on your pork. That being said, a high quality store bought sauce would also be delicious!
- I like to use fruit woods like apple wood or cherry wood for a mild smoky flavor. For a more intense smoke you can use hickory wood.
Quick Tip
I recommend my homemade BBQ rub to flavor the pork. Seriously, it’s easy to make and it’s just the right balance of sweet and savory.
Recipe FAQs
It takes approximately 1 1/2 hours to smoke a standard sized pork tenderloin. The best way to gauge whether your pork is done is to insert a thermometer. I like to use a probe thermometer with a remote so that I can monitor the progress of my meat from inside the house.
Cook pork to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Use a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork. Once you’ve reached the correct temperature, remove the pork from the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes before you slice it.
The best temperature for smoking pork tenderloin is 250 degrees F. Some like to cook pork tenderloin at 225 degrees F, that works too. I find that smoking the pork at 250 degrees F tends to make the pork cook a little quicker while keeping the inside tender and juicy.
Reheat your pork tenderloin leftovers by covering it and baking it at 325 degrees F until just warmed through.
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Smoked Pork Variations
While this recipe is fantastic as-is, there are some ways to customize it to your own taste:
- Spicy: Add a tablespoon of hot sauce to your barbecue sauce for a little extra zing.
- Teriyaki: Try adding two tablespoons of teriyaki sauce to your barbecue sauce for a delicious flavor.
- Mexican: Try using a tablespoon of taco seasoning as your dry rub and omit the barbecue sauce.
What I love about this recipe is that the combination of the brine and rub turns out perfect results every time. Eat this pork tenderloin over mashed potatoes or rice, or slice it thin and pile it on a sandwich. Regardless of how you serve it, it’s sure to bring in rave reviews!
More Fabulous Smoker Recipes
Smoked Chicken Wings
2 hrs 10 mins
Smoked Prime Rib
3 hrs 30 mins
Smoked Chicken Recipe
4 hrs 10 mins
Smoked Pork Chops
1 hr 10 mins
Smoked Chicken Breast
1 hr 40 mins
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Smoked Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
For the brine
- 2 cups apple cider
- 4 cups water
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 teaspoons peppercorns
- 1 orange thinly sliced
- 1 lemon thinly sliced
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- For the brine: Combine all brine ingredients in a pot. Simmer for 3-4 minutes over medium heat or until salt and sugar is dissolved. Cool.
- Pour the brine into a large bowl. Add the pork and cover. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat an electric smoker to 250 degrees F. Load the smoker with apple wood, cherry wood or hickory chips.
- Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry. Rub the BBQ seasoning all over the meat.
- Place the meat either on the smoker rack or in a disposable foil pan. Smoke for 1 1/2 hours or until a thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 145 degrees F.
- Brush the BBQ sauce all over the pork. Lower the smoker temperature to 175 degrees F and smoke for an additional 30 minutes.
- Let the pork sit for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
Notes
- I prepare this recipe with two tenderloins so that it feeds more people. Often you can find two tenderloins packaged together. If you prefer to smoke just one piece of meat, you can easily cut the recipe in half.
- You can cook your pork directly on the grates of the smoker, or in a disposable aluminum foil pan which makes clean up a lot easier.
- Use a sharp knife for cutting nice, even slices of pork.
- I like to use fruit woods like apple wood or cherry wood for a mild smokey flavor. For a more intense smoke you can use hickory wood.
this pork tenderloin was easy to make and soooo juicy! We loved it!
Easy and delicious, thank for sharing. Adding this to my scheduled meal next week.
Wow! We smoked tenderloins using this recipe last weekend, and the neighbors loved them! We have been asked to be the smokers of our next neighborhood party!
We concur – the best pork ever, indeed! So excited about your variations – will be baking the teriyaki version this weekend!
I love how easy and flavorful this pork is! It came out perfectly tender, definitely my new favorite way to prepare a pork tenderloin 🙂
Made this over the weekend and it was absolute perfection! Everyone at my BBQ raved about it!
I am definitely going to try this next weekend. The bbq rub seasonings will surely be a wonderful taste to the pork. Saving this for sure!