Smoked Pork Tenderloin

3.58 from 26 votes

Meaty, tender, juicy, and loaded with unbelievable flavor, Smoked Pork Tenderloin is a must-try for outdoor cooking fans!

Prep Time5

Cook Time1

Course: Pork

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dry rub for pork, pork rub, pork tenderloin, smoked pork, smoked pork tenderloin, smoker, smoker recipes, traeger, traeger recipes

Servings: servings

Calories: 544kcal

Fire up your pellet smoker and set it to 180-F.
Liberally rub the trimmed pork tenderloin with The Best Pork Rub or your favorite dry rub.
Smoke it at 180-F for 15 minutes to give it a good kiss of smoke, then turn up the heat to 225-F and smoke it for about 45 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 145-F on a digital meat thermometer.
Let it rest for about 10 minutes then cut and serve!

The nutritional information for the pork rub is NOT included in this recipe, because everyone's favorite pork rubs contain different ingredients.

Chef Jenn's Tips

When buying pork tenderloin, look for UNseasoned pork tenderloins. Seasoned is a code word for injected with saline solution and some flavoring. This plumps up the meat adding weight to it so they can charge you more by the pound. Look for pork tenderloin with NO added ingredients. It doesn't need tenderizing or additional flavor.
Pork rubs can be notoriously high in salt. To keep the salt in check, make your own rub or try my favorite rub which I call The Best Pork Rub. Not terribly original but it's got the perfect blend of sweet and spicy.
Use a meat thermometer to avoid overcooking pork. Pork can be safely cooked to a minimum temperature of 145-F. This is still fairly pink. I prefer my pork to have a blush of pink, which means an internal temperature of 150-F. Pulling it off the smoker at 145-F and covering it loosely to let it rest should allow it to come up to 150-F.
How many people does a pork tenderloin serve? I usually count on 4 smaller appetites, or 3 larger ones, for each pork tenderloin.
You'll need about 1/4 cup of rub per pork tenderloin.