Traeger Pork Tenderloin

Traeger Pork Tenderloin is a tender and flavorful main dish that only requires a few minutes of hands on time. Smoked pork tenderloin is moist and delicious and an easy main course the whole family will love.

One of our go-to main dishes is pork tenderloin. It is a perfect main dish because it is relatively inexpensive and is a very tender piece of meat.

Most often we use a simple rub of smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt for pork recipes. After coating the pork with the dry rub we pan-sear it and then transfer it into the oven to finish cooking.

We decided to take that staple pork tenderloin recipe in our home and convert it to a Traeger smoked pork tenderloin. We were so glad we did! Cooking on the pellet grill really maximized the flavor without any effort.

Try Pork Belly Burnt Ends next for an amazing appetizer. Or this Smoked Boneless Pork Roast Recipe is perfect to feed a crowd.

Ingredients

Pork Tenderloin - We cooked just one 1.25 lb pork tenderloin for this recipe but you can cook two, three, or more at the same time to feed a larger group. Be sure to remove any large pieces of silver skin and excess fat from the pork.

Garlic Powder - Garlic powder gives a lot of savory flavor to the meat. Feel free to sub in fresh crushed garlic if you prefer.

Kosher Salt - Kosher salt is a great product to use in your kitchen. It's less salty than conventional table salt, but it has the same flavor.

Black Pepper - Black pepper is the best seasoning for meat, in my opinion, after salt.

How to Make Traeger Pork Tenderloin

Step One: Preheat the Traeger temperature to 225 and season the pork.

Step Two: Smoke the pork for an hour and a half right on the grill grate. If your Traeger grill has a Super Smoke feature you can use that to boost the flavor.

Step Three: Let the pellet grill pork tenderloin rest for 10 minutes on a cutting board before slicing with a sharp knife. This helps the natural juices stay in the meat keeping it moist.

Variations

Brown Sugar - For a bit of sweetness in your dry rub add brown sugar or rub with sweet honey before add the dry rub.

Spices - Spice blends like a poultry rub are great on the pork as is rosemary, thyme leaves, sage, and marjoram. Cumin and paprika are good choices as well.

BBQ Sauce - Baste with your favorite barbecue during the last 10 minutes of the cooking time and then serve the bbq pork tenderloin with additional bbq sauce.

Lemon Pepper Pork Tenderloin - Rub the meat with your favorite lemon pepper seasoning.

Marinade - Try a simple pork tenderloin marinade of soy sauce, olive oil, apple juice, garlic, and brown sugar. Just add to a resealable bag and add the meat for 20-30 minutes.

Beef - Want to try smoking a beef tenderloin? Check out our Smoked Beef Tenderloin Recipe.

Common Questions

What is pork tenderloin?

Pork tenderloin is a cut consisting of pieces of meat taken from the loin. The tenderloin is an underused cut of meat. It's great for sandwiches, in stir-fry or even on top of a salad. It's very versatile in taste and can be cooked using many different methods. It is a cut of very tender pork and easier to cook than pork loin or pork roast. Pork tenderloin is a very lean cut of meat, so it's low in fat. In fact, there are only 2 grams of total fat in a 3-ounce serving.

How long does it take to smoke a pork tenderloin at 225?

Pork tenderloin takes about an hour and a half to cook at 225. You want the pork to end at 140 when the internal temperature is checked with a meat thermometer and let it rest to reach 145. This yields the best texture. Cooking pork to 165 will dry it out. Check out this recipe for smoked pork loin roast next.

Should you wrap meat in foil when smoking?

The main concern is that the smoke won't touch the meat and give it that great smoky flavor. Your meat may be cooked properly but you'll be sacrificing on taste. I recommend leaving it uncovered so you can maximize the flavor from the smoke.

What to serve with Traeger Pork Tenderloin

We serve this with a wide variety of side dishes. A perfect complement is Smoked Sweet Potatoes, paired with Grilled Delicata Squash, and Air Fryer Green Beans. If we have the Traeger pellet grill going we try to cook both our main course and our sides on it.

Make sure to try our Berkshire Pork Chops Recipe and Smoked Chicken Thighs next!

Recipe

Originally Published December 7, 2021. Revised and Republished October 11, 2024.

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