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. Pork Tenderloins are a type of cut from the pig that can be either roasted, grilled, or smoked. Like other cuts, it contains fat and healthy proteins. It is relatively inexpensive and always comes out flavorful and tender.

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!

Ingredients

We kept the seasonings for this recipe simple so the flavor from the smoke would shine. One of the best ways to season pork is with salt and pepper. This will make your dish taste better, but if you want it to be a little more flavorful, I recommend using some garlic powder as well!

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 from the pork.

Garlic Powder - Garlic Powder is made from ground, dried garlic cloves, usually with some dehydrating added to the mix. It gives a lot of flavor to the meat.

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. It's also great for adding a kick to foods that don't need much actual spices, such as mashed potatoes or vanilla ice cream.

Simple rub for smoking

Combine garlic salt and pepper in a small bowl to create the rub. Generously use the rub to season the pork to ensure that it is entirely covered.

How to Make Traeger Pork Tenderloin

Step One: Preheat the smoker and season the pork.

Step Two: Smoke the pork at 225 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 pork rest for 10 minutes 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 a brown sugar sweetener.

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

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

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 very tender piece of 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 loin 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.

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 few of our favorites are Smoked Mac and Cheese, Smoked Scalloped Potatoes, 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 Traeger Smoked Pork Loin and Smoked Chicken Thighs next!