Pork Tenderloin Advice

[frogpond]

Picked up a 2.5 lb Pork Tenderloin today that I plan on firing up tonight on my TBE.  I searched but didn't see many threads on these in particular, so I figured I'd ask a few questions..

1. How do I place it in the basket?  The tenderloin is long and flimsy, so I'm not sure if I can just lay it directly across..though I am considering doing that with the bunk bed basket if it will fit.  Bad idea?  OK idea? 

2. This is a fairly small piece of meat, so I was thinking it may not be so bad to use a rub with a little sugar in it as far as bark goes if it's only going to cook for 25-35 minutes or so.  I picked up some Jay D's Barbecue Rub at the store that I was thinking of trying.  My other option I'm considering is Cavender's Greek Seasoning.  I use that stuff on ribs and love it.  But this will be my first pork tenderloin, so any advice y'all have on rubs, that would be great.

3. Any other advice/input you have on cooking these.. it all helps.

I will be wrapping it in bacon! mmmmmm

Thanks in advance


Justin

[frogpond]

Well, it turned out alright... I ended up being in more of a rush than I would've liked yesterday afternoon.  Plus I never really did find too much info on how to do a tenderloin in a big easy, so I just winged it and hoped for the best.  I ended up cutting them in half because they wouldn't fit in the basket.  A couple of things though... I think I need to get a new temp probe.  Do you take your meat out and insert your temp probe to get a reading?  Or do you leave it in the cooker with the meat?  I found that if I left it in the cooker with the meat, I was getting much higher readings that didn't seem accurate.  Also, it seemed like the pork hit a plateau at 145-150.  It seemed like the meat was in that range for a good 20 minutes, then the last time I checked, it had shot up to 165+.  So it cooked a bit too much.  But, it was still good!  My wife and 8 year old daughter couldn't get enough of it.  I rubbed it down with Bad Byron's and wrapped it in thick cut bacon. The total cook time ended up being about 50 minutes, which seems long to me considering it was only 2.5 lbs of meat.  Does that sound right to you?  I wonder if I'm running low on propane or if it's not as hot as it should be.  But, that cook made me want to get a better temp probe for sure.  Also, do you stick just the tip of the probe into the meat to get a reading?  Or amlost all the way down to the temp readout?  Or does it matter?  Sorry for all the questions.  Just trying to learn.. 





Justin

[Smokerjunky]

Hey Frog,

I am certainly not the expert here but I have some experience.  While I have not cooked on your type of cooker before there are a couple of things that seem to hold true from what I have read on this post.
1)  All meat tends to hit a "stall" and remain at a temp similar to where yours stalled - you just have to wait it out unless you want to wrap it in foil to help it through the stall if you are in a hurry or did not calculate that into your cooking time
2)  It seems to me that the bigger the hunk of meat, the longer the stall
3)  I always leave the probe in during the cook.  This helps me make sure I take it off at the appropriate internal temp to make sure I don't dry it out.  If you have not already done so, I would suggest taking a look at the Maverick (I have the ET733 and it has been perfect)

It sounds like the cook went well.  Keep up the good work.

[frogpond]

Thanks for the reply smokerjunky.  I see the probe wires are 3 feet long on that model.  You find this is sufficiently long enough for the probes to sit in the meat and hang outside?  That would be my only concern.  Otherwise, it looks great.  A little pricey, but it'd be worth it to be able to monitor the temp at all times I think.

[frogpond]

Not the best picture, but it's the only one I got of them after I pulled them.  The other 2 got demolished by myself and my family just prior to this picture.    

The thick cut bacon tasted great with the tenderloin! 

[TMB]

As for time when will it be done, it's up to the meat.        Meat will finish when it wants to, fats, cologne and bone (if bone in) add to cooking time.  Also thick cut bacon adds some time it's self

Sounds like the cook turned out good, now you just have to dial it in and this takes practice.  I'm still learning after 9 years with Big Easy's so don't fret just think of all the practice cooks you get to do

[tomcrete1]

As for time when will it be done, it's up to the meat.        Meat will finish when it wants to, fats, cologne and bone (if bone in) add to cooking time.  Also thick cut bacon adds some time it's self

Sounds like the cook turned out good, now you just have to dial it in and this takes practice.  I'm still learning after 9 years with Big Easy's so don't fret just think of all the practice cooks you get to do

Great advice Tommy!  Every time I cook its a new adventure regardless if I've done that type of cook before

[Smokerjunky]

Thanks for the reply smokerjunky.  I see the probe wires are 3 feet long on that model.  You find this is sufficiently long enough for the probes to sit in the meat and hang outside?  That would be my only concern.  Otherwise, it looks great.  A little pricey, but it'd be worth it to be able to monitor the temp at all times I think.

The 3 foot cables are plenty long for my setup.  A couple of things I really like about the Maverick is the accuracy and the range for the wireless.

And, as the other guys pointed out, My standard answer when anyone asks what time dinner is when I cook on the smoker - "when the meat is done".  It is not done until it's done