Maple Barbecue Pork Tenderloins
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Smoked pork tenderloin is lean, delicious and easy to cook in any smoker.
I used maple syrup mixed with my original rub to create some nice kick and flavor as well.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 60-90 minutes
- Smoker Temp: 225°F (107°C)
- Meat Finish Temp: 145°F (63°C)
- Recommended Wood: Cherry + Apple
- 2 Pork tenderloins (more if you like)
- 2 TBS Mayonnaise
- ¼ cup + 2 TBS Jeff's original rub
- 1 cup Maple syrup
Remove the tenderloins from the package and rinse them off under cold water.
Use a sharp knife to remove any exterior fat and silver skin from the meat.
I often use yellow mustard and other condiments for moisturizing the meat and helping the rub to stick. This time I used mayonnaise.
Why does mayo work so well? It's basically oil and egg so it creates a great base for the rub and it even seems to help keep the meat more moist while it cooks in the smoker.
Use a heaping tablespoon for each pork tenderloin and spread it all over the meat from end to end and all around.
Of course, if you don't like mayonnaise and would rather use a little olive oil, yellow mustard or even a little barbecue sauce, that works really well too.
Now when you apply my original rub, it will stick really well and you don't have to worry about losing any of it.
Be generous with it!
After only 10 minutes you can see that the rub is getting that “wet” look and they are ready to flip over and do the other side.
You can, of course, be doing other things while you wait such as getting the smoker ready.
Once both sides are coated with mayo and my original rub, move them to a Weber grill pan or even a pan with a rack to make them easy to transport to and from the smoker.
Now finish up getting the smoker ready while they sit there and get happy.
Set up your smoker for cooking at 225°F (107°C) with indirect heat using a mix of apple and cherry if you have it. If not, most any fruit wood, pecan or even hickory will do a great job on these.
If your smoker uses a water pan, fill ‘er up.
Once the smoker is preheated and ready to go, it's time to smoke!
Once your smoker is ready, place the meat on the grate and close the lid/door.
The pork tenderloins are smoking and you will need to glaze them pretty soon so it's time to mix up the glaze.
Pour 1 cup of maple syrup into a bowl.. (can you tell I shop at Costco?)
Add 2 heaping tablespoons of my original rub..
Stir it up real good and it's ready to use.
I recommend glazing the pork tenderloins about every 20-30 minutes until they reach the done temperature of 145°F.
Keep a close eye on the temperature
In this cook, I used the Fireboard thermometer which has 6 inputs.
See my review of the Fireboard
Glazing
At about 30 minutes into the cook, use a silicone brush, spoon or even a turkey baster to coat the outside of the pork tenderloins with the maple barbecue glaze.
Then 30 minutes later, or just before they reach 145°F (63°C) , do it again.
You will find that different smokers can vary on the actual cooking times just because each one heats a little different, allows the air to flow though them just a little different and it changes things on a small scale.
My cooking times are estimates only and unless I specify otherwise, monitoring the temperature of the meat is the only way to actually tell when the meat is perfectly done. There are very few exceptions to this.
My pork tenderloins required around 70 minutes, just over an hour, to finish cooking.
I had a few slices with nothing else then I tried a thick juicy slice on a Hawaiian roll with some onions and pickles.. I am drooling right now just thinking about it!
Can you dry brine these smoked pork tenderloins?
I did not dry brine these due to time constraints but you certainly can if you want to.
Use about 1 teaspoon of coarse kosher salt per tenderloin and leave it sitting in the fridge overnight.
Apply the rub right before you place them in the smoker.
Maple Barbecue Pork Tenderloins
Ingredients
- 2 pork tenderloins (more if you like)
- 2 TBS Mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Jeff's original rub (to season the meat)
- 2 TBS Jeff's original rub (for maple bbq glaze)
- 1 cup Maple syrup
Instructions
- Rinse pork tenderloins with cold water.
- Use a sharp knife to remove any extra fat and silver skin.
- Coat the outside of each tenderloin with a tablespoon of mayonnaise.
- Generously sprinkle Jeff's original rub (about ¼ cup) on to all sides of the pork tenderloins.
- Prepare your smoker for cooking at 225°F (107°C) with indirect heat.
- If your smoker has a water pan, fill it up with water or liquid of your choice.
- When the smoker is ready, place the pork tenderloins on the smoker grate and close the door/lid.
- Prepare the maple barbecue glaze by mixing 1 cup of maple syrup to 2 heaping tablespoons of Jeff's original rub. Stir well to combine.
- Baste the meat with the glaze every 30 minutes until it is finished cooking.
- When the pork reaches 145°F (63°C) as measured with a digital meat thermometer, it is perfectly done and should be removed from the smoker right away.
- Allow the meat to rest under foil for about 10 minutes before slicing.
- Serve and enjoy!
This was simple and outstanding!
very nice. I served this for Mother’s Day last year. It was a hit. Love the sauce idea. I use my rub though. Thanks for the great site.
Any Pork tenderloin is always my favorite protein on a smoker. Could I reduce the syrup by about half and have enough for 2 loins or should I just dive in with a full cup?
I liked it better when the recipe was in the newsletter itself. I was able to just save the newsletter and now it’s a pain in my butt roast.
Jeff, you can definitely reduce the amount you make if you don’t need as much. Won’t hurt a thing.
Thank you for your feedback!
Select print recipe button, instead of using your printer (the default), choose save PDF. Save to an appropriate folder and you are done in seconds!
I, too, love my CampChef Woodwind Pellet Grill… When you use the High Smoke temperature setting what smoke setting do you use? My Woodwind automatically sets it at 3.
Dale, I usually set the smoke setting at 10 because I want maximum smoke flavor. This causes greater temperature swings but I am okay with that.
Jeff do you really need to show, toilet bowl cleaning ads on the same page as this recipe?
makes me wanna blow chunks!!!!!!!!
Gary,
I have already sent in a ticket this morning to have that removed as well as the ones with toenail clippers. We don’t get to pick the ads but I can send in screenshots when I see certain ones and they will remove them.
I really appreciate the feedback. Feel free to send screenshots to me at [email protected] and I will have them removed.
Thanks!
Just smoked this today! Best pork I have ever had the wife loves it too! Thank you and thanks for the Rubs and sauce.
just wondering can a person use miracle whip instead of mayonnaise
Absolutely.. I grew up using MW instead of mayo. Totally interchangeable on recipes like this.
Why ami still receiving ads in With the recipe
Don, you should not be seeing any ads in the email version of the newsletter. Can you forward the emailed newsletter to me so I can figure out why the ads are being included? Thanks!
I did this one a couple months ago and was great. I am going to try it on a full pork loin today to see if I can get it just as tender. Great recipes across the board. I am an amateur smoker using the Sams club smoke oak hollow for a couple years. Takes some TLC but it works well.
I made this over Memorial day weekend but used Honey Mustard and the turned out Amazing. Thought I made way to much for everyone to eat and would have plenty of left overs but everyone just kept eating so no I’ll have to make this again.
Thanks for the great ideas for dinners.
Just made these maple tenderloins. The mayo and maple glaze is just hats off! Can not wait to make some more and try on Hawaiian rolls!
Just wanted to tell you that these smoked maple bbq tenderloins are fabulous. We always receive compliments with our old recipe, but this will be our go to recipe in the future. So good. Thank you.
Thank you, Roger!
Yet another winner. My family is so happy that I discovered your site several years ago. I have an electric smoker and have learned that my cooking time is much less than yours, but everything has turned out great.
I bought your recipes and book right after I signed on, have asked several times, but I still haven’t been “ad free” from all the “get recipe here” signs. They do get annoying after a point because you said they would go away, then you said you’d take care of it, but I still get them.
Ann, I just checked your account and you should not be seeing any ads in the email version of the newsletter. If you are, forward a copy to me so I can check it out further. Please note, the archived versions of the recipes on the website does not require a user login and shows the same for everyone.
Jeff,
Thank you so much for the effort you put into this site. Tried the maple barbque tonight and it turned out great….
Have you ever done demonstrations/classes? I’m sure I’m not the only one in the Tulsa area that would enjoy picking up tips from a class with you.
It was nice early on to read through your recipes and you have given me a lot of tips by doing so. I do feel like the “plugs” for certain products have become too much lately though. I appreciate the time you take to put your own experiences out there to help others. Looks like you have aquired a large base, thus the ads for products. Carry on…. JB
Jason, I can certainly appreciate your sentiments and would love to go ad-free forever. Unfortunately, something has to pay for the services required to keep the website, forum and newsletter running.
I purchased your recipes some time ago and now I am getting the ads. I thought it was a one time purchase to get ad free emails and any time access to the rub recipes.
Scott, I just sent you an email. Thank you for letting me know about this.
Going to have to try this – with one alteration. I came across a bourbon Maple Syrup that I think will add another dimension of flavor to the pork. Great recipe though.
We found some of this excellent maple syrup and thought the same thing when I saw this recipe. This is a HAVE TO TRY recipe.
I made these and the family went nuts over them. They asked for them again on Labor Day. Easy to do. We got ours at Cost Co where them come in a split package/2 in each side. Only thing I did different was back off on the Caynne and Black Pepper (wife’s request).
I’m trying it this weekend. Thank you for shopping at Costco. I support you, You support me(29yr employee).
Jeff,
Made this tonight for dinner and it was excellent!!! The glaze was a nice touch and added some extra flavor.
Thank you for the recipe, it will be a quick addition to my smoking menu.
Danny
Love the idea. When you glaze, do you turn over tenderloin or glaze only the top?
I only glaze the top. I guess you could turn it over but I don’t think it’s really necessary.
The recipe calls for your BBQ sauce… did I misss where you used it? Can’t wait to try this one!!
Matt, That was a mistake on my part.. the barbecue sauce is not used on this particular pork tenderloin.