Smoked Beef Tenderloin

This incredibly tender Smoked Beef Tenderloin Recipe is super easy and insanely delicious! It is seasoned with a simple Salt, Pepper and Garlic (SPG) mix, and reverse-seared to lock in the juices. Step aside prime rib, this one may just have you beat!

🍽️ Why This Works

Tender – This cut of meat comes from along the spine of the cow and its location is why this meat is so tender. It is a premium cut of beef and highly sought after.

Simple – This is a simple seasoning, smoking and searing recipe. We’ll walk you through the easy steps and you’ll love the end results. If you can sprinkle salt and pepper on meat and wrap it, you can smoke this to perfection.

🐄 Ingredients

Beef Tenderloin – This was a six pound cut of meat that we picked up at Costco. It is long and fairly narrow. If you can’t find tenderloin, read up on Tenderloin vs Filet Mignon to see if the alternative would work for you. Filet is found just about everywhere and is equally succulent cut of meat.

SPG – This is a simple rub of salt, pepper and garlic powder. I make a large batch ahead of time and keep it in a mason jar with a tight lid.

Hickory Wood – This cut does well with a stronger, more intense wood smoke flavor. I had some extra Hickory chunks and thought those would be perfect. Mesquite would work well here too. If you haven’t experimented with different wood smoke before, take a look at this free wood smoking chart to get you started.

⏲️ Equipment and Tools

Baking Rack – I used to just put the meat on the grill set up with indirect heat. I use the Big Green Egg primarily, and would set up the plate setter. The problem was that the meat would drip juices and cause unwanted smoke. I moved to an elevated baking rack in a sheet pan and it made all the difference in the world.

The rack is elevated slightly, which allows the smoke to reach all sides of the meat, and the sheet pan catches any drippings. Winner winner!

This is not necessary though! As long as you a clean grill grate, you can certainly place it on that. We are in love with the rack right now though.

Wireless Meat Thermometer – You will want to closely monitor the temps of this tenderloin. I use the ThermoPro TP20, but I reviewed several thermometers if you want a more in depth analysis.

Butcher’s Twine – This can be found just about everywhere in the kitchenware department. Our small, local grocery store has it, Walmart carries it and you can always skip the stores and order from Amazon.

🔥 Instructions

Step One: Trim any extra fat and remove the silver skin.

Step Two: There are two options for dealing with the tenderloin’s size.

• Cut the Meat: You can open up the package and lay the meat our flat. Then, cut it to size, trimming the ends to keep a uniform thickness for the grill. The benefit of that is your final product will be of similar size and definitely gorgeous, but you’ll have to find something else to do with the sections you cut off.
• Truss the Meat: This is the path I took. Fold the beef over on itself so the new length is of a manageable size, and tie it off with butcher’s twine. I measured it against the size of a quarter sheet pan, as that is what would fit comfortably on the grill. I was able to fold over the thin end to double up its thickness. I included photos of the steps above. The benefit is that I did not have to worry about finding something else to do with the extra pieces.

Step Three: Mix your SPG together. This salt, pepper and garlic mix is a classic seasoning and doesn’t overpower this beef.

Step Four: Season the tenderloin with the SPG, turning it over to make sure you cover it all evenly.

Step Five: Set up the grill for indirect heat at 275 degrees. For the kamado grills, use a plate setter. For gas grills, turn off the center burners.

Step Six: Add the smoking wood. If you have a gas grill, use a smoking box instead.

Step Seven: Insert the temperature probe and place the tenderloin on the grill. Let it gently smoke until the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees.

Step Eight: When the beef reaches 130 degrees, it is time to sear it. Remove the meat and set up the grill for direct heat. Carefully remove the plate setter (it’s hot!). Place the tenderloin directly on the grill grate and let it sear for about three minutes on each side. The temperature will quickly rise, and remove it when it reaches 140-145 degrees.

Step Nine: Bring it inside and let it rest under an aluminum foil tent for ten minutes. This will help to keep the juices inside when you slice it.

❗ Expert Tips

Truss the Tail – You can cut off the thin piece of the tenderloin (called the tail, even though it isn’t a tail), but it perfectly fine to tuck it under the thicker portion and truss it off with butcher’s twine.

Season Lightly – This is one of those recipes where you really don’t want to overpower the flavor of the beef. Keep the seasoning light and simple.

Store Leftovers – This was way too much meat for us, so we let it cool, and then sliced it into smaller pieces and stored in Ziploc freezer bags. The wonderful smoke flavor intensifies and the kitchen smells so good when we reheat it!

🥦 Side Dishes

Don’t forget about grilling a delicious side dish to serve with this. The grill will be set up for direct heating after you remove it for resting, so consider a few recipes that you can whip up while it rests.

You can keep it simple and just grill some sweet onions. These work well as the flavors won’t overpower the tenderloin, and they don’t take very long to cook. Or, consider some grilled baby potatoes for that extra starch. Those can be ready in just 20 minutes and will be piping hot when the beef is ready to slice.

My favorite is grilled root vegetables. While the beef is smoking, cut up the parsnips, turnips, potatoes, rutabagas and anything else you want to throw in. This is a phenomenal combination of sweet and tangy that works just perfectly with this recipe.

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