Beef Tenderloin

[Smokey Ty]

Looking for some tips on smoking a 3 pound beef tenderloin.  I was thinking of using my standby rub "Head County" and smoking it in the Bradley until temp of 140°.  Should I wrap in foil after two hours of smoking?  Is 140° the right temp to quit or should I stop sooner and then wrap in foil and let it finish from there in a cooler.  I will be cooking this next weekend and taking it to my family a week later for Easter.  Just want to learn.

[Habanero Smoker]

For beef tender I don't like too much smoke, but 2 hours should be the maximum. For beef tenderloin, I would use oak (if you have it); if you are using hickory or pecan I would cut it down to 1:20 hours. Use a cabinet temperature of 225 - 250°F.

How long do you plan of FTC'ing the tenderloin (from the time you place it in the cooler, until it is served at your family's dinner). Generally tenderloins don't have much carryover, but if you FTC it, the carryover may be as much as 10°F or higher or as low as 5°.

Hopefully someone will come by that has FTC'd a tenderloin. Here are a couple of suggestions. If you can reheat it when you get to your destination, I would take the tenderloin out 10°F before it reaches it's target temperature. If you have a temperature probe, I would stick a probe into the meat before placing it in the cooler. That way you can monitor the internal temperature of the meat. If the internal temperature looks like it will go beyond your targeted internal temperature, then opening the cooler lid should slow the temperature rise. One tip I have seen a competition BBQ cook use was to place ice (or ice pack) in the cooler for a short period of time, just long enough to stop the internal temperature from rising. It may carryover the 10°F, if not; keeping it foiled you can reheat it in the kitchen oven. If you can't reheat, take it out 5°F early, and monitor the temperature rise.

The below link may be useful in determining your internal temperature, and has some information on the carryover effect when meat is tented (not FTC) while resting.
Meat - When Is It Done?

[Smokey Ty]

Thanks for the helpful tips.  Just a newbie question.  What is FTC?  I am assuming placing the foiled meat in a cooler. ???

[watchdog56]

Yes.That is correct.

[TedEbear]

Thanks for the helpful tips.  Just a newbie question.  What is FTC?  I am assuming placing the foiled meat in a cooler. ???

This may help:  What do all these acronyms mean?

[Habanero Smoker]

Sorry about the acronym. When you mentioned foil the tenderloin and place in cooler, I thought you were already familiar with that acronym. TedEbear has linked you some common ones used on this forum.

[renoman]

Don't know if you cooked this yet but I did a 3 pound top sirloin yesterday. Smoked it for 2 hours at 225 and pulled it at 3-1/2 hrs. when it hit 135. All I put on this roast was salt and pepper and it was just fabulous. Top sirloin can be a hit and miss cut but this one was a knockout.

[tailfeathers]

If I'm reading your post right you plan to smoke the meat one weekend and not eat it until the following weekend? If this is the case I would try to cold smoke it (just apply smoke without any heat) keeping the tower temp below 40F. You can keep the cabinet temp down by putting ice in the smoker and do not turn on the heating element, just the smoke generator. A couple hours of cold smoke should give you plenty of smoke flavor on a 3# cut of meat. Then refrigerate the meat and do the actual cooking the day you plan to eat it, if cold smoked you can just roast it in the oven and I would think you would still get good smoked flavor. Of course doneness is a matter of personal preference, but on a beef tenderloin I would take it to 125-130F IT and then tent it for 10 minutes or so prior to slicing, which should give you a nice medium rare. I'm starting to drool just thinking about it! Good luck!