Smoked Pork Tenderloin with Cuban Mojo (Ready in 2 Hours)

Smoked pork tenderloin takes about 90 minutes at 225°F to reach 145°F, and a 4 to 8 hour soak in mojo criollo is what makes it Cuban. It is the weeknight version of lechón asado: the same sour orange, garlic, cumin and oregano, on a cut that is done before the game starts instead of the next morning.

If you have made our smoked Cuban pork shoulder, this is the fast cousin. Same marinade, a shorter marinate, a hotter finish, and slices instead of pulled meat.

Why Tenderloin Is the Weeknight Lechón

A pork tenderloin is the lean muscle that runs along the backbone. Each one weighs about 1 to 1.5 pounds, they come two to a pack, and there is almost no fat or connective tissue to break down. That is the whole point. A pork shoulder needs 10 to 12 hours on the smoker because collagen takes that long to melt. A tenderloin has none, so it only needs to come up to temperature, and at 225°F that is an hour and a half.

The trade is texture. You will not get pulled pork. You get clean pink slices, like a roast, with a smoke ring and a citrus garlic crust. For sandwiches, rice bowls and a Tuesday dinner that still tastes like Noche Buena, that is the better outcome anyway.

Tenderloin vs Loin

These are different cuts and the labels get mixed up at the meat counter. Pork loin is the wide, pale roast, three to five pounds, sometimes sold with a fat cap. Pork tenderloin is the narrow, dark, tapered muscle about two inches across. This recipe is for the tenderloin. A loin will work with the same marinade, but it takes two to three hours and you should pull it at the same 140°F.

Ingredients

Serves 6, two tenderloins.

Mojo Marinade

• 1/2 cup sour orange juice (or 6 Tbsp orange juice + 2 Tbsp lime juice)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Pork

• 2 pork tenderloins (about 1 1/4 lb each), silverskin trimmed
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

For the Smoker

• Oak, cherry or apple wood chunks

To Serve

• Barbaro Mojo Piñazo
• Lime wedges

Fresh sour orange (naranja agria) is the real thing and worth the trip to a Latin market. If you cannot find it, the orange and lime mix above is the house substitute, and here is why it works.

How to Smoke Pork Tenderloin with Mojo (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Make the Mojo

Whisk the sour orange juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl. This is a half batch of the mojo criollo we use for lechón. Taste it. It should be sharp, salty and loud with garlic, because the pork will mute it.

Step 2: Trim the Silverskin

Each tenderloin has a shiny silver membrane along one side. Slide a thin knife under one end, angle the blade up slightly, and run it the length of the muscle. Left on, it tightens in the heat and curls the meat. Trim any loose flaps of fat too, but there will not be much.

Step 3: Marinate 4 to 8 Hours

Put the tenderloins in a zip bag or a glass dish, pour the mojo over, and turn to coat. Refrigerate 4 to 8 hours. Not overnight. Sour orange is acidic, and on a lean cut this thin a long soak turns the outside soft and chalky instead of tender. Four hours is enough for the flavor to get in. Eight is the ceiling.

Step 4: Dry and Season

Take the pork out 30 minutes before smoking. Pat it completely dry with paper towels, because wet meat steams instead of forming a crust. Mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder and smoked paprika and rub it over the whole surface. The mojo seasoned the inside. This seasons the bark.

Step 5: Smoke at 225°F

Set the smoker to 225°F with oak, cherry or apple. Lay the tenderloins on the grate with space between them and close the lid. Start checking at 60 minutes with an instant read thermometer in the thickest part. Pull them at 140°F. Depending on size and your smoker, that is 60 to 90 minutes, sometimes a little longer. The thermometer decides, not the clock.

Step 6: Sear for a Crust (Optional)

Low smoke gives a soft surface. If you want color, heat a cast iron pan or the hot side of a grill and sear the tenderloins about one minute per side right off the smoker. Skip this if you are already at 145°F. The crust is a bonus. The temperature is the rule.

Step 7: Rest, Slice, Finish with Piñazo

Rest the meat on a board for 5 to 10 minutes. Carryover heat takes it the last few degrees to 145°F, which is the USDA safe temperature for whole cuts of pork with a 3 minute rest. A little pink in the center is correct. Slice across the grain about half an inch thick, squeeze lime over the slices, and put the Piñazo on the table.

Why Only 4 to 8 Hours

Readers of the shoulder recipe will notice the difference. A bone-in shoulder gets 12 to 24 hours in mojo because it is eight pounds of dense meat under a fat cap, and the marinade needs that long to reach anything. A tenderloin is a tenth of the mass, lean, and two inches thick. The acid reaches the center in a few hours and keeps working after that. Past eight hours the texture goes, and no amount of smoke brings it back. The same logic is why our mojo chicken never marinates past eight hours either.

Best Wood for Mojo Pork

Oak is the safe choice. Cherry adds color and a little sweetness that suits the citrus. Apple is the mildest if you are new to the smoker. Skip mesquite. It fights the garlic and sour orange instead of carrying them. The full wood rundown is in the smoked Cuban pork article, and it applies here, with one difference: a tenderloin spends so little time in smoke that a light wood never tastes thin.

Which Hot Sauce

Pork and pineapple is an old pairing, and Piñazo is built on it. It is a mojo criollo sauce made with pineapple juice instead of sour orange, with habanero and a little Carolina Reaper for a 6 out of 10 on our heat scale. Sweet first, then the punch. On a slice of smoked tenderloin it reads like a glaze you did not have to make. It is also the one sauce in our line with no xanthan gum and no artificial preservatives, which matters to some people and changes nothing on the plate.

If you want more heat, El Havanero is a 9 out of 10, habanero and tomato on the sour orange base, and it is what we pour on the pulled shoulder. Both are made in Miami.

What to Serve With It

• White rice and black beans, or congrí
• Yuca con mojo, which uses the same marinade as a sauce
• Maduros or tostones
• Grilled pineapple, which echoes the Piñazo
• A simple tomato and onion salad with lime

Leftovers

Cold smoked tenderloin, sliced thin, is the best Cuban sandwich pork most people will ever eat. Layer it with ham, Swiss, mustard and pickles on Cuban bread and press it. Leftovers keep 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat slices gently in a covered pan with a spoonful of mojo or orange juice so they do not dry out, or do not reheat them at all and go straight to the sandwich.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to smoke a pork tenderloin?

About 60 to 90 minutes at 225°F for a 1 to 1.5 pound tenderloin, until the thickest part reads 140°F. Rest it 5 to 10 minutes and carryover takes it to 145°F. Size and the smoker change the time, so cook to temperature, not to the clock.

What temperature should smoked pork tenderloin be?

145°F after resting, which is the USDA safe internal temperature for whole cuts of pork with a 3 minute rest. Pull it from the smoker at 140°F because the temperature keeps climbing on the board. The center will be slightly pink, and that is correct for this cut.

How long should pork tenderloin marinate in mojo?

4 to 8 hours, and never overnight. Sour orange is acidic, and on a lean two inch thick cut a longer soak softens the outside into a chalky texture. Four hours gets the flavor in. Eight is the limit. Pork shoulder is different and can take 12 to 24 hours because of its size and fat.

Can you smoke pork tenderloin without a smoker?

Yes. Set up a charcoal or gas grill for two zone cooking, put a foil pouch of wood chips over the hot side, and cook the tenderloin on the cool side with the lid closed at about 225 to 250°F until it reaches 140°F. Finish with a quick sear over the hot side. In the oven you lose the smoke, but the mojo marinade and the 145°F rule still make a good roast at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Is pork tenderloin the same as pork loin?

No. Pork tenderloin is the narrow, dark, tapered muscle along the backbone, about 1 to 1.5 pounds each. Pork loin is the wide, pale roast of 3 to 5 pounds. The mojo marinade works on both, but a loin needs 2 to 3 hours in the smoker and the same 140°F pull temperature.

What hot sauce goes with smoked pork tenderloin?

Barbaro Mojo Piñazo is the first choice: pineapple and habanero on a mojo criollo base, a 6 out of 10 on our heat scale, and the sweetness suits pork the way a glaze does. For more heat, El Havanero at 9 out of 10 brings habanero and tomato on the same sour orange flavors as the marinade.

More Cuban Pork Recipes

• Lechón Asado (Cuban Roast Pork): the holiday shoulder, oven roasted
• Smoked Cuban Pork: the pulled shoulder on the smoker
• Masitas de Puerco: fried mojo pork chunks
• Cuban Mojo Marinade: the full batch recipe
• Best Hot Sauce for Lechón