When faced with the dilemma, "to plank or not to plank?", we say, "If you can plank, you should plank it!" There is a particular beauty in the combined components of the flavors of the sweet cedar from the plank and the smokiness contributed by the alder pellets. (You could certainly sub in a different kind of pellets and still get mouthwatering results.) It's a double whammy of middle-of-the-woods freshness straight into your meat and into your belly.
The meat in particular that we're gussying up with a cedar plank is a perfectly tender, juicy, rose-pink pork tenderloin. After rubbing it with an immaculately balanced spice rub filled with ancho chile powder, brown sugar, cumin and a few of our other favorite seasonings, we threw it on a cedar plank and let the wood and Traeger do all the work to bring that baby home.
SPICE-RUBBED CEDAR PLANK PORK TENDERLOIN
PREP TIME: 30 minutes to let pork marinate, plus 2 hours to soak cedar planks
COOK TIME: 15 to 20 minutes
RECOMMENDED PELLETS: Alder
SERVES: 4 to 6
INGREDIENTS
2 1 lb. pork tenderloins
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
Olive oil
2 cedar planks
PREPARATION
Soak the cedar planks in water for at least 2 hours to overnight.
Mix together all of the dry spices and brown sugar in a small bowl.
Lightly drizzle the tenderloins with olive oil and rub with the spice mixture. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Start the Traeger on Smoke with the lid open until the fire is established. Preheat to 350 degrees F, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Place the soaked cedar planks on the grill, close lid, and allow to heat for 3 minutes. Flip the planks and place a pork tenderloin on the heated side of each plank.
Grill the tenderloins for 15 to 20 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 145 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
Tent the tenderloins with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
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