Today I’m going to show you how to grill pork tenderloin. Pork tenderloin is amazing on the grill, it turns out just as tasty and tender as beef tenderloin, but it is a lot cheaper. It is the perfect cut of pork to marinate, or rub with your favorite spices, as it soaks it all up really well.
The nice thing about pork tenderloin is that there is so much you can do with it as far as rubs and marinades go. And serving wise, you can serve it either whole or sliced. I really like it served sliced. I’m going to do something a bit different with my marinade today, I’m going to use some orange juice, lime juice, and spices. This marinade works really well with the pork tenderloin.
Grilling a Pork Tenderloin
First off here is what you will need:
2 to 3 Pork Tenderloins
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1/2 cup olive oil
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Once you have your pork tenderloins we have to prep them. Pork tenderloin has a silvery skin of sinew covering them; you will want to pull this off. Using a sharp knife you can cut this skin and pull it back off the tenderloin.
Just like with beef tenderloin, the pork tenderloin tapers off to a long tail. In order for it to grill evenly you can either trim off the tail, or do what I do, fold the tail over towards the center and tie it down with butcher’s string. So it folds easy you will want to make a ½ inch deep cut in the tail about 3 inches from the end. Just fold it over and tie it down then.
Now we need to make the marinade. In a saucepan heat the oil over medium heat. Add in the garlic and cumin. Cook until it is a light golden brown. Mix in the lime juice, orange juice, salt, pepper, oregano, and 1/3 cup of water. Bring this mixture to a boil. Taste to see if it needs for salt, pepper, or cumin. Let it cool to room temperature then stir in the chopped cilantro.
Place the pork tenderloins in a baking dish and pour half of the marinade mixture over them. Place the rest of the marinade in the refrigerator because we will use it for sauce once the pork is done. Marinate the pork tenderloin in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight. Make sure to turn them every once in a while so they marinate evenly.
Once the pork is done marinating, set up your gas or charcoal grill for direct grilling over high heat. Oil the grates and place the pork tenderloin on the grill. Cook it for about 3 to 4 minutes on each of its four sides. So, you will be grilling it for about a total of 12 to 16 minutes. The internal temperature should be 160F when it is done. I use an instant read thermometer like this one.
Once they are done transfer them to a platter and let them rest for about 3 minutes. Using a good carving knife, like this one, slice the pork tenderloin crosswise diagonally. Fan the slices out on the platter and spoon the rest of the marinade over the top. Serve at once.
That is how to grill pork tenderloin that turns out amazing. My marinade is just one example of what you could do; feel free to experiment with other marinades and rubs.
image courtesy of naz66/flickr