I’m not lying when I say this is the easiest, Best, Healthiest Grilled Pork Tenderloin you’ll ever make. The 30-minute marinade consists of pantry staples and the grilling process ensures a moist, tasty, hearty pork tenderloin every time!
If you love easy and delicious grilling recipes, then you’ll also love my Best Healthy Grilled Chicken, these Grilled Lime Butter Salmon Skewers, or this recipe for Grilled Jamaican Jerk Chicken.
I confess, as this blog and my family have grown, I kind of have grown to dislike going to the store often. Don’t get me wrong, I love developing recipes and feeding my family, of course, but sometimes I dread the trip to the grocery because I feel like I’ve been there approximately 1 billion times and it’s just like, won’t the food just magically appear at my doorstep already? (I know, I know, I can get groceries delivered but I’m the kind of person that has to look at every apple before I purchase it, which only makes my trip longer. I’m an enigma, what can I say?)
For that reason, I like to buy in bulk whenever possible. That way, if I need to see and touch every piece of produce, well, that’s okay if that takes a bit of time because at home I’m stockpiled like a doomsday prep-er otherwise. So…when I see specials on meat, I grab as many as I can or as many as the little asterisk on the sale sign allows. (The butcher may or may not keep his eye on me to make sure I don’t get one ounce over the allotted four pounds of sausage or whatever.)
Buying in this way makes life easier. And pork is on sale just about as often as chicken is and so when I see a BOGO by the tenderloin or the price per pound has dropped considerably, you’d better believe I’m cleaning out the bin.
Because I have considerable cache of meat, I’m able to experiment with different cooking techniques, flavors, spices, and sauces.
HOW DO YOU MAKE GRILLED PORK TENDERLOIN?
The first thing I do after getting the pork tenderloin out of the package is to pat it dry. I do this because it helps the spices to stick to the meat and wipes off any weird barrier that might have settled on the meat while it was in the package. I then add the tenderloin to a resealable bag, leaving the top open.
Next, I mix together the lemon juice, garlic, spices, oil, mustard, and honey. I pour only half of this marinade over the pork (that’s the important part). You want to save the other half for later. Seal the pork and marinade together in the bag and squeeze out any extra air. I also kind of shake/rub the marinade around on the pork outside the bag as well. I then put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, I preheat the grill to about medium and get the grates oiled so that the meat doesn’t stick while you’re grilling. After the pork has been marinated, I use long tongs to transfer it to the grill, then close the grill and cook for 15-20 minutes, turning every couple of minutes or so so that it cooks on all sides. About halfway through the grilling process, I’ll start to spread on the other half of that reserved marinade.
When it’s done grilling or the internal temperature of the pork reaches 145°, I remove the tenderloin from the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
WHAT CUT IS A PORK TENDERLOIN?
The pork tenderloin comes from the loin area of a pig. This is located between the shoulder and the back legs as is the leanest and most tender cut of pork. Ribs, roasts, and loin chops also come from this same area.
IS PORK TENDERLOIN HEALTHY?
Pork tenderloin is one of the healthiest cuts of pork, and is just as lean as boneless, skinless chicken breast. Most cuts have less than 10 grams of fat and also provides protein, vitamin B6, riboflavin, thiamine, phosphorus, and niacin.
Best Ever Healthy Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 ½-2 pounds pork tenderloin - see note
- juice of ½ lemon
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning blend - or ¼ teaspoon each dried basil, thyme, oregano, and parsley or rosemary
- ¼ cup oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cracked black pepper - or a pinch of finely ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
Instructions
Marinate the pork
- Pat pork tenderloin dry with a paper towel.
- Stir together lemon juice, garlic, dried herbs, oil, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, and honey.
- Pour half of the mixture into a large Ziploc bag along with the tenderloin. Press out excess air, seal the bag, and chill for 30 minutes.
Grill the pork
- Preheat grill to medium and oil the grates.
- Using tongs, transfer pork to the grill. Close the grill and cook 15-20 minutes, turning every few minutes to ensure even cooking and brushing reserved marinade over all sides of the pork half way through grilling.
- Transfer to a cutting board to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
This was true to its name – “best ever”! I will try increasing the amount of the marinade next time to get more of that great flavor
Great recipe- easy and beautiful results. One comment on your description of “ What is Tenderloin?”; the actual loin area of a pig ( or beef or lamb for that matter) runs along the spine ( between outer ribs and backbone) from hip to shoulder regions. And it is his muscle structure ( sometimes referred to as back straps), from which come our strip loins and, further toward the shoulder area, our prime rib and associated steaks or roasts . The Tenderloin is a set of two muscles, interior to the spine that is one of the first cuts a butcher removes as it is Somewhat “internal” within the carcass, very close to the rear, interior portion of the spine. It is a very smooth muscle with zero internal fat; most of fat is external around the muscle along with a “silverskin” or connective tissue that contains the muscle. So the so-called loin is actually a set of muscles separate from the tenderloin. Differences can best be seen on a butchers f diagram which can be found in many old time cook books or on-line. Cheers!
Can you bake the tenderloins instead of grill? What temp and how long?
I have a baked pork tenderloin recipe. It is called Best Baked Pork Tenderloin. The recipe calls to bake it at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until the outside is browned and crispy and centers are cooked through to desired doneness (you can take them out on the early side if you like the centers a little pink). You can look up the recipe in the search engine for more instructions and/or details.
I love to cook, I’m told I do it well. This is the first time I have grilled a pork loin, it came out amazing! Thank you for sharing this!
You made me want it ! I made it and loved it !
Haha so happy you made it and loved it! Thanks for the review.