BBQ Pork Tenderloin
Juicy, succulent barbecued pork loin.
We are a family that loves our deck for everything it has to offer. Of course as most decks, its where we barbecue but in our case, it literally becomes an additional room for us during the summer. We don’t just use it to barbecue or sit in the evening with a nice glass of wine or a beer, or to sit out there when we have company. We literally spend as much time out there as the weather permits. Once the weather turns nice, it’s our regular dining spot for breakfast, lunch and supper, and our barbecue becomes our regular source for cooking. As a matter of fact, we often go weeks without turning on our oven during the summer, and with the side element we seldom even turn the elements on our stove on. I’ve even been known to even bake a couple of cakes on our barbecue.
It always surprises me to hear how many people consider the barbecue only when they want to make hamburgers, hot dogs, or if they get really daring, on a special occasion, they’ll try cooking a steak. That said, I do understand some of the fear that comes with barbecuing, especially if one the meats you regularly try cooking is burgers. Burgers have a terrible tendency to “flare up” and should only be considered once you’ve become more skilled at barbecuing. Its not only scary, but then you end up getting these charred lumps because the outside is burnt and we don’t want to risk that the middle isn’t fully cooked. So what happens? They become hockey pucks (literally, they get so black and dried out the kids could use them for their evening street hockey game!)
I strongly encourage you to get past this fear and I’d love to help. So here’s a few tips I’d like to share. First off, especially to begin with, prepare yourself for success. Get well organized so that once your food goes on the barbecue you can remain focused on the barbecue and watch it fairly closely (grab a glass of wine and be ready to sit outside near your bbq for a while). Second, try cooking things that don’t have as much tendency to “flare up” (like this pork loin). Third, consider investing in a barbecue grilling mat. I’ve never used one of these until this year, but I’m telling you, I am loving it! I picked mine up for about $10 at Superstore but they are also available on Amazon and other locations, and although these are generally a bit more expensive elsewhere, I believe they are likely a little better quality than the one I bought, but either way, they are worth the investment.
This recipe for barbecued pork tenderloin is really very simple. I know, you’ve heard that before, but this one really is, and look at it, it looks spectacular! The same methods apply whether you are using pork tenderloin or a full pork loin. On this specific occasion I had a 2 pack pork tenderloin in the freezer so that’s what I prepared. I took the meat out of the freezer the day before for it to thaw in the fridge. I then removed it from the fridge about 1 hour before I wanted to start cooking so the meat could come to room temperature. I like that the rub has a chance to penetrate the meat a little more, and I feel the meat cooks a bit better if it goes on the barbecue at room temperature than if it goes on directly from the fridge. You can absolutely skip this step based on your preference or if you simply don’t have the time for this. Just remember to adjust your expected cook time slightly as it will take a bit longer for the meat to cook if it is cold from the fridge than if the meat is room temperature. You may also find the crust on the meat will be a little crispier because of the longer cooking time required, however some people prefer it crispier too.
By using our Tasty Kitchen Creations rubs, all the spices have already been blended, so using one simple rub is really all you need to make your supper taste spectacular. For this particular recipe I’ve used the Chicken & Pork Sweet Rub. I’ve also found that the Chicken and Pork Sweet Rub blends really well with Worcestershire sauce. So instead of using our TKC Bold & Spicy BBQ Sauce or our Carolina Sauce (don’t get me wrong, either of these would be great as well) but in this case I made a quick finishing sauce by combining equal parts Worcestershire sauce and the Chicken & Pork Sweet Rub then brush the meat with this mixture in the last 5 to 10 minutes of cook time.
Remember to preheat your barbecue similar to how you would preheat your oven. So, about 15 minutes before cook time, turn your barbecue on. I like to turn all my elements on high for about 10 minutes to allow the barbecue to come to full heat. I have a four burner barbecue so about 5 minutes before I’m ready to start cooking I turn the middle two elements down to about medium low and the two outside elements down to about medium high. I cook the meat over the two middle elements that I’ve lowered the heat more. This ensures the barbecue stays hot enough to cook but the meat itself is only receiving minimal direct heat. This allows the meat to cook more evenly, without burning. Because pork loins are very lean, the chances of “flare ups” are fairly minimal, if any at all. You may have to adjust all your elements depending on your particular barbecue. You want to maintain a cooking temperature of approximately 350 F for best results. For even crusting of your meat you will want to turn your meat every 7 - 8 minutes. Pork loins take approximately 25 minutes per pound. Remember if you buy a package of 2 pork tenderloins to do the math. If the package is 2 pounds, each tenderloin would only be 1 pound so your cook time is likely around 25 minutes (not 50 minutes).
Once the meat is fully cooked depending on your preference but should range between 145 F for medium to 160 F for well done, remove the meat from the barbecue to your cutting board and allow the meat to rest for 3 to 5 minutes before cutting it. This allows the juices to reabsorb into the fibers of the meat. This means you will loose less juices onto your cutting board and the meat will be much juicier when you are eating it.
This meat serves well with baked potatoes or potato salad (check out our Potato Pasta Seasoning to make your potato salad) and grilled asparagus that you can cook on the areas of the barbecue you aren’t using for the meat. You would put the asparagus on around the same time you start brushing the meat with the sauce.
Pork loin sliced after 5 minutes of rest time.
INGREDIENTS
2 pork tenderloins
Tasty Kitchen Creations Chicken & Pork Sweet Rub
Worcestershire Sauce
INSTRUCTIONS
Remove tenderloins from the fridge approximately 1 hours prior to cooking time. If cooking one pork loin, give a bit more time out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
Rub with TKC Chicken & Pork Sweet Rub
Lightly cover with plastic wrap. Allow to sit at room temperature.
Preheat barbecue. Adjust heat so you have less heat directly where meat is being cooked, and slightly higher heat where there is no meat. This gives you a slightly indirect heat for cooking.
Temperature on your barbecue during cooking period should be around 350 to 375 F.
If I am not using a grilling mat, I always spray my barbecue grill with non-stick spray.
Place meat on barbecue. Close the lid of the barbecue.
Turn meat every 7 - 8 minutes. Once your meat has cooked for approximately 20 minutes per pound, you will want to check the internal temperature to see how it is coming along.
While meat is cooking, in a small bowl, combine equal amount of Chicken & Pork Sweet Rub with equal amount of Worcestershire Sauce (I generally use 1 TBSP of each) for 2 pork tenderloins.
Brush meat 2 or 3 times in the final 5 - 7 minutes of cook time. Check the internal temperature of your meat to ensure your meat is cooked to your preference.
Remove meat from barbecue to cutting board. Allow meat to rest for 3 - 5 minutes.
Cut meat on a slight angle in 1 1/2” - 2” thick slices.
If you enjoyed this recipe, our Chicken & Pork Sweet Rub is available for sale on our shopping page. Local customers are welcome to come visit me at one of my summer markets to pick up their product as well.
