Pork tenderloin is a pretty economical cut of meat that is lean and tender. This simple marinade has an Asian Twist and takes just a few ingredients. The tenderloin is grilled and has a perfect and flavorful char, and isn’t the least bit fussy to make. Part of the marinade becomes a beautiful glaze that adds a burst of flavor that you will love.
For this grilled pork tenderloin I made a simple marinade of soy sauce, honey, orange marmalade, rice vinegar and red pepper flakes.
I was able to speed up the one hour marinating time, by using my Food Saver Marinator. Otherwise, a trusty zip-loc gallon size bag will do the trick. The other half of the marinade was lightly simmered and cooled. My husband seared the pork on all sides with direct heat.
Since I had Bok Choy in our fridge, I sliced them in half and brushed them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. They were grilled, on both sides, in about 4-5 minutes. I also made coconut rice as another side dish. From start to finish, dinner was on the table in less than two hours– half of that was waiting for the marinade to do its magic.
TASTING NOTES: For some folks, the pork might look a bit too rare for you– and I understand that you might want yours well done. Back in the day, there was a fear of trichinosis but that is no longer true. We have been cooking our pork to between 140F-145F without any health issues. With this recipe, the pork was very juicy and flavorful. The marinade is so simple and yet so delicious! I would cut a bite of pork and dip it in the sauce– and we loved it! This recipe is definitely going to be on our regular rotation.
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Soy-Orange Marmalade Glaze
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup soy sauce I used low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup orange marmalade
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 Pinch Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
- 2 scallions thinly sliced (optional)
- Oil for grill
Instructions
MAKE MARINADE:
- In a small saucepan, bring the soy sauce, marmalade, honey, rice wine vinegar, and red pepper flakes to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the flame and let cool.
- Reserve half of the marinade for serving as a sauce with the finished tenderloin.
MARINATE THE TENDERLOIN:
- With the remaining half of the marinade, marinate the tenderloin for 1 hour.
PREPARE THE GRILL:
- While the tenderloin is marinating, prepare your grill for high direct heat on one side, and a low heat on the other side.
GRILL THE TENDERLOIN:
- Remove the tenderloin from the marinade and coat with oil (we use vegetable). Place on the hot side of the grill, with the narrower end of the tenderloin more toward the cool side of the grill.
- As soon as the tenderloin gets grill marks on one side (a minute or two), turn it to get grill marks on another side. Continue until all sides are lightly seared.
- Finish on the cool side of the grill:
- Move the tenderloin to the cool side of the grill. Cover and cook a few minutes more, until the internal temperature of the tenderloin reaches 140°F (no higher). Remove from heat.
- Tent with foil and let rest. NOTE: If you have let the temp get too high above 140°F, you may need to slice the pork immediately or the meat will continue to cook as it rests and become overcooked.
- If you have taken it out in time, tent the tenderloin with foil and let it rest 10 minutes.
- Thinly slice, sprinkle with the remaining glaze and scallions.
- NOTE: I didn’t glaze the pork slices. Instead, we dipped it with each bite and it was delicious.
Notes
Nutrition
That looks preety yum….
Will definitely try this, adding some freshly grated ginger to the marinade.
That’s a great addition!