Grilled Pork Tenderloin Recipe For Family Dinner Night

For many (dare I say most) of us, dinnertime can become so routine that we get stuck in a rut. Serving the same meals over and over, but Pork wants to help you Be Inspired. To inspire my readers (and myself) I have teamed up with the National Pork Board and Publix to bring you a month-long series about pork.

Before you click away incorrectly assuming I am going to bore you with a lot of information about pork, let me assure you that I truly plan to inspire you – not bore you. (Although you can find some great nutritional information offering a comparison of pork to chicken and beef here.) This series corresponds with Publix’s month-long special on pork, and the plan is to show you mouth-watering recipes that you can make using the pork cut that is on special for the week. (See, I am still thinking about saving you money!) At the end of the campaign, I will even have a giveaway that includes $40 in coupons for free pork.

The first cut that is on special at Publix (January 26 – February 1) is the pork tenderloin. Over the past several months, my mother’s new pork tenderloin recipe has quickly become a new family favorite, so I am excited to share it with you. In your family, Wednesday nights are FDN – family dinner night. We all head over to my parent’s house for a family gathering around the dinner table; the attendees include my family, my sister and her fiance, my aunt, my grandmother and, of course, my parents. FDN entertainment is provided by K who often plays dress up, leads a band, organizes a dance party or otherwise keeps us laughing.

The catch for FDN is that mom (AKA Mimi) prepares dinner for nine while watching K because Wednesdays are also “Camp Mimi” – the day K gets to spend with her Mimi each week. So dinner recipes must be simple and yummy. While she has a standard repertoire of meals, she tries to mix it up from time to time. After testing a new pork tenderloin recipe on us last fall, we all quickly agreed it was to be added to the regular rotation.

I had hoped to get some pictures of the preparation this week, but since K ran a fever of 101-104 for three days, FDN was canceled this week due to K being quarantined at home. (By the way, I am happy to report that K is better now.)

Without further ado, Mimi’s grilled pork tenderloin.

• 1 1-lb pork tenderloin (Mimi typically makes a 4 or 5 lb one to feed nine and adjusts accordingly)
• 2 tsp. salt, divided
• 3/4 tsp. pepper, divided
• 3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (Mimi strips the leaves off the woody stems)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. honey 1 garlic clove, minced

Preheat grill to 350 – 400 (medium high) heat.

1. Remove silver skin from tenderloin, leaving a thin layer of fat.
2. Sprinkle pork with 1 tsp. salt & 1/2 tsp. pepper. Combine mustard and other ingredients (Mimi puts them all in a food processor to mix). Rub mustard mixture on pork and let stand 10 minutes (Mimi says hers typically sits a lot longer, a couple hours, as she preps the pork during K’s nap. I think it’s probably better that way, as the ingredients have longer to meld.)
3. Grill pork, covered with grill lid, 10-12 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 155. Remove from grill; cover with foil and let stand for 10 minutes.

The results – moist, tender and delicious.

Mimi pairs the tenderloin with a salad, steamed broccoli and rice.

For even more ideas about how to prepare pork tenderloin visit www.porkbeinspired.com where you will find pages and pages of recipes including a recipe for Sauteed Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Lemon-Garlic Sauce, which sounds oh-so yummy. (Hint, type tenderloin in the search box to find recipes exclusively for the tenderloin cut.) Or how about this recipe for Honey-Kissed Pretzel Crusted Pork Tenderloin. Pretzels and pork? I bet even kids would eat that!

Disclosure – This post is brought to you by the National Pork Board, Publix and TheMotherhood, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.