Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Most people think cooking on the grill is something you only do on the weekends. However, my family and I grill all the time during the weekdays. Barbecue is more versatile than people realize. It doesn’t have to be cooked low and slow all day or slathered in barbecue sauce. Pork tenderloin is one of our favorite pieces of meat to grill during the week. Pair it with an awesome marinade and the convenience of a pellet grill, and you’ll have an, easy, healthy, and delicious dinner for you and your family!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 lbs. Pork tenderloin
• Worcestershire sauce
• Soy sauce
• Olive oil
• Chupacabra (or your choice of all-purpose rub)
• 1-gallon storage bag

The Pork:

Pork tenderloin is a very underrated piece of meat when it comes to barbecue. It’s a pretty lean piece of meat and can be easy to overcook if you’re not used to working with it. However, when cooked right, it can be tender, juicy, and seriously delicious.

As mentioned before, there’s not a lot of fat on a pork tenderloin so trimming is minimal. There does tend to be some silver skin on it, and I prefer to trim this off, but this is optional. The pork loin will still turn out great if you decide not to trim it.

Pork can take on so many flavor profiles, making it a great choice of meat to marinade. For this marinade, I went with some bold flavors: Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. Soy sauce provides that salty, savory flavor. Worcestershire sauce...well that’s just as hard to describe as it is to spell! But it has a very distinct taste that I think goes well with most meat. Adding these with some olive oil and one of my favorite rubs makes a killer marinade for some pork loin.

The Process:

This marinade is very simple and easy to throw together. You want it to marinade for at least 4-5 hours, but I find it’s best to get it ready before you go to work and let it marinade until you get home.

Start by trimming any silver skin off the pork loin. This is optional, but worth it to let the marinade penetrate the meat.

In a bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of olive oil, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons of Chupacabra. If you’re not using this rub, use 2 tablespoons of your favorite all-purpose rub.

In a gallon storage bag, add the pork loin and the marinade. Seal the bag well and make sure every inch of the pork loin gets covered in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4-5 hours or longer.

For this recipe, I used my REC TEC pellet grill, but you could use any charcoal or gas grill as well as the oven. Make sure the heat is set to 275°F. Remove the pork loin from the marinade and sprinkle lightly with a little more Chupacabra to get a nice crust on the pork.

Place the pork loin on the pellet grill and let it cook for about an hour, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145-150°F. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes and slice!