Oven Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Even if you’re not into grilling, per se, this faux grill recipe takes about 2 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes in the oven so it’s perfect for a busy weeknight and the oven doesn’t heat the house up too much because it’s hardly on. Using the broiler not only makes it fast, but gives you that browned tasty exterior that adds all that extra flavor that lean meats really need.

It’s raining here again and we’re under flash flood warnings for the next two days. Almost missing the drought.  Almost. The weather is making it a pain to try and grill something. You never know when there’s going to be a downpour complete with lighting and thunder. This recipe is the perfect fallback if your weather is not cooperating with your thrill for the grill.

Pork tenderloin is a great protein if you need a break from chicken. It’s just as lean and has more flavor. You can buy them singularly which serves two generously or in a two pack for a family. Beware the enhanced meat though! Anything that has labels screaming “MOIST AND TENDER” or “GUARANTEED TENDER” has been “enhanced” with a sodium and chemical solution. In theory this is kind of like you might brine at home, but in reality they use weird ingredients and the meat ends up with an odd spongy texture.  Look for pork labeled natural or with an ingredient list that only includes … wait for it … pork.

Chef Shelley

Oven "Grilled" Pork Tenderloin

You can use either a disposable aluminum pan or fashion a trough out of aluminum foil and put it on a broiler pan. This recipe only works in top broilers, not the under oven broiler drawers *sorry*!

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 natural pork tenderloin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or fat of choice
• 1 tablespoon of your favorite spice rub Mrs. Dash, or 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper

Method

 

1. Position oven rack in the second from top position. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. Trim silver skin off of tenderloin if needed. Not the thin, sheer fat but the tough white stripe that starts at the thick end of the tenderloin.
3. Rub with oil and then spices. Put into aluminum pan and tuck thin end under to help it cook evenly.
4. Put in oven and then turn off oven and turn on broiler. Cook for five minutes and then flip pork over. Cook for about 10 more minutes or until the instant read thermometer I know you’re using (!!!) registers 125°. Remove from oven and cover with foil. If you’re using a homemade aluminum foil trough, just fold it up over the pork being careful to keep the sides high so the juices don’t spill out.
5. After about 10 minutes it should be up to a beautifully juicy 140°.

Notes

Depending on what seasoning you used, leftovers are excellent shredded for tacos, tossed with bbq sauce for a sandwich or diced up for an Asian noodle bowl.