I have to admit that I've never had the courage to grill a tenderloin. I'm always afraid I'll make it dry and stringy. But, your recipe looks so yummy I need to confront my fears! (Deep breath.) I'll do it!

This looks great. How did you cut the pork? They look like sausages cut length wise.

My family loves pork tenderloin, but we're always have trouble getting it "just right". The tip about using the meat thermometer is very helpful, thanks.

Elise,
I do a similar tenderloin, but hadn't thought to use marmalade as a glaze. Thanks.

You could do this on the stove top too. Preheat the oven to 425 with a pan inside. Pan sear the tenderloin over high heat on all four sides for about 90 seconds each side then lightly oil the oven pan and toss it in there until it reaches an internal temp of 138. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 15 mins (the internal temp will raise to 140 while resting). Carve and chow...

I have never eaten a pork tenderloin (pork chops yes) and I have been thinking about preparing one for the family one of these days. It looks like steak, and someone correct me if I am wrong, but pork is like "the white meat chicken", right? So it's low fat? Sorry for all the questions...

Thanks Elise for this recipe!

Matt

Funny; I just bought some pork tenderloin with all intention of grilling them on friday and decided I would look for a recipe to do something different than the usual hot pepper jelly and beer I usually do. Your site is the first cooking bookmark I use and there it is. Thanks.

Excellent, easy recipe! If you're ever wondering what to do with those unique jam and jelly packs that pile up around the holidays, various pork glaze recipes like this are a great way to exploit their flavors. Also works great as baked ham glaze!

Great recipe! I think my meat-averse kids might even like this one :)

I do chicken breasts like that, too. Pan sear, cover and cook on med. low till almost done, smear with the concoction, and place 4" under broiler till sauce sizzles and orange peels just start to brown.

Is a temperature of 140 safe? I usually cook pork until it hits 145 at least, take it off it heat, and let it rise for a few more degrees. I think the FDA recommends at least 145 to kill all those nasty parasites...

Pork tenderloin is so delicious, but you have to hit the sweet spot between rare and dry! I have to fight my tendency to overcook pork, but one of those automatic temperature probes a la Alton Brown helps reassure me.

Elise:

Just had to let you know we tried this last night and we both agree it's one of the best things we've eaten ever! We used our instant read thermometer and it came out perfect. The marinade is delicious and could be used on lots of things I think. Thanks for another winner of a recipe!

This inspired me to make pork tenderloin for Mother's Day. From a recipe published in Sunset many years ago, I marinate the meat in raspberry vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, honey, marjoram and thyme. My son grilled it on the barbeque according to your instructions and it came out better than it ever has before. Thank you for your blog. I look forward to every post and everything I have tried has been great.

I had a very hard time knowing how to cook this cut on a gas BBQ. I found this helpful tip on the Hormel site. It also has a tempertaure guide for grilling meat. Interestingly, for pork the lowest temp listed is 165 degrees!
http://www.hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?catitemid=50&id=858

Gas Grill

Preheat gas grill on high with the cover closed for 10 minutes.
If the grill has three burners, turn two down to medium-low, and if it has two burners turn one down to medium-low.
Lightly oil the grates over the burner that is on high and place the meat over the burner in this area. Cover the meat with the grill lid and sear for 12 to 15 minutes, turning once through searing time.
Sear until both sides are nicely browned and crispy.
Once the meat is well seared, turn the burner down to medium, cover meat with grill lid, and cook to desired doneness. For medium-rare the center should register about 120°F, which will require approximately 10 minutes of cooking time.
Remove meat when its temperature is approximately 5 degrees below desired finish temperature. After meat is removed from the grill, cover lightly with foil and allow meat to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. The temperature of the meat will rise approximately 5 degrees during this resting period.

Ah yes, the old debate about the temperature to cook pork to. The 165F is vestigial CYA from the USDA from the decades-ago period when the parasite trichinosis was prevalent -- vs now, when there are maybe a dozen cases a year in the U.S. and those mostly from undercooked wild game, not pork. If we cook pork to 165F, we end up with not just shoe leather but old shoe leather actually better suited to shoes than consumption. If we've only eaten cooked pork to 165F, then we've not yet really tasted pork.

BTW, Elise, if you're using a meat probe with a digital attachment (so it stays in the meat during cooking vs a quick-read thermometer which gets inserted every once in awhile to check), it should be inserted long ways (since it needs a couple of inches of flesh to measure properly) with the tip ending in the thickest part.

I used the marinate on a pork loin, but put it on the barbeque wrapped in foil with the marinate for ~45 minutes at 170 degrees. It turned out fantastic!! Thanks!

I was having a guest for dinner that couldn't eat onions so I needed to find a new recipe in a hurry. I have to admit that this recipe worked out better than my original one. I did however make a few changes. I used sherry vinegar because I had no rice vinegar and it was a little cold out and I didn't feel like firing up the BBQ so I seared the meat on all sides in a pan then transfered it to an ovenproof dish and popped it in the oven at 395 until it hit 135-140 degrees. Removed it and cover it with foil for 15 minutes. GREAT ... No leftovers last night :)