If you enjoy the juicy
succulence of oven-roasted pork tenderloin, you’ll love the same great taste
and texture straight from your backyard grill. My favorite way to barbecue this
especially tender cut of pork is over indirect heat for most of the cooking time,
then a quick char over the flames before calling it finished. Cooking it
off heat close to the fire mimics the
environment of a hot oven, which produces the delicious roast tenderloin you’re
used to. But who can barbecue without adding a little of that wonderful char?
Two, three minutes and done.
I usually like doing fruit
glazes to brush on pork tenderloin, but a smoky sauce made with dried chiles keeps
the barbecue theme going start to finish for this recipe. Here, I used mild but
very savory guajillo chiles as the base. You could also use New Mexico or
California chiles—just be sure to give them a quick toast in a dry skillet
before making the sauce. This brings out even more of their savory, smoky
goodness.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 tsp chile powder
- 2 tsp garlic granules
- 1/2 tsp dried chile flakes
- sea salt
- 1-1/3-lb pork tenderloin,
trimmed
- 6 dried guajillo chiles
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more
for oiling grill grate
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves, coarsely
chopped
- 1-1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
(or regular dried oregano)
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Guajillo Chilles |
Preparation
- Combine the chile powder,
garlic granuels, and chile flakes in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all
over the pork tenderloin, cover, and refrigerate 4 hours (or overnight).
|
Tenderloin and Spice Rub |
|
Spice-Rubbed Tenderloin |
- Heat a large nonstick skillet
over medium-high heat. Scatter the guajillo chiles in the skillet, stirring
frequently to keep from burning. Toast until fragrant and just beginning to
brown in places, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer the chiles to a
cutting board. When cool enough to handle, remove the stem ends and tear the
chiles into small pieces. (Discard some of the seeds, if desired.)
- Heat a saucepan over medium
heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté 3 minutes.
Add the toasted chiles, broth, tomato paste, lime juice, cumin, and oregano and
season with salt.
- Bring to a simmer. Reduce the
heat to low, cover, and cook 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, uncover, and let
stand 15 minutes.
- Place the sauce ingredients
in a food processor and process until smooth. (Tiny flakes of chiles may
remain. That’s ok.) Transfer to a bowl.
|
Toasted Chiles |
|
Torn Chiles |
|
Garlic and Onion |
|
Chile Mixture Beginning to Cook |
|
Cooked Chile Mixture |
|
Ready to Process |
|
Chile Sauce |
- Light a grill for medium-high
heat with space for off-heat grilling. Lightly oil the off-heat side of the
grill grate.
- Season the tenderloin with
salt and place on the off-heat side of the grill. Cover and grill 6 minutes,
then turn and grill 6 minutes. Turn again and mop with some of the sauce. Continue
grilling and mopping until the pork is almost done, 18 to 20 minutes longer.
- Place the tenderloin over
direct heat until char marks appear, 1-2 minutes, uncovered. Turn and mop with more
sauce. Grill, uncovered, 1 minute. Transfer the pork to a cutting board
and let rest 5 minutes.
|
Beginning to Grill |
|
After Turning |
|
Mop with Sauce |
|
Barbecue Tenderloin |
Cut into 12 slices, transfer to a platter, and
serve, passing any remaining sauce at the table.
|
Barbecue Pork Tenderloin with Southwestern Chile Sauce |
Nothing like cooking over good old fashioned coals - the tenderloin looks amazing! Thanks for sharing on the What's for Dinner link up!
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