Alton Brown’s Pork Tenderloin
on Sep 16, 2015, Updated Mar 23, 2021
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This is just one of our favorite pork recipes!
About these
Over the past few months, we’ve kept the grates of our grill hot with some tasty dishes ranging from desserts to seafood. Today, we are delighted to add one more briquette to our repertoire of grilled recipes here on Platter Talk.
When Scott returned from the grocery with some deals of the week, one of them happened to be some beautiful pork tenderloin. I turned to one of our favorite resources for original recipes and from that we put together Alton Brown’s Pork Tenderloin.
This grilled pork spends an overnight stay, marinating in a mixture of honey, lime juice, and an adobo sauce seasoned chipotle chili pepper. We modified this recipe by slicing and then butterflying the pork, prior to putting it on the grill.
This provides for handy individual servings and makes for a visually appealing grilled presentation. This pork tenderloin by Alton Brown is full of flavor, it’s economical (especially with a sale), and it’s easy to make. I hope you try this one and some of our other Alton Brown recipes.
Common questions
For food safety, pork should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 145° F. I highly recommend this instant-read thermometer made by Thermoworks. It’s fast, insanely accurate, and is backed be a great warranty.
Happy grilling and please let us know what you think of this one! -Dan
Be sure and try our smoked pork chops as well!
Related recipes
Alton Brown’s Pork Tenderloin on Platter Talk
Ingredients
- 1 whole pork tenderloin, approximately 1 pound
- 1 lime, zest finely grated
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 chipotle chile pepper in adobo sauce
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- Read more at: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/grilled-pork-tenderloin-recipe.html?oc=linkback
Instructions
- Place the lime zest, lime juice, honey, salt, and garlic powder in a small, lidded jar and shake to combine. Pour half of the marinade mixture into a 1-gallon resealable bag, add the chipotle pepper, and move around to combine. Add the pork tenderloin to the bag and seal, removing as much air as possible and place in a container to catch any leaks. Marinate in the refrigerator for 6 to 24 hours, rotating the bag halfway through the time. Place the remaining marinade in a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Remove the tenderloin from the bag and allow to sit at room temperature while preparing the grill. Remove the reserved marinade from the refrigerator.
- Brush the grill with vegetable oil then heat grill to medium high setting.
- Remove the tenderloin from the bag, cut into 3 inch slices, then butterfly those in half.
- Place butterflied portions in the center of grate. Discard bag with marinade. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes, turn 90 degrees to mark, and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Flip pieces on opposite side and repeat process.
- The pork should reach an internal temperature of 140 degrees F.
- Remove the tenderloin from the grill and place on a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil folded at the edges to create a basket, and pour on the reserved marinade. Wrap tightly and rest for 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love the simplicity of this. My kind of recipe. Thanks
Thanks so much Crisie; happy you like this one!
I like the idea of grilling the tenderloin. Nice and simple. Like your photos.
Many thanks, Mark. We grilled a fair amount this summer and hope to do even more of the same in the future.
This sounds great! I’ve never grilled pork tenderloin and now I’m eager to try it.
Grilled pork is so tasty, and I love the addition of chipotle in here. Yum!
Thanks, Ashley; this was very tasty and so simple!
Oh yeaaaah…how easy and delicious is THAT!
We love easy! Especially when it is this delicious!
WE love pork tenderloin and love that you added in some chili pepper sauce to it. Delicious!
Thanks, Ladies. Wonderful to hear from you!
Meh. Didn’t like the marinade….too limey
I love pork tenderloin as it can be just as good as steak, you spicy treatment of it looks great:-)
My OH’s birthday in a few weeks and he would love me to make him this.
Alton and you do a fine pork tenderloin, delish!
Ha! Thanks so much, Tara.
You can never go wrong with Alton’s recipes – he’s one of the few on the Food network that I trust. The pork looks delicious, nicely done and I am sure the family loved it.