Grilled Balsamic-Garlic Crusted Pork Tenderloin
Grilled Balsamic-Garlic Crusted Pork Tenderloin gets lots of flavor from a simple marinade. This family favorite recipe is a go-to for grilling season!
Grilled Balsamic-Garlic Crusted Pork Tenderloin gets lots of flavor from a simple marinade. This family favorite recipe is a go-to for grilling season! Get the recipe for this soon-to-be favorite today and be ready for grilling season!
One of my favorite cuts of meat is the pork tenderloin. I love how versatile it is and how it takes well to various types of preparation and cooking methods. In some ways, it’s better than a pork chop, which can be tricky for many cooks – one false move and you can end up with dry, chewy chops, and a table of sad eaters.
Pork tenderloin almost always stays moist and succulent, even if you forget to take it off the heat for just a few minutes. It’s very forgiving that way. It also goes well with many flavors. Best of all, it doesn’t break the bank.
I figured that pork tenderloin would be a great first meat to prepare with the new grill. It would allow us to test both the searing and grilling capabilities. It’s not like a piece of steak that takes mere minutes on the grill. While yummy, what fun is that? I wanted an opportunity to really be able to see how the grill would perform. After all, it’s probably going to take a little while to get used to all its nuances.
So for the grill’s inaugural firing, I decided to prepare Grilled Balsamic-Garlic Crusted Pork Tenderloins. The Lynx Grill handled it beautifully! Perfectly seared and evenly cooked, the pork tenderloins were juicy and flavorful. But this can easily be made without a grill, and I have included instructions for that version as well. Either way, you’ll be left with tasty morsels of pork that are kissed with smokey garlic flavors. And if you happen to have any leftovers (hardly the case in our house), they make an awesome filling for burritos the next day!
For more mouth-watering pork tenderloin recipes, check out the following:
Adobo-style Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Roast Pork Loin with Balsamic, Dijon & Thyme
Indonesian Pork Tenderloin
Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Wine Sauce
Grilled Balsamic-Garlic Crusted Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 4-5 garlic cloves finely minced or crushed
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pork tenderloins about 1 1/4 pounds each
- 2 tablespoons canola oil if preparing in oven
Instructions
- Stir together garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a small bowl. Rub the paste all over pork. If you like or have the time, marinate overnight. If not, no worries, it will still be great!
Grill preparation:
- Sear the tenderloins on all sides, then grill for about 20-30 minutes, rotating every 10 minutes, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees. Try to let it rest before slicing.
Oven preparation:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Heat canola oil in a large, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add pork, and brown all over, about 4 minutes.
- Transfer pan to oven. Roast pork, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees, about 20 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board, and try to let it rest 10 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition
Comments
COOKBOOK
My daughter and I made this last week and OMG. We stood at the stove eating it. I didn’t have the Basalmic so we used ACV instead. Excellent!!!
and we used a heaping 3-4 Tbl. of Minced garlic in oil from a jar, Heaven opened…
I just loved how it came out. it beats the bland taste of just plain roast loin, for sure.
Just fixed this tonight and it was slammin”. The garlic I used was minced from the jar and it gave a nice pucker along with the vinegar, which I used ACV cuz I had no basalmic vinegar, but oh my goodness!!!!
this is going into my recipe book.
I also seared it on my Foreman Grill…
Heaven Opened, Lol
Hey There–I’m hoping to prepare a bunch of these to throw into the freezer so I can pull them out when needed. Do you think that it’s absolutely necessary for me to sear the meat before it goes on the grill?
Hi Mandy,
If you mean marinating and then freezing, then that is a great idea! Just make sure it is completely defrosted before cooking. When preparing on the grill, you can sear it directly on the grill. I like to make sure the grill is very hot before putting the meat on, then you will get a nice good sear as you grill.
I hope that helps!
Liren
Excellent. Made with mango salsa recipe . Great combination
I just did this for supper tonight, and my husband was flabbergasted. This is delicious!!! Thanks so much for the recipe! :)
Great on boneless/skinless chicken breasts, bone in chicken on the grill, roasted chicken AND……inexpensive cuts of steak marinated overnight in the fridge!
Finally got a chance to try out this recipe that I’ve been meaning to. Everyone loved it Liren! My kids kept asking for more! I tried it out using the oven only because I added a chocolate balsalmic vinegar that I received as a gift to the marinade. I was afraid it would burn on the grill. Nonetheless, it was delicious! :)
Amazing! How can something so simple and quick to prepare taste so great? I used the oven method and didn’t marinade because I was short on time. Would the flavor change significantly with more time to penetrate? My six-year-old also loved it, so this dish will definitely join our regular rotation. So so happy to have been lured in by the beautiful picture on Pinterest!
We made this last week and it was so good it was bananas. Just incredible and it fell apart it was so tender. We’re making it for Easter as well. Thanks so much!
This was pretty much the best pork I’ve ever had! I’m not big into pork, but this made me a believer! I did this in the oven and could not imagine what it would be on the grill! I cannot wait!
Where is the crockpot variation?
I love this recipe! Tonight, I used the same marinade and added some lime juice to it. I marinated onions and peppers and stir-fried them with the leftover pork we had from dinner the other night. It made excellent pork fajitas! My husband said that this was our go-to recipe for fajitas from now on. I’ll try it with chicken next.
I tried making the “rub” twice and it was never the consistency of a paste. But it will work as a marinade.
Try to let it rest before slicing? Try? It should be mandatory for any piece of meat to let it rest before slicing, unless you want a dry piece of meat…
I just have to say, I love this recipe. My husband, when seeing the title forced me to go look for part one. He was disappointed to find there wasn’t a recipe to go along with it. He’ll live.
I usually buy pork tenderloin, but, this weekend, I got a boneless half pork loin…I will for sure try this recipe with that cut of meat…the whole family loves balsamic and garlic…it should be a success.
Can you freeze one of the Tenderloins once it is cooked and reheat For a later meal?
K. Thanks!
Hi Kathy, this would be perfect for a BBQ. But if you are starting it off in the oven, my recommendation would be to finish it in the oven. I have included directions in the.recipe and it.comes out great this way too!
Good luck!
I’m going to bring this tenderloin to a bbq today, so it will have to share the grill time with other things. Do you think that to minimize the grill time to 10 minutes, I could sear it off on the stove, then put it in the oven for 10, then grill it until its 160?
Hi! Found this on Pintrest and it looks great! A couple questions about grilling…1. Is the Lynx grill an infrared cooking system? 2. Do you turn down the heat after the initial searing? Thanks!
Hi Caitlin – The Lynx grill features a Pro-sear burner that uses infrared heat as well as a ceramic briquet grilling surface (you can read more about the Lynx in my post here: http://kitchenconfidante.com/if-you-cant-stand-the-heat-part-i). We do use the Pro Sear on the tenderloin, and when I do the grilling, I do turn down the heat after the initial sear, but my husband actually does it all on high heat. Both methods work (I just don’t mess with the meat as much and turn it less frequently).
I hope that helps!
This looks really, really good, and I usually don’t like pork.
Is there is something I can use in place of garlic? I have a garlic sensitivity (not an allergy… I don’t have anaphylaxis but but my body cant tolerate it) and it is so hard to find recipes, rubs, marinades, etc that aren’t loaded with garlic. I want flavorful food but I don’t want to suffer later for having eaten it.
Hi Maureen, have you ever tried elephant garlic? I wonder if you would be able to tolerate it. It’s larger in size and with a much milder flavor than standard garlic. It may still impart a lovely flavor without being overwhelming at all. I personally find elephant garlic too mild for my personal taste, but I think it just might be the perfect substitute for you in this dish! I hope that helps! If you try it, I would love to know how it worked out.
Why do you sear with canola oil? Could you use olive oil instead? Love this idea and going to try it myself with a few variations…just started a recipe blog and I think the oven version is right up my alley. :-)
Generally, I like searing the tenderloin using canola oil because it has a lower smoke point, but you can surely use the olive oil, just be careful as it can heat up very quickly. Enjoy!
Why do you sear with canola oil? Could you use olive oil instead? Love this idea and going to try it myself with a few variations…just started a recipe blog and I think the oven version is right up my alley. :-) Thanks for sharing.
this is so delicious! made it for father’s day on the grill, and it was a huge hit! this will be a go-to recipe from now on. thanks so much for sharing!
Did this as part of my “freezer meals”. Put the rub/marinade and pork in a seal a meal bag and froze. Took out this morning and it defrosted & marinated all at once. Cooked on the grill – yummy! The only change I will make next time is to decrease the salt. I usually keep Kosher salt on hand and it is not a large enough grain (the reciepe calls for coarse – must need rock salt). Love, love, love the balsamic & garlic combo. I might even throw in a rosemary sprig in the bag too.
I just made the “marinade” and mine was not even close to a paste consistency and I see someone had the same issue in January. Should I have used reduced balsamic vinegar? 2 tablespoons of each the balsamic vinegar and the olive oil, right? Hmmmm, I’m sure it will taste good but I freaked cuz it was soooo runny!
Trying this tonight, but I thought I’d pass along that the USDA has dropped the recommended internal cooking temp for pork roasts to 145*F (with at least 3 minutes resting time after cooking). I think this might’ve happened since this post, but based on its’ continued popularity on Pinterest (that’s where I found it too!) I thought I’d pass it along!
This was SO good. I made it in the oven too! I’m making it again tonight for the hubby for the first time but with garlic powder because I have no whole garlic to chop up unfortunately. Hopefully it still comes out! Thanks so much for the recipe!