Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Yay for grilling season! Yay for pork tenderloin! Yay for Alton Brown and this awesome recipe! Can you tell that I'm excited about this? Can you tell that my cheerleading skills are lacking? I once filled in as a cheerleader for my elementary school of 100 kids. Just one time. Probably because someone was sick. I can't think of any other logical reason anyone would have asked me to stand in front of a crowd and cheerlead with my marginal coordination and rhythm. That's the extent of my cheerleading experience. But, I've got spirit, YES I do... Today the weather is a little nasty, a backslide into winter. But on the day we grilled this pork loin, it was gorgeous. I'm looking forward to a whole summer of outdoor cooking.

I had a pork tenderloin left in my freezer from the Tuscan Style Tenderloin that I made last month. "Sunny and mild" was in the forecast, so I began searching for grilled tenderloin recipes. There are a whole lotta delicious sounding grilled pork tenderloin recipes out there, but this one caught my eye because the marinade called for chipotle chilies in adobo sauce and I just happened to have some in my fridge, leftover from that Spicy Black Bean Soup that I also made last month. I'd been thinking about ways to use them up, so this recipe became the front runner in my search.



You want to begin by making the marinade. You need the zest of one lime and 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice.



I keep forgetting that one scrawny lime never yields as much juice as I need. I squeezed and squeezed and didn't even come close to 1/2 cup.



Grapefruit to the rescue again! Remember my recent lime subtitution in the salsa for my Bacon, Spinach, and Salsa Wraps? Grapefruits make lots of juice. Yay for grapefruits!



Now squeeze in some honey.



Some salt.



And some garlic powder.



Pour the concoction into a container or a jar with a lid and shake it like a Polaroid picture...or until well combined. : )



Pour half of the marinade into a large, resealable plastic bag and put the other half in the fridge for later. Now for those Chipotle chilies...they've got enough of a kick that you just need one.



I cut it into pieces and added it to the marinade.



Then, I smooshed it around a bit to release the flavor.



Next, I dropped in my trimmed pork tenderloin, made sure it was coated with marinade, and sent it to the fridge for about 8 hours. You can marinate this overnight if you think about it early enough.



Grill time! You can see the instructions and my notes below.



While my husband grilled the tenderloin, I made a little aluminum foil basket.



Once the tenderloin reaches 140 degrees, put it in the custom made foil nest and pour the rest of the marinade over the top. Now wrap it up tight and let it sit for 10 minutes.



Slice.



Sprinkle with some chopped cilantro.



This was grilled and rested to perfection!



Spoon a little of the juices from that foil nest over the top. Oh my goodness! Best grilled pork loin that I've ever had! The addition of the grapefruit actually gave this a subtle orange taste. Well...I guess it was a grapefruit taste, but you know what I mean, right?



Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2009 copied from The Food Network website

Prep Time:20 min Inactive Prep Time:6 hrs Cook Time:15 min Level:
Easy Serves:4 servings.

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

Directions
Trim the pork tenderloin of any excess fat and silver skin.

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.

Fill a large chimney starter with natural lump charcoal and light. Once the charcoal is ashy and white, approximately 30 minutes, dump the hot charcoal onto the lowest grate of the grill and spread into an even layer using extra-long tongs. Place the cooking grate back on the grill and cover with the lid; heat the grate to medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

Brush the grill with vegetable oil. Remove the tenderloin from the bag and place in the center of grate. Discard bag with marinade. Cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, turning every 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until the tenderloin reaches 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. Remove to a cutting board and slice. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

My notes: 1) I used 2 tablespoons of lime juice and the rest was freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice. 2) We followed the grilling instructions exactly...at first. Then, it seemed a little silly to turn the tenderloins every 90 seconds. It was taking too long to get them to the correct temperature. We ended up letting them sit a little longer between turns.

For a printable copy of this recipe click here!

St. Patty's Celebrated at Home: Marinated Roast Pork Loin with Carmelized Cabbage in Cream and Fried Potatoes with Onion

The History of the Holiday from history.com

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.

On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

Around here, we celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Sure, everyone is a little Irish on St. Patrick's Day, but with us, it's a little more personal. My husband's maternal grandfather, his namesake, Michael McCarthy, marched with his fellow police officers in the 1954 New York City St. Patrick's Day parade.

My husband's paternal grandmother was also of Irish heritage. She gave me this lovely shamrock cup and saucer before she passed away. Isn't it pretty?


So we've established that my husband is Irish. As for me, well...my maiden name can be found on that ever popular brand of Irish liqueur that is excellent over ice or in your coffee. So yeah, kiss me, I'm Irish.


Before we get started with the cooking, I'll let you in on another little tradition. In our house, it wouldn't be St. Patrick's Day without a green beer. My husband poured me this beautiful beverage as I started caramelizing the cabbage.



When my husband and I were "studying" at THE Purdue University (I have claimed "THE" as my personal trophy since we beat out THE Ohio State University for the Big Ten Championship on Sunday) we celebrated many a happy St. Patrick's Day at Harry's Chocolate Shop in the fish bowl. If any of my fellow Boilers are reading, you know exactly where I was sitting. I'm not sure that Harry's has any Irish affiliations, but the green beer sure does flow freely.You might guess that it's not a candy store. We even purchased cute Harry's t-shirts back in the day, boasting, "I peed green on 3-17" Ah, college.

Okay, I'll wrap up the trip down memory lane and get cookin'. It's 10 am and I need to get that pork into the marinade. You'll need garlic to stuff into the pork loin, and white wine, lemon juice (not pictured), olive oil, onions, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper for the marinade.


I chop the onions and combine the other ingredients for the marinade.


Here's the pork roast. When I went in search of my pork loin, I checked 3 stores. The store with the best deal actually had the most appealing product. Score! I was also thrilled to purchase pork from my native Indiana with this Indiana Kitchen pork loin. In order to get the $1.69/lb. deal, you had to get the BIG pork loin. Smaller portions retailed for $2.99/lb. so look for pork recipes in my upcoming meal plans.


That's a lotta pork!


No way is my family of four consuming 10 pounds of pork loin in a sitting...or in even a week of eating leftovers. I cut off about 2 lbs. for dinner and cut slits all over the roast. Stuff slices of garlic into each of the slits. You can either submerse the roast into the bowl of marinade or put it in a large resealable bag. Refrigerate and marinate for at least 8 hours. You could easily do this the night before.


As for the rest of the pork: I cut it into 1 1/2 lb. portions and bagged it for the freezer.


Here is our roast pork loin. My husband put in into the oven while I was at dance class with the girls. For a 2-3 lb. roast, cook at 325 degrees for an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and 45 minutes. When the meat thermometer read 155 degrees, I removed the roast and let it rest for 15 minutes. The final temp will reach 160 degrees.


I sliced the roast on a platter and poured the cooking juices over the top.


While the pork roasted, I started my cabbage. Chop a head of cabbage.


Then, melt about half a stick of butter in a skillet that can be covered. I'll go ahead and tell you that this cabbage is NOT prepared in a heart healthy manner. Sorry. Hey, it is a holiday.


Stir the cabbage with the butter to combine. Salt and pepper liberally. Then cover and cook over medium low heat for as long as it takes to caramelize your cabbage. Patience, Grasshopper.


I like mine a deep golden brown. This does take some time. Stir it occasionally throughout the process. Perfect.


Since St. Patrick's Day involved the Irish people induldging during the season of Lent, I go ahead and take this sinful caramelized cabbage a step further. Pour in the cream, baby! Oh, but then turn off the heat and cover.


Now for the potatoes. Butter again. I used another half a stick.


I baked 5 potatoes last night and then stuck them into the fridge for safe keeping. Slice em' up.


While you're at it, slice an onion too. Then throw it into that butter and listen to it sizzle. Cook and stir a couple of minutes.


Then add the sliced potatoes and give em' a good dose of salt and pepper. Fry those potatoes and onions until browned and a little crispy.


With all components of our St. Patrick's feast prepared, dish it up and enjoy!


But wait...there's MORE! You've gotta have dessert. Green dessert.

I took a can of undrained, crushed pineapple and emptied it into a bowl.


Ideally, I would add a box of instant pistachio pudding. However, after 4 stores and no luck locating the coveted pistachio pudding (2 were sold out, 2 didn't even carry the stuff) I decided to head home and improvise. I added a box of vanilla pudding and half a box of lime jello. Hey, it had to be green!


Stir it up.


Add in a tub of whipped topping.


Stir it up.


Now for some mini marshmallows.


Dish it up and sprinkle with a little green sugar. Mmmm. Fluffy sweetness!


*Healthy Tip: this dessert can be made relatively low in fat and calories if you use sugar free pudding and fat free whipped topping, but what's the fun in that?

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Roast Pork Loin

3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 1/2 cups white wine
3 T lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 t. thyme
1 T salt
1/2 t pepper

Make slits in the roast and insert garlic slices. Combine the other ingredients in a bowl or resealable bag. Add the roast and marinate overnight or at least 8 hours. Bake at 325 degrees until the roast temp reaches 155 degrees at center. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes.