70 degrees in December means grilling! I decided on a beautiful, crusty, sweet, sticky, savory pork tenderloin. Moist and juicy on the inside with a crispy crust on the outside! Just perfect! Delicious tucked into a lettuce wrap and drizzled with the incredible glaze
Ingredients:
Serves 4
Glaze:
• 6 Tbs of honey
• 3 Tbs of Hoisen sauce (sold in the Asian section of grocery stores)
• 3 Tbs of soy sauce
• 2 Tbs of rice wine vinegar (sold in the Asian section of grocery stores)
• 1 tsp of black or white pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp of Chinese 5 spice powder (sold in the spice section of grocery stores)
• 1 tsp of sesame oil
• 2 tsp of oyster sauce (optional)
• 1 1/2 Tbs of vegetable oil (for adding to the glaze after marinating)
• 1 lb pork tenderloin, small ends trimmed off
Directions:
Start by making the marinade/glaze: In a medium saucepan, combine all of the glaze ingredients and heat til thick and sticky.
Let cool, then place the pork tenderloin in a large ziplock bag and pour in about half of the marinade.Massage well and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, overnight or anywhere in between.
Remove from the marinade and let sit at room temperature while you prepare the grill or preheat the oven to 350°.
Add 1 1/2 Tbs of vegetable oil to the remaining marinade. If grilling, set up the coals so you have direct and indirect heat. Sear the pork on the hot side of the grill, this should take just about 3 minutes or so, it happens fast because of the honey. Then flip it and sear another 3 minutes on the other side. Make sure to save a little of the glaze for drizzling over the meat after its cooked. Move the pork to the indirect side of the grill, dab on a little more glaze and cook for 15 minutes, glazing and turning every few minutes. They key to the crispy crust is to keep dabbing on the glaze and turning.
If using your indoor oven, preheat to 350° and place the pork on a rack over a roasting pan. Bake for 20 minutes, glazing a few times. Then switch on the broiler, dab on more glaze and broil on both sides til browned and crispy. Let rest before slicing.
This is delicious just as is, or eat it as a lettuce wrap. Just make little bowls using Iceberg lettuce, tuck in the pork and drizzle on the remaining glaze.
∗Kimchee is delicious added to the wraps, it is available in the Asian section of the grocery store.
Note to cooks:
The internal temperature for pork should be 145°. It’s okay that it’s a little pink inside. Make sure to dab on the glaze, not brush.
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