Honey Mustard Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Honey Mustard Marinated Pork Tenderloin

I was messing around one day with salad dressing variations and mixed some lemon juice with some Dijon mustard. It was good, but not quite right. It needed something sweet in it. The classic honey mustard combo was what I went for. After the initial salad dressing test, I tried it on a few other things. It makes a good coleslaw. But where I hit gold, was as a pork marinade. The spice of the mustard, the sweet of the honey, and the acid of the lemon compliment the pork perfectly.


The Recipe:

• 1 Cup Spicy Dijon Mustard
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• Juice of 1 Large Lemon
• 2 Pork Tenderloins
• 1 Large Storage Bag

Use a plastic storage bag for marinating

Perforate the pork with a fork to allow the marinade to get inside the meat. Move the pork to a large storage bag. In a large bowl, mix together the mustard, honey, and lemon juice. I like to use a coarse grain mustard to give it some extra spice, but it depends on who I am cooking for. A milder, smoother mustard will work fine. Just don't use yellow mustard here. Don't worry about straining out the seeds or pulp from the lemon. It helps with the flavor. Pour the marinade in to the bag with the pork. With the bag sealed, work the pork and marinade around to get the pork completely covered. Let the pork sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours, preferably overnight.

Get a good smoke going to really enhance the
the flavor. The smoke is just to enhance the flavor,
not to actually cook the meat.

Remove the pork from the bag and place on a plate to let the extra marinade drip off. The mustard has a habit of burning and let it drip off a little will help prevent any unwanted burning on the grill. I like to use charcoal for this dish instead of gas, so that I can get a good smoky flavor in the pork. The smoke and mustard flavors were meant to be together. Get the grill to about 450-500 degrees. If you want to throw some oak or hickory in there to help get some smoke going. I use an oak lump charcoal that works really well. Grill about 10 - 15 minutes per side and then over indirect heat another 5 - 10 minutes. 

Honey Mustard Marinated Pork with
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Asparagus

I've served this with a few different things. Salad. Mixed veggies. Roasted potatoes. Usually I'll have rolls in the freezer I can throw in the oven. This time, I served the pork with some cheesy mashed potatoes and asparagus sautéed with onions and garlic.

Charcoal: Briquettes vs Lump

There are many ways to barbecue. Grills come in all varieties from a fancy custom rig to portable folding beach grill. Of course the grill you choose depends on a variety of criteria: space, cost, and application.

Once the grill is chosen, and probably assembled, the next thing to consider is how you light your grill. If the grill is gas powered then it is a simple process. But if you are going charcoal, it can be a bit more complicated. The go to is simple lighter fluid. While I do still use it at times, I don't like it and I don't recommend it. It always seems to leave a lighter fluid flavor behind. I've seen people spend time to light charcoal with a blow torch, but it always seems to take a lot of time.

The best method I've ever found is the chimney starter. In my house there are always ads and coupons lying around waiting to be crumpled up in balls. It is also somewhat satisfying to use bills, they're on auto pay anyway, and junk mail.  This is the most natural way to light the grill there is.

I've recently made the switch from charcoal briquettes to lump charcoal. It is one of the best culinary decisions I've made in a long time.

With briquettes,  there was always a flavor I was trying to mask with smoke from various types of wood. Now, with the oak lump charcoal, the smoke is there and the undesirable flavor is gone. If you're on the fence or looking to try something new, I strongly recommend that you make you switch to lump charcoal.

BBQ Chicken

Time to dust off the blog. I haven't been keeping up with it the past few years. Things are a little bit different for me now than they were at my last post. I have a new kitchen to play with, but I also have 2 little boys to play with, Oliver and Wes. They keep me pretty busy, but I am finding new inspiration from them every day, and I love watching them grow and learn new things.

The other day it was beautiful outside and decided to grill something. We settled on BBQ Chicken.

For this recipe gather the following:

• A Grill - preferably a charcoal grill
• Charcoal and wood - I prefer lump charcoal vs briquettes. I like to mix in different flavors with the wood I use. I've been really in to pecan, oak, apple, and cherry woods. I typically soak the wood in a bucket of water to provide more smoke. It also helps control the heat.
• Chicken - This time I used some boneless, skinless chicken thighs. That's what was available in the fridge, but I prefer skin on, bone in chicken. I typically grill a mix of pieces. 
• Sauce
• BBQ Rub

Both the sauce and BBQ rub are preferential. Pick what you like. I'm not using anything that can't be found in any local grocery store.

Get the grill going while the chicken is prepped. I use a chimney starter to light the charcoal; never use lighter fluid. Get the grill to around 350 degrees.

Apply a generous amount of the BBQ rub to the chicken and set it on the grill away from the heat. Once the bottom and sides start to change color, flip the chicken to the other side. This is usually 20 to 30 minutes per side.

With both sides cooked, use a brush or mop to apply some sauce generously to the chicken. Let it sit a few minutes and flip. Add sauce to the other side. Let it sit a few minutes and the chicken is done.

A few things to try with the chicken is some smoked sausage or an onion. I'll add the onion as soon as I put the chicken on and let the smoke do it's work. If I'm adding sausage to the mix, I'll add it after I flip the chicken the first time. Sausage is typically precooked and just needs to be reheated.

BBQ chicken pairs well with a lot of different foods. Coleslaw, potato salad, corn, the list goes on and on. I made some pinto beans, mac and cheese, and cornbread to go along with mine.