Pork Tenderloin with Homemade Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce
I feel I should be sprouting feathers, considering how much chicken we eat in this house.
For dinner it is always our first choice.
Except for Bunny, of course.
We would never turn down a perfectly roasted chicken with thyme and lemon.
Or the Hub’s perfect BBQ chicken , amazingly crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside.
Can’t leave out lightly poached in stock then nestled on a bed of grilled leeks.
Really I could go on all day.
Today however, I felt like a change of pace.
But I have to admit that pork does not leap to mind when trying to “make something different tonight”.
Fish, pasta or even eggs will make an appearance first.
Probably because when I think of pork, I remember those thin pork chops my Mom used to make.
All the time.
Or so it seemed.
Cooked, and cooked and then cooked a bit more.
She was convinced if they were not cooked to death, we would all get sick.
So, I have this slight lingering aversion to pork.
To cure that, I slathered this tenderloin in Homemade Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce.
It was such a perfect spring day, that we grilled it outside on the BBQ.
Then we gave it some time to rest afterwards.
So that when it was sliced, it was incredibly juicy and the center was just slightly pink.
Don’t tell the trichinosis police.
Or my Mother, please.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin
- 2 cups ketchup
- 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup Jim Beam Bourbon
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
Instructions
In medium saucepan add ketchup through cider vinegar.
Bring to boil over high heat then reduce to simmer and cook 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
Set aside to cool slightly.
In large bowl add pork tenderloin and coat with BBQ sauce.
Let sit a few minutes.
In the meantime start the BBQ, and set it on high.
Add pork and turn down heat to med-high.
Treat pork as if it has 4 sides, cooking each side 3-4 minutes.
Then turn heat down to low and set pork on top rack and cook another 3 minutes or until internal temp is 145.
Remove from heat and let sit loosely covered with foil, for 5 minutes. Internal temperature should be 150 at time of serving.
Notes
The following day we warmed up the leftover pork and sliced it really thin and added to a big bowl of Pho. We made ours by warming up 6 cups of chicken stock with some grated ginger, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and a teaspoon of chile garlic sauce. Then added matchstick carrots and tiny pieces of broccoli. Cooked it only 2 mins. Had soaked rice noodles in boiling water for 6 mins then drained them. To very large bowls we added a nice heaping of noodles, ladled the stock and veg over top then added the warmed up pork, a big handful of bean sprouts, cilantro and sliced scallions. And finally a big squeeze of lime. Wish I had taken a picture.