BBQ pork tenderloin marinated in spices and apple juice to create mouth-watering barbecued pork that’s slightly sweet, spicy, tender, and juicy.
Memorial Day is the start of the BBQ season and one of my favorite meats to BBQ is pork tenderloin. It cooks quickly, is juicy and tender, and feeds my crowd.
Tree Top sent me some grilling tips and a recipe for Doc’s Tenderloin Rub. Since I love tenderloin I decided to give it a try. I adapted the recipe to the spices I had on hand, marinated it 4 hours and the boys and I had a picnic in the backyard. It got a thumbs up from all of us.
Do you like to BBQ on Memorial Day weekend?
BBQ Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon coarse black pepper
- 2.5 lbs. pork tenderloin 1 package, 2 tenderloins
- ¼ cup apple juice
Instructions
- Mix together spices (I mixed them in a Ziploc bag.). Rub spice mixture all over tenderloin. Pour apple juice over tenderloin. Rub in so the apple juice wets the dry spices thoroughly, add more apple juice if needed.
- Put tenderloins in a Ziploc bag and marinate 4 hours or overnight. Keep refrigerated.
- Heat grill to high. Place tenderloin on the hottest part of the grill. Cook turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.
- Reduce temperature to low and cover with grill lid. Continued to cook pork covered, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 145º, turning occasionally.
BBQ Tips:
- Always take time to clean your BBQ before firing it up, especially for the first time.
- Marinades tenderize as well as flavor meat. It’s important to season foods before putting them on the grill.
- Wash dishes and hands after handling raw meat. Don’t reuse the plate that you used for uncooked meat.
- Use tongs or a spatula to turn your meat not a fork. Prongs that pierce the meat let the juices escape, making the meat drier and less flavorful.
- Apply barbecue or other tomato-based sauces containing sugars during the last 10 of grilling to avoid burning the sauce.
- Oil the food, not the grates. The oil burns quickly on the hot cooking grates and becomes sticky, “gluing” uncoated food to the grates. When you oil the food, it keeps the juices inside the food, promotes caramelization and prevents sticking.
If it’s not barbecue season, you can make Oven-Baked Pork Tenderloin instead.
More great recipes for your Memorial Day BBQ:
Perfect Pasta Salad, Barbara Bakes
Bacon Wrapped Cheese Hot Dogs, Barbara Bakes
Queso Bacon Burgers with Avocado Salsa, Barbara Bakes
Puff Pastry Dessert Tarts with Lemon Mascarpone & Fresh Berries, Cookin’ Canuck
Mini Fruit Pizzas, Two Peas and Their Pod
Donna
This is on my Must Try BBQ list for this summer!
Janette Griffin
This is my husband’s favorite way to have a pork tenderloin prepared. He won’t even discuss fixing them any other way.
Chocolate Shavings
This looks like the perfect warm-weather meal!
Deborah
I actually don’t think I’ve ever grilled a pork tenderloin – I need to try this!!
Megan
We love to BBQ on Memorial Day to kick off the Summer season. Pork Tenderloin is one of my favorite meats to BBQ, but we had ribs! 🙂 Looks like a fun picnic with your boys. I cant wait to meet them.
Lynn
There’s a pork tenderloin that’s been waiting in my freezer for this recipe. Thanks!!
Kathleen
Wow what a spread!!! Those tenderloins look de-lish. Happy Memorial Day 😉
Kim
Reading your post was a great reminder to pick up a pork tenderloin at the market. They grill so fast and are SO good. Will pin this recipe for sure!
Deb
A perfect BBQ recipe, easy and irresistible! Pork tenderloin is versatile and inexpensive. And I can always find a way to use leftovers. I had planned on grilling this holiday weekend, but we are fogged in. Temps in the high 50’s!
Susan
Pork tenderloin is a favorite on our grill too! This sounds like another great version to try.