My husband Allen was masterful when grilling or broiling anything. He had an uncanny ability to know when to pull meat from the grill or oven. He never used a meat thermometer–just pushed on the meat to somehow determine when it was ready. He would tent the meat and let it rest for a few minutes as we finalized cooking and serving the rest of meal.

Unfortunately, I don’t have that same level of prowess. But, hey, I guess I don’t mind using a meat thermometer to ensure that pork, chicken or beef are cooked properly when I am in charge of the heat.

This pork tenderloin recipe starts with a dry rub. I use two types of garlic: granulated garlic for the outside rub and fresh garlic for the basting sauce. I always use granulated garlic and onion instead of garlic salt and onion salt in order to maximize the flavor of the herbs and control the amount of salt.

I always trim off extra fat and silver skin from tenderloins. It’s difficult to cut and chew through silver skin at the table and is more difficult to digest. Also, silver skin can cause the roast to curl while cooking, since it shrinks differently from the rest of the meat. Here is good link that shows how to remove the silver skin: https://www.ontariopork.on.ca/recipes/Cooking/How-to-Remove-Silver-Skin-Pork-Tenderloin

Once the dry rub is on the tenderloins, they can be broiled, grilled, baked or even pan-fried. I think broiling or grilling works best in order to get a somewhat crusty, flavorful outside and moist inside. It used to be recommended to cook pork to 165 degrees or until well done. Now the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and the National Pork Board recommend “cooking pork chops, roasts, and tenderloin to an internal temperature between 145° F. (medium rare) and 160° F. (medium), followed by a 3 minute rest.”

I use my digital thermometer and usually pull tenderloins out at 150-155 degrees, then let them rest, tented with foil, for 5 minutes.Or, if you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can poke or cut into it. If the juices run clear or are very faintly pink, the pork is done cooking. If they’re mostly or entirely pink or red, cook a bit longer. Slice the tenderloins, drizzle lightly with sauce and serve the additional sauce on the side.

DRY RUB PORK TENDERLOIN

1 Tablespoon granulated garlic
1 Tablespoon Onion Powder, or granulated onion
1 Tablespoon celery seed
1 Tablespoon Lemon Pepper
1/2 Tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 Pounds pork tenderloin, well-trimmed
1/4 Cup butter, melted
2 Cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Teaspoon dry mustard
2 Tablespoons fresh chives, chopped fine, or 2 teaspoons dried chives

Mix first five ingredients thoroughly; sprinkle all-over pork tenderloin and pat down to adhere. Combine melted butter, garlic Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard and chives. Reserve about half of this mixture for serving time. Grill tenderloin about 5 minutes on each side over high heat or until crusty. Lower heat and continue cooking in covered grill, basting occasionally with Worcestershire sauce mixture, for an additional 10-15 minutes or until instant read meat thermometer reads 150 degrees. Pork will continue to cook internally to about 160 degrees after removal from the grill. By the time it is plated and served, it’ll be cooked completely, but still moist, juicy and tender.

Ladle reserved sauce over sliced pork or pass separately.

Alternative: Put dry rub onto pork tenderloin. Sear in olive oil over med-high heat until browned all over. Meanwhile combine all of the rest of the ingredients. Remove pork and deglaze with wine, scraping up bits and reducing wine. Add pork back along with broth mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 minutes (155 degrees), basting once during cook time. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes prior to slicing and serving.