Garlic Pepper Pork Tenderloin with Brussels Sprouts
Have dinner ready in about 30 minutes with this easy grilled garlic pepper pork tenderloin with Brussels sprouts and bacon.
This recipe was made and written for SABER Grills by Chris Grove of Nibble Me This.
Pork tenderloin is a wise choice for the grill. It has a lot to offer.
- It is as lean as a chicken breast but isn’t lean on flavor.
- It is relatively quick cooking.
- It doesn’t require much prep work.
- It works with a variety of flavor profiles.
One such flavor profile is the one in this recipe for Garlic Pepper Pork Tenderloin with Braised Brussels Sprouts.
SABER® Grills use infrared heat to cook food instead of blasting the food with hot, dry air like most gas grills do. This ensures that your pork always comes out tender and juicy. If you are using a conventional gas grill, you should spritz the tenderloin with apple juice a few times during grilling to keep it from drying out.
Garlic Pepper Pork Tenderloin with Braised Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and tied
- 1 teaspoon peanut oil or other high temperature cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 3/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, coarse ground
For the Brussels Spouts
- 4 slices applewood smoked bacon, chopped
- 1 medium shallot, peeled and diced
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts, cut in half
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Directions
- Preheat your SABER® grill to medium-high heat (400-450°f) and a grill safe skillet over low heat on the side burner.
- Prepare your tenderloin. Lightly rub oil all over the tenderloin. Mix the garlic salt, lemon pepper, and black pepper. Season the roast on all sides.
- Grill the tenderloin, rotating every 5 minutes, until the tenderloin reaches an internal temperature of 145°f, about 24-27 minutes. If you prefer pork more done (white all of the way through), cook it longer until it reaches an internal temperature of 155°f.
- Meanwhile, crisp the chopped bacon in the skillet, about 5-8 minutes, and remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon.
- Reserve one tablespoon of bacon fat, add the shallot and sauté for 1 minute.
- Place the Brussels sprouts, cut side down, in the skillet with the shallot. Add 1 cup of chicken stock, salt and pepper. Cover and let cook until the sprouts are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Slice the tenderloin and serve with the Brussels sprouts with bacon crumbled on top.
Notes:
Pork tenderloins weight about 1 pound each and are often sold in 2-packs. When buying one (or 2), look for a deep red color and not much exterior fat. They are already cylindrical but tying this small roast will still help it keep its shape and cook more evenly.
Pork tenderloins work well with both simple and complex flavor combinations. This is a simple one, just three ingredients: black pepper, garlic salt, and lemon pepper.
Tied, seasoned, and ready to go onto the SABER® Elite 1500 SSE. The kitchen twine will darken but it should burn.
When buying Brussels sprouts, look for sprouts that are dense with the leaves tightly packed. They should be light to dark green. Avoid them if you see yellowing or spots. If you have the option to buy them still on the stem, those are usually fresher.
A pork tenderloin is round-ish but it basically ends up with three sides. Hit each side for about 5 minutes, then turn the tenderloin at a 90° angle and go about 3 more minutes. This will create those attractive cross hatch marks.
Bacon goes very well with Brussels sprouts. Other agreeable flavors include butter, cheese, garlic, lemon juice, flat leaf parsley, thyme, and vinegar.
Braising is cooking food partially submerged in liquid in a covered container so the amount of stock needed depends on the size of your skillet. The liquid should come about halfway up the side of the sprouts. The larger your skillet, the more stock you may need.
You don’t have to be super precise with the angles. In fact, you can just keep rotating the tenderloin in the same direction. Turning it 90 degrees is just about appearances and doesn’t affect the cooking.
Resting grill meats on a resting rack will retain more moisture because this prevents trapped heat from steaming the bottom. The USDA recommends cooking to pork to an internal temperature of 145°f and a minimum 3-minute rest.
Best of all, this recipe is ready in just over 30 minutes.
