Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri
The easiest way to have delicious LEAN protein grilled up quickly for the whole family! This will be a new favorite for us…
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Pork
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients:
For the Pork:
- 2.5 lb pork tenderloin (only 2.5 g fat for a 4 oz portion- I always get mine from Costco)
- 6 cloves garlic (or my favorite frozen dorot cubes)
- 2 tbs brown sugar
- 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
For the Light Cilantro Basil Chimichurri:
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
- Juice from half a lemon
- 2 cloves garlic (frozen dorot cubes)
- 1/2 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Trim fat off of pork tenderloins. I like to rinse mine, and pat dry.
- Mix all of the other ingredients for the pork rub rub. It will make a thick marinade.
- Using a spoon (or ziplock bags on your hands!) rub the marinade all over the two tenderloins. You can cover, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight— OR just leave on the counter like I did for 15-30 minutes before grilling. Always best to let it come to room temp before grilling.
- Heat grill to pretty high heat.
- Spray grill carefully with cooking spray.
- Sprinkle tenderloins with additional kosher salt and pepper (not listed) and place on grill. Sear for about 2-3 minutes per side over the high heat, and then turn down to medium, and cover. Cook for about 15-17 minutes TOTAL, including searing time, rotating every 5 minutes or so. If you have a meat thermometer, internal temp should be about 140.
- Let rest for 10 minutes, tented with foil before slicing in!
- Pulse all chimichurri ingredients in a mini food processor or blender… it’s not as pretty without loads of olive oil, but the taste was still incredible with the pork!*
NOTES
- If I have guests, (or for my chimichurri loving daughters) I’ll make this chimichurri, and then split it in half and whisk additional olive oil into one jar for anyone who’s not watching their fats. My macros are calculated for it without of course, but as long as you section some off, you can just weigh your portion from that batch!
- If you count macros, you can search “Lillie Eats and Tells Brown Sugar Spiced Pork” and “Lillie Eats and Tells Light Cilantro Basil Chimichurri” in My Fitness Pal and log the amount you take AFTER it’s cooked and prepared. You don’t have to worry about the raw ingredients etc!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 100 g pork with 30 g chimi
- Calories: 207
- Fat: 6.2
- Saturated Fat: 1.6
- Carbohydrates: 8.7
- Protein: 28.2
Keywords: pork, tenderloin, grill, chimichurri, brown sugar
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Shaved Pork Tenderloin Sandwich with caramelized apples and chimichurri mayo
I’ve never been excited about LEFTOVER grilled pork tenderloin until now! We’ll be grilling double from now on. These were a hit for the whole fam. And so quick to throw together!
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 30
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Sandwiches
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: American
INGREDIENTS
- 1 brioche hamburger bun (or favorite bun. I find these in the bakery section at Walmart, Stater Brothers, Ralphs, and Sprouts.)
- 100 g brown sugar garlic pork tenderloin sliced super thin, heated just BARELY in the microwave until it’s not cold. No need for hot! That’s what will make it taste reheated.
- 15 g chimichurri (I always make this one when I make the pork so it’s perfect to use the next day for these sandwiches!)
- 15 g low fat mayo, lite sour cream, or greek yogurt*
- 15 g caramelized onions (see below)
- 15 g caramelized apples (see below)
- 40 g sliced tomato
- Arugula
INSTRUCTIONS
- Caramelize onions and apples: Heat a large fry pan to medium high heat, spray with cooking spray, and add thinly sliced onion and apples, careful to keep each on their own side just so you can control what you take. You can do as much as you’d like. I did half an onion and a whole apple and had leftovers.
- Sprinkle both with a little kosher salt and let sit for a couple of minutes to start cooking. Then turn pan down to medium-low and cook cover for 20-30 minutes until caramelized and tender. They will have cooked down by half. Prep everything else while they cook, stirring them occasionally, careful to keep them divided in the pan. (Unless you don’t mind them all combined!)
- Chimichurri mayo: Combine equal parts chimichurri and your base (low fat mayo, lite (or fat free) sour cream, or greek yogurt.)
- Toast buns: Spray insides of brioche with a mist of cooking spray and place face down on a preheated pan to toast until golden brown. I always use my pancake skillet. Or you can broil them, just watch closely! But promise you won’t skip the toast.
- Build your sandwich: Top bottom bun with 2 tbs or 30 g of chimichurri spread, then 100 g of thinly sliced pork, 15 g each of the caramelized onions and apples, tomatoes, and arugula.
- I hope you lid it with that toasty top bun… and enjoy!
NOTES
- It’s such a small portion of sour cream, mayo, or yogurt, it won’t make a huge difference which you choose. But for these specific macros I used greek yogurt. Lite sour cream is my favorite for flavor and texture.
- I used a mandolin for the apples but any thin slice is fine.
- If you don’t have leftover chimichurri and don’t want to go to too much trouble, just do a quick stir of 1/4 cup of your base, a clove of garlic (frozen dorot cube for me of course), and some quick minced cilantro and basil to taste! Pretty much this staple basil “aioli” in this recipe, with some added cilantro, OR I’m sure it’d be good with my all-time favorite always-stocked skinny chipotle cream.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich
- Calories: 401
- Fat: 10.5
- Carbohydrates: 41.5
- Protein: 34.7
Keywords: pork, tenderloin, sandwich, chimichurri, caramelized onion, apple, arugula
