This marinated pork tenderloin recipe has such a vibrant, citrusy flavor and it is incredibly easy to make! I love working with a lean meat as a healthy meal prep protein source and then marinating it ahead of time to lock in flavor and keep things moist and flavorful. The combination of acid + salt is a common theme you will see among all of my recipes as salt traps moisture inside of the meat and acid tenderizes it by loosening dense muscle fibers.
How do you implement the salt + acid combo for moist, flavorful meat?
Take your meat out of the freezer and ensure it’s thawed and ready to marinate 1 day ahead of time. The night before you plan to cook your meat- you want to:
- Dry your meat entirely and salt it on all sides.
- Place your salted meat into a shallow container or a plastic/silicone bag that it can sit in overnight.
- Cover the meat with a few tablespoons of an acid- this can be lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice or red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, etc.
- Add olive oil or another liquid alongside the acid- could also use avocado oil, buttermilk, water, bone broth, etc. The golden rule is 3 parts liquid to 1 part acid- truthfully I never follow this. I add enough of my liquid to combine with the acid and cover the meat halfway if it’s in a shallow dish- or mostly covered if it’s in a bag. You can always add water to save on the cost of extra virgin olive oil- but for most of my recipes I double the protein size so I therefore double the acid and olive oil used as well.
- Leave your meat mostly covered with the salt/acid brine overnight or for at least 5-6 hours before cooking. If you are short on time, you can also do this in 20 minutes and then omit extra liquid like adding water because you are speeding up the process so more acid vs liquid will not hurt your meat in 20 minutes.
- Before you get ready to grill, bake or cook your meat take it out of the brine and put it on a plate for roughly 20-30 minutes before cooking to remove excess liquid and let your meat come closer to room temperature.
I would definitely give this method (and recipe) a try if you’re looking for some fun flavors to add into your dinner rotation. I personally get SO sick of the same old flavor combinations and so one of my favorite things is to try a new marinade and see if it sticks. This Citrusy Peruvian Marinated Pork Tenderloin recipe was all on a whim but the flavors worked out so well together and it’s one of those things I did not get bored of the next day! I paired this with my version of the Mexican street corn dish Esquites and a watermelon cucumber salad.
Ingredients
Method
- In a shallow baking dish or bowl combine all ingredients for marinade. Once well combined brush the marinade over all sides of pork tenderloin. Important note* find a container to put your pork into that allows the pork to be at least halfway covered with juices, if not fully covered. If there isn't enough juice to cover it, use a plastic bag instead or add more lemon/lime juice.
- Allow pork to sit in brine for at the very minimum 20 minutes, but more ideally overnight or for 5-6 hours. I find I still have great results with the 5-6 hour mark if you're in a pinch.
- Once ready to grill, take your pork out of the fridge while the grill heats up.
- Set the grill at high heat, let it heat up for roughly 10-15 minutes, ensuring it stays around 500 degrees F with the lid closed.
- Once the grill is ready, sear the pork tenderloin for 1 minute on each side- keeping grill lid closed during this time.
- After 1 minute, lower grill heat to medium-high heat or until grill drops down to about 400 degrees F. Grill for 3 more minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F in the thickest part of the meat.
- Let rest for 10 minutes to before consuming. Enjoy!
Grilled to perfection pork tenderloin! Let me know if you try this recipe in the comments or if you are also a marinating-your-meat type of cook!
Thanks for following along!
Love,
Lexi