Memphis BBQ Pork Tenderloin

What do you get if you take a Memphis rib dry rub, put it on a brined pork tenderloin, give it some time, grill carefully and top with Memphis BBQ sauce?  You get the absolute best meal I have ever grilled.

I'm claiming a dream sequence for this one. I had a pork tenderloin in the frig for tonight but no plans. I should do another one for my grilled pork tenderloin series but I had done no research. No PDF's saved. I only had a few hours of sleep the night before and I lay down for a few minutes.

What to do with that tenderloin? I really would like more of my Memphis BBQ sauce but on what? Just grill the thing and dump sauce on it... possible. But out of my drowsiness came the memory of wanting to try dry rub Memphis ribs sometime. I see them over and over on various cooking show. Well my half awake self decided to use the rib rub on the tenderloin. I obviously have my best ideas when I'm not really with it.

I always try to brine if I can so I trimmed the tenderloin and put it in a brine for 2 hours while I looked for a recipe for the rub. I combined several as usual.

Results 9.7  Taste 10 Tenderness 9.5 Moisture 9.5
Time 2 hours for the brine. 1 hour with the marinade. 30 minutes rest at room temp. and about 25 minutes on the grill. About 4 hours total.

Notes: You can skip the brine and suffer a little decrease in moisture and tenderness. It is not absolutely necessary to rest at room temp but you will get to the desired internal temp on the grill easier if you can get some warm up before grilling as the grill preheats.

Link to the wonderful Memphis BBQ Sauce


Mix brine ingredients well in a 1 gallon zip lock bag. Trim the tenderloin well including the silver skin and solid fat and any covering membranes. Brine in the refrigerator for 1-4 hours (I usually do 2)

Mix all rub ingredients well in a small container.

Remove tenderloin from brine and pat dry.

Place on a piece of plastic wrap about 6 inches longer than the tenderloin.

Rub all sides of the loin well with the rub reserving about 1/4 of the rub for later.

Roll the tenderloin tightly in the plastic wrap, seal the ends and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator, unwrap and rub with the remainder of the rub on all sides and allow to rest at room temp for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat grill on high, clean and oil well. Grill on high for 6 minutes per side and then decrease heat to medium and continue to flip about every 5-6 minutes until internal temp of 160. About 25 minutes total.

Let rest for 5-10 minutes and serve with Memphis BBQ sauce.

Memphis BBQ Pork Tenderloin

by DrDan at 101 Cooking For Two May 2, 2010

What do you get if you take a Memphis rib dry rub, put it on a brined pork tenderloin, give it some time, grill carefully and top with Memphis BBQ sauce?? You get the absolute best meal I have ever grilled. I'm claiming a dream sequence for this one. I had a pork tenderloin in the frig for tonight but no plans. I should do another one for my grilled pork tenderloin series but I had done no research. No PDF's saved. I only had a few hours of sleep the night before and I lay down for a few minutes. What to do with that tenderloin? I really would like more of my Memphis BBQ sauce but on what? Just grill the thing and dump sauce on it... possible. But out of my drowsiness came the memory of wanting to try dry rub Memphis ribs sometime. I see them over and over on various cooking show. Well my half awake self decided to use the rib rub on the tenderloin. I obviously have my best ideas when I'm not really with it. I always try to brine if I can so I trimmed the tenderloin and put it in a brine for 2 hours while I looked for a recipe for the rub. I combined several as usual. Results 9.7 Taste 10 Tenderness 9.5 Moisture 9.5 Time 2 hours for the brine. 1 hour with the marinade. 30 minutes rest at room temp. and about 25 minutes on the grill. About 4 hours total. Notes: You can skip the brine and suffer a little decrease in moisture and tenderness. It is not absolutely necessary to rest at room temp but you will get to the desired internal temp on the grill easier if you can get some warm up before grilling as the grill preheats.

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin trimmed Brine4 cups cool water4 T table salt3 T brown sugarDry Rub2 T paprika1 T brown sugar1 T kosher salt- only add if you do not brine1 t black pepper1/2 t chili powder1/4-1/2 t cayenne pepper1/2 t dry mustard1/2 t garlic powder1/2 t onion powder

Instructions

1) Mix brine(4 cups cool water, 4 T table salt, 3 T brown sugar) ingredients well in a 1 gallon zip lock bag.2) Trim the tenderloin well including the silver skin and solid fat and any covering membranes.3) Brine in the refrigerator for 1-4 hours (I did 2)4) Mix all rub ingredients(the rest of the spices) well in a small container.5) Remove tenderloin from brine and pat dry. Place on a piece of plastic wrap about 6 inches longer than the tenderloin.6) Rub all sides of the loin well with the rub reserving about 1/4 of the rub for later.7) Roll the tenderloin tightly in the plastic wrap, seal the ends and refrigerate for 1 hour.8) Remove from refrigerator, unwrap and rub with the remainder of the rub on all sides and allow to rest at room temp for 20-30 minutes.9) Preheat grill on high, clean and oil well.10) Grill on high for 6 minutes per side and then decrease heat to medium and continue to flip about every 5-6 minutes until internal temp of 160. About 25 minutes total.11) Let rest for 5-10 minutes and serve with Memphis BBQ sauce.

Details

Prep time: 3 hour Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 3 hour 30 mins Yield: 3-4 servings

Updated

April 19, 2011