Our Family Loves Pork

 

I am waaaay behind on blogging (though I am catching up). A new baby and moving to a new house will do that to you! I thought about doing separate posts for each of these recipes, but decides to just group them together instead. We have a lot of family dinners and pork is a great way to feed such a large group. Here are some great pork tenderloin and pork roast recipes we have found over the past year.

By the way, in case you are curious, the pork in the picture above is Grilled Pork Tenderloin (recipe below), served with some corn on the cob (in the foil), Minty Watermelon-Cucumber Salad,  Layered Buffalo Chicken Salad, and Warm Dijon Potato Salad.

 

Honey-Mustard Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coarse-grain or Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons mayonnaise, such as Hellmann's
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, rosemary, or tarragon, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
1 1/2 teaspoons Traeger Pork and Poultry Rub
2 pork tenderloins, each 12 to 14 ounces, silver skin trimmed

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the mustard, honey, mayonnaise, parsley, and Traeger Pork and Poultry Rub; stir to mix. Lay the pork tenderloins in a flat baking dish. Pour the mustard-honey mixture over the tenderloins, turning to coat all sides. (If not cooking immediately, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)

When ready to cook, start the Traeger grill on Smoke with the lid open until the fire is established (4 to 5 minutes). Set the temperature to 325 degrees F and preheat, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Lift the tenderloins out of the mustard-honey mixture and arrange on a diagonal on the grill grate. (Discard the remaining mustard-honey mixture.) Grill for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the pork reaches 160 degrees F on an instant-read meat thermometer. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 3 minutes. Slice into 3/4-inch slices and serve.

Source: Traeger recipe. You can find it here.

Notes: As I mentioned in another post, my brother now has a Traeger grill. I don't think there is any way to duplicate this amazing smoked meat without a Traeger grill, but I'm sharing this recipe for those of you out there who have one.

 

Above: You'll get a wonderful pinkish smoke ring on your meat when you cook with the Traeger grill. It is nothing to be afraid of. The meat is not underdone. Just use a meat thermometer to check the meat.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

1 whole pork tenderloin, approximately 1 pound
1 lime, zest finely grated
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 chipotle chile pepper in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

Trim the pork tenderloin of any excess fat and silver skin.

Place the lime zest, lime juice, honey, salt, and garlic powder in a small, lidded jar, and shake to combine. Pour half of the marinade mixture into a 1-gallon resealable bag, add the chipotle pepper, and move around to combine. Add the pork tenderloin to the bag and seal, removing as much air as possible, and place in a container to catch any leaks. Marinate in the refrigerator for 6 to 24 hours, rotating the bag halfway through the time. Place the remaining marinade in a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove the tenderloin from the bag and allow to sit at room temperature while preparing the grill. Remove the reserved marinade from the refrigerator.

Fill a large chimney starter with natural lump charcoal and light. Once the charcoal is ashy and white, approximately 30 minutes, dump the hot charcoal onto the lowest grate of the grill and spread into an even layer using extra-long tongs. Place the cooking grate back on the grill and cover with the lid; heat the grate to medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

Brush the grill with vegetable oil. Remove the tenderloin from the bag and place in the center of grate. Discard bag with marinade. Cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, turning ever 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until the tenderloin reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F.

Remove the tenderloin from the grill and place on a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil folded at the edges to create a basket, and pour on the reserved marinade. Wrap tightly and rest for 10 minutes. Remove to a cutting board and slice. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Source: Food Network, recipe by Alton Brown. You can find it here.

Notes: This was good stuff! We let people top it with cilantro on their own according to their preference.

 

Slow Cooker Cranberry Orange Pork Roast

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. oil
1 flat boneless pork loin roast (4 lb.)
1 can (14 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 cup Kraft Classic Catalina Dressing
1 tbsp. less-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. zest and 1/4 cup juice from 1 orange

Directions:

Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add meat; cook 4 to 5 minutes. on each side or until browned on both sides. Transfer meat to slow cooker.

Mix cranberry sauce, dressing, and soy sauce; pour over meat. Cover with lid.

Cook on low 4 to 5 hours. Remove meat from slow cooker, reserving liquid in slow cooker. Cover meat to keep warm. Whisk remaining ingredients in small bowl until blended; stir into liquid in slow cooker. Cook, covered, on high 10 minutes or until thickened.

Slice meat; place on platter. Drizzle lightly with sauce. Serve with remaining sauce.

 

Source: Kraft recipe. You can find it here.

Notes: Tasty and so easy! The sauce was really nice with the pork.

 

Balsamic Roasted Pork Loin

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons steak seasoning rub
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork loin roast

Directions:

Dissolve steak seasoning in balsamic vinegar, then stir in olive oil. Place pork into a resealable plastic bag and pour marinade on top. Squeeze out air and seal bag; marinate 2 hours to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place pork into a glass baking dish along with marinade. Bake in preheated oven, basting occasionally until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F, about 1 hour. Let the roast rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Melissa S. You can find it here.

Notes: This is one of our family favorites. We have posted it before, and you can find the original post here. We like to save the drippings as a sauce to serve over our pork. Delicious!