An Alton Brown inspired pork tenderloin infused with a chipotle lime marinade that will leave them asking for more. Just follow these easy step by step photo instructions.
Editor’s Note: Originally Published August 13, 2011. Now updated with expanded details and updated photos.
A different taste from my usual tenderloin and a much different technique. You can check the original Food Network / Alton Brown version
I have simplified the cooking method with my usual gas grill technique. I have provided some options that will make this tasty grilled tenderloin friendlier for most home grillers.
My Rating:
This is really a “tweener” meaning between 4 and 5. I have done this a number of times, and I’m still there. But I do love Alton Brown, so thumb on the scale for a 5.
Pro Tips: Recipe Notes for Chipotle Lime Grilled Pork Tenderloin
The Pork Tenderloin
The tenderloin refers to the psoas muscle along the lower back. It is chicken tenders in the chicken or beef tenderloin (filet mignon) in cattle. The psoas is generally most tender cut since it is not used for movement.
A Pork Loin is NOT a pork tenderloin!!!!
Most pork tenderloins will be between 1 and 1 1/2 pounds. A very large tenderloin may come close to 2 pounds.
PLEASE BE SURE YOU HAVE A TENDERLOIN AND NOT A LOIN. They need to be cooked differently, and this recipe will fail you.
One of the keys to grilling a pork tenderloin correctly is to realize it is not round, flat, nor even square. It is a triangle, so there are three sides when you rotate, you so by thirds.
So, whether cooking on a grill or in a pan, cook three sides and don’t force it into a shape that is not natural.
The Marinade
Changes I made were more related to the desire to use what I always have on hand or readily available.
The Lime: I don’t keep fresh limes, so I used lime juice and skipped the zest. I would add this if I happened to have it.
The Chipotle in adobe is always a problem for me. It is hard to find around here and to open a can and trash the rest just bothers me. I used some Penzey Chipotle powder and had good results with that here and in may other recipes.
The Honey: The original Alton Brown recipe use 1/4 cup of honey. That is just way too sweet for our taste. I tend to like brown sugar as a better taste match for pork and lime. So I have given a range for the honey, and in the recipe notes, I have given the option to use brown sugar.
The Garlic: In my house, the garlic gets doubled. You can never have too much garlic in the recipe notes.
How Long to Marinade?
The original recipe suggests 6-24 hours. That is a long time. My first cooking of this recipe was exactly the ingredients and 24 hours marinade.
So at this time, I aim for 1-3 hours. More seems to be a waste to me. As little as 30 minutes will give very good taste.
The Grill
Almost any gas grill will do. We want a grill surface temperature of 450 to a maximum of 500. For me, my grill is hot, so that is about 50%. Most other grills will be about medium high.
Investment of $10 in a grill surface thermometer is always a good idea. DO NOT look at the thermometer on the hood of your grill; it is not even close.
For help on grill surface temperature, please see my A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill..
Charcoal should be fine just don’t crank up the heat all the way and watch the internal temperature.
Of course, preheat, clean and brush the grate with vegetable oil.
Other Grilled Pork Tenderloin Recipes You Will Enjoy
How to Grill a Pork Tenderloin on a Gas Grill
Grilled Balsamic Garlic Pork Tenderloin
Grilled Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin
The Best Grilled Pork Tenderloin – Memphis Style
Trim the pork tenderloin and remove the silverskin.
Combine spices with lime juice and honey. Mix well. The Tupperware mixer works well here.
Add half the mixture to a 1 gallon Ziploc, add the tenderloin, remove as much air as possible. Seal and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours. But up to 24 hours is fine. Refrigerate the second half of the marinade mixture.
Remove the tenderloin from refrigerator and allow to rest at room temp for 30 minutes. Clean and oil grates. Preheat grill to a surface temperature of about 450. That is medium on my grill, which is hot. Most grills it will be medium-high.
Place over direct heat. Cook with a closed lid. Rotate the tenderloin 1/3 every 5 minutes for about 20-25 minutes until an internal temperature of 140. Please never cook by time alone. Use an instant-read thermometer, please.
Make an aluminum foil “boat.” Add reserved marinade to the foil boat and moved tenderloin to the boat. Seal the foil tightly and allow to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. FYI, I checked the temp at this point, and it was 151.
Serve and say, “THANK YOU, ALTON.”
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Chipotle Lime Pork Tenderloin a la Alton Brown
Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 2-4 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Penzy Chipotle powder
Instructions
- Trim the pork tenderloin and remove the silverskin.
- Combine spices with lime juice and honey. Mix well. The Tupperware mixer works well here.
- Add half the mixture to a 1 gallon Ziploc, add the tenderloin, remove as much air as possible. Seal and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours. But up to 24 hours is fine.
- Remove the tenderloin from refrigerator and allow to rest at room temp for 30 minutes. Clean and oil grates. Preheat grill to a surface temperature of about 450. That is medium on my grill which is hot. Most grills it will be medium-high.
- Place over direct heat. Cook with a closed lid. Rotate the tenderloin 1/3 every 5 minutes for about 20-25 minutes until an internal temperature of 140. Please never cook by time alone. Use an instant-read thermometer, please.
- Make an aluminum foil "boat." Add reserved marinade to the foil boat and moved tenderloin to the boat. Seal the foil tightly and allow to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. FYI, I checked the temp at this point, and it was 151.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Use one fresh lime with its zest if you have it.
- One chipotle pepper with sauce may be used instead of the powder.
- The originally recommended 1/4 cup of honey is way too sweet. I suggest using half that (2 tablespoons) and I also prefer brown sugar in this recipe.
- Marinade time is 1-3 hours, but up to 24 is fine. As little as 30 minutes will get fairly good results.
- Do Not rinse off the marinade.
- Be sure to reserve and refrigerate half the marinade at the beginning. Never reuse a marinade.
- To do this well, you need to know your grill surface temperature. But you must use an instant-read thermometer to determine the end-point.
Check Out Other Great Recipes
Nutrition is generally for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Originally Published August 13, 2011
Molly after running.
Cynthia
You don’t even put the left over chipotle peppers in a blender, just cut them in half if they are big and put them in ice cube trays with some of the sauce, freeze and then put in a freezer bag. No one should be throwing away anything that can be eaten.
Karen
We’ve made several of your pork tenderloin recipes. So far, this is the best…delicious!
Bill
“When the internal temp is 140, moved tenderloin to the boat. About 20-25 minutes of grill time seal the foil tightly and allow to rest for 10 minutes.” Two questions:
1) I’m assuming it’s only on the grill once for 20-25 min, and not at all after you put it in the boat, correct?
2) That 2nd half of the marinade that goes into the boat… not refrigerated, correct? Or at least not cold when it goes into the boat?
Thanks… looks delish.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Bill,
Welcome to the blog.
I just changed the wording to make my intent more clear. Sorry about that.
1) yep, just get it to about 140. If you want some solid pink in your pork, you can stop at 135.
2) the total volume of the marinade you are adding near the end is low so it will have almost no effect on the temperature. So it can go in cold or you can set it out of the refrigerator when you take out the marinaded meat.
Hope that clarifies.
Dan
Pat bunn
Best pork tenderloin I have ever made.
DrDan
Alton does a nice tenderloin.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Jill
Tried this last night and it was nothing short of fabulous. Great take on pork tenderloin. Love the method! I trust every recipe Alton Brown publishes too so I am surprised I missed this. This is my first visit to your blog, but won’t be the last!
Rich
Dr Dan, You mentioned your struggle with the chipotles in adobo. I have an Alton-esque way of using them. Lets say you use one pepper, and there are five left. Dump all five in the blender, along with their sauce. Puree them, then pour into five cells in an ice-cube tray. Freeze, and store them in a plastic bag. Each cube is then equal to one chipotle pepper. Even when frozen they are a little soft, but they last a while and their flavor is preserved well. Thanks for your article!
DrDan
Thanks for the idea. Alton is doing a roadshow now and he was 35 miles away but I was working this week… Shucks.
Dan