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    🏠Home » Recipes » Pork Tenderloin Recipes

    Cinnamon Honey Grilled Pork Tenderloin

    Apr 12, 2010 | Last Updated Mar 30, 2021 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4 from 2 votes

    Cinnamon Honey Grilled Pork Tenderloin is packed with great cinnamon and honey taste. With these easy-to-follow step-by-step photo instructions, you can make this fork-tender tenderloin. Life is good.

    cut pork tenderloin on white plate

    Table of Contents
    • 🐖Pork Tenderloin
    • ♨️The Grill
    • 🥣The Brine
    • 📖Pork Tenderloin Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📖Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    We all love great grill pork, and pork tenderloin is just made for the small household. You generally get 2 large or 4 small servings. And it always is great for leftovers or a salad topping.

    But the same old, same old tastes need to be replaced with a change of pace at times. Well, this is it. Enjoy a different taste in a tenderloin.

    This is an highly modified adaptation of an oven recipe at Well Seasoned.

    My Rating

    My rating system of a 4 out of 5 so very nice.

    I'm talking cut with your fork-tender here. Very cinnamon tasting.

    🐖Pork Tenderloin

    loacation of pork tenderloin - Image licensed May 17, 2017, from Fotolia. Copyright by foxysgraphic - Fotolia. Image modified in accordance with the license.
    Image licensed from Fotolia. Copyright by foxysgraphic - Fotolia. Image modified in accordance with the license.

    The pork tenderloin refers to the psoas muscle along the lower back of the pig. The psoas is the most tender cut since it is not used for movement.

    While it is close to the pork loin, it is not the same. The tenderloin is much smaller and is cooked much differently.

    So if your "tenderloin" is over 2 pounds and more than 2 inches in diameter, it is pork loin. Most pork tenderloins will not be close to 2 pounds and usually are about 1 ½ inches in diameter.

    Most of the time, tenderloins are sold in "two packs" meaning there are usually two in the package. This recipe talks about cooking just one of those tenderloins.

    ♨️The Grill

    This not a recipe for high-temperature cooking. You need to cook the meat and not burn the surface with the sugar coating. Also, I oiled the grill very well, and I had no sticking issues.

    The grill surface temperature should be at or about 450°. See A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill for more complete information.

    🥣The Brine

    You can skip the brine with a little loss in tenderness but not much since it is very tender anyways—your choice.

    This uses a basic brine for pork of 2 cups water, 2 tablespoons salt, and 1 tablespoon sugar. You can brine for 1-4 hours.

    If you do the brine, rinse well before the marinade, and DO NOT add the optional salt to the marinade.

    📖Pork Tenderloin Recipes

    How to Grill a Pork Tenderloin on a Gas Grill

    Alton Browns Chipotle Lime Pork Tenderloin

    Grilled Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Grill Recipes, Pork Recipes, Pork Tenderloin Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    trimmed pork tenderloin on black board

    Trim tenderloin of silver skin and any covering membranes or solid fat.

    adding a pork tenderlion to a bag of brine in a metal bowl

    In a 1-gallon zip lock bag, mix the brine of water, salt, and sugar. Add tenderloin. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Place in a bowl and refrigerate, ensuring all the meat is covered for 1-4 hours.

    mixing honey glaze in a small bowl

    Mix marinade ingredients in a small bowl.  Skip the salt if the brine is used. Hint: heat the one teaspoon measure with hot water before measuring honey, and it will come off easier.

    brushing the pork tenderloin with the honey glaze

    Layout a sheet of plastic wrap large enough to easily encase the pork. Remove tenderloin from brine, rinse well and pat dry. Place it about ⅓ from the edge of the plastic, brush with marinade.

    honey pork tenderloin in plastic wrap

    Roll the meat over, and be sure to cover every bit of the tenderloin. Wrap tightly with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

    placing the pork tenderloin on the grill

    Preheat grill to grill surface temperature of 450°. Clean grates well and oil extremely well.

    pork tenderloin on the grill cooking

    Grill with lid closed. Rotate the tenderloin by ⅓ every 5 minutes. Cook until an internal temp is 145°-150°. About 20-25 minutes.

    cooked pork tenderloin on a white plate

    Remove from grill and let sit for 5-10 minutes, cut and serve.

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    📖Recipe

    pork tenderloin cut on plate

    Cinnamon Honey Grilled Pork Tenderloin

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Cinnamon Honey Grilled Pork Tenderloin is packed with great cinnamon and honey taste. With these easy to follow step by step photo instructions, you can make this fork tender tenderloin. Life is good.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4 from 2 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 3 hours
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 4

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 1 pork tenderloin

    Brine (optional)

    • 2 cups water - cold
    • 2 tablespoons table salt
    • 1 tablespoon sugar

    Marinade

    • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon salt - Not if brining
    • ¼ teaspoon pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon cumin
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon honey

    Instructions

    • Trim tenderloin of silver skin and any covering membranes or solid fat.
      trimmed pork tenderloin on a red board
    • In a 1-gallon zip lock bag, mix the brine of water, salt, and sugar. Add tenderloin. Squeeze the air out of a bag and seal. Place in a bowl and refrigerate, making sure all the meat is covered for 1-4 hours.
      adding a pork tenderlion to a bag of brine in a metal bowl
    • Mix marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Skip the salt if the brine is used. Hint: heat the one teaspoon measure with hot water before measuring honey, and it will come off easier.
      mixing honey glaze in a small bowl
    • Layout a sheet of plastic wrap large enough to easily encase the tenderloin. Remove the pork from brine, rinse well, and pat dry. Place it about ⅓ from the edge of the plastic. Brush with marinade.
      brushing the pork tenderloin with the honey glaze
    • Roll the tenderloin over, and be sure to cover every bit of it. Wrap tightly with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
      honey pork tenderloin in plastic wrap
    • Preheat grill to grill surface temperature of 450°. Clean grates well and oil extremely well.
      placing the pork tenderloin on the grill
    • Grill with lid closed. Rotate the tenderloin by ⅓ every 5 minutes. Cook until the internal temp is 145°-150°. About 20-25 minutes.
      pork tenderloin on the grill cooking
    • Remove from grill and let sit for 5-10 minutes, cut, and serve.
      cooked pork tenderloin on a white plate
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

    My Private Notes

    Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips:

    1. Skip the brine if you like, this is very tender anyways.
    2. If you brine, be sure to rinse well and skip any further salt.
    3. Heat your measuring spoon for the honey in hot water before using it. Your life will be easier.
    4. The grill surface temperature needs to be in the 450° range. Please use a grill surface thermometer.
    5. Do not skip oiling the grill grates well; this will stick.
    6. When "flipping" a pork tenderloin, you roll it ⅓ of a rotation. It is triangular, not round or flat.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Calories : 562 kcal (28%) | Carbohydrates : 2 g (1%) | Protein : 94 g (188%) | Fat : 17 g (26%) | Saturated Fat : 6 g (30%) | Cholesterol : 295 mg (98%) | Sodium : 382 mg (16%) | Potassium : 1782 mg (51%) | Fiber : 1 g (4%) | Sugar : 1 g (1%) | Calcium : 47 mg (5%) | Iron : 5 mg (28%)
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Editor's Note: Originally published April 12, 2010. Updated with rewritten text, additional material, and re-edited photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Dr Dan

      April 19, 2010 at 9:51 am

      More cumin would make it more meat like. But with a sweet white wine, I will definitely do this again.

      Reply
    2. Chris

      April 18, 2010 at 7:55 pm

      Cinnamon, that's a spice I haven't thought of using with pork. Was it too strong? (Wondering about your "very cinnamon tasting" comment.)

      Reply

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