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    🏠Home » Recipes » Pork Tenderloin Recipes

    How to Grill a Pork Tenderloin on a Gas Grill

    Jan 13, 2022 | Last Updated Apr 6, 2022 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.47 from 149 votes

    This super easy tutorial teaches the secrets to juicy and tender grilled pork tenderloin. A properly grilled pork tenderloin will make you look like the grill master. Just don't tell them how simple it is.

    grilled tenderloin cut to show done interior

    Table of Contents
    • 🐖About Pork Tenderloin
    • 👨‍🍳How to Grill a Pork Tenderloin
    • 🌡️Levels of Cooked Pork (Doneness)
    • How to Serve and Store Grilled Pork Tenderloin.
    • 📖 Pork Tenderloin Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📖Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    We all know that pork is "the other white meat." What a great marketing phrase. And it has a little truth in it since it is a lean cut of meat but still more fat than chicken breast meat. It is perfect for a keto diet and fits nicely into most lower-fat diets.

    Pork tenderloin may be the perfect meat for grilling. It can be elegant or casual to fit almost any occasion. It’s cheap and healthy, plus its smaller size makes it near perfect for smaller households. But easy to double up for larger needs.

    So let's learn how to cook pork tenderloin to perfection on your grill—the best way to cook any pork.

    My Rating

    My rating system. Great 5 out of 5

    Always a nice solid high-4 to mid-5. This is the basic technique and produces excellent results.

    🐖About Pork Tenderloin

    location of pork tenderloin on a chart of a pig - 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 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 the most tender cut since they are not used for movement.

    A pork loin is not the same as a pork tenderloin. They are different cuts of meat and do not cook the same.

    If you are not sure, just the size will tell you. The tenderloin usually weighs about 1 to 1 ½ pounds. A huge one could push towards 2 pounds. If you think you have a four-pound tenderloin, you are mistaken.

    👨‍🍳How to Grill a Pork Tenderloin

    Setup the grill.

    Preheat a gas grill to 450* surface temperature (400° to 500° range), cleaned, and oil the grates. You can use a charcoal grill but need to control the surface temperature. See A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill for more information.

    Prepare the pork tenderloin for the grill.

    Trim the tenderloin—most will have a "silver skin" that should be removed. It is some tough connective tissue. I work a finger or butter knife under it and work it off. I generally do use a sharp knife a bit for the silverskin.

    Should I brine?

    Brine is not needed but will add more moisture and tenderness. But realize it is already very tender and moist. If you do brine, do not season with additional salt.

    To brine, a good starting point is to add 1 tablespoon of salt and seal it in a food storage bag for every cup of water.

    You can fancy up your brine, some with sugar or brown sugar. Use about the same amount of sugar as salt. You can add some garlic or other things for flavor. An hour or two is enough time.

    Of course, refrigerate during the brining and rinse the tenderloin with running water, and pat dry at the end.

    How to season the tenderloin for the grill.

    Tenderloin takes flavor very well, so dry rubs and marinades work great.

    Just use some salt, pepper, and garlic like my All Purpose Seasoning - 7:2:1 and 7:2:2, but use the seasoning of your choice.

    To make it BBQ, brush with a light coat of BBQ sauce for about 5 minutes before reaching your final temperature. Then, a second coat when removed from the grill to rest.

    If you plan to add sauce, account for that with your dry seasoning.

    How to cook the pork tenderloin on the grill?

    Grill over direct heat. Rotate the pork tenderloin every 4-5 minutes. Some grillers will recommend indirect heat, but it is not needed.
    t
    The biggest secret about pork tenderloins is that it is not round, flat, or even square. It is a triangle, so there are three sides. 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.

    What is the grilling time for a pork tenderloin on a grill?

    It will take about 25 minutes to grill a 1 ½ pound pork tenderloin. But this will vary with the size and thickness of the tenderloin and the exact grill temperature.

    Most tenderloins are about 1 ½ pounds. Smaller ones may be as little as 15-20 minutes. Larger ones, about 2 pounds, may take 30 minutes or a bit longer.

    But always remember to cook to a final internal temperature and never by time.

    When is the pork tenderloin done?

    The pork is done at a minimum of 145° internal temperature in the thickest part. According to the USDA, that is the minimum safe internal temperature with a 3-minute rest after cooking.

    You must check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer or other meat thermometer.

    🌡️Levels of Cooked Pork (Doneness)

    Cooked Pork LevelInternal Temperature
    RareNot recommended
    Medium-Rare145°-150°
    Medium150°-155°
    Medium-Well155°-160°
    Well Done160°+
    For pork chops, pork loin, and pork tenderloin.

    How to Serve and Store Grilled Pork Tenderloin.

    Side dishes are always hard to choose. I suggest vegetables like Grilled Mixed Vegetables or Grilled Asparagus make an excellent side dish. We like to have potatoes of some type like Grilled Baby Potatoes. And fresh salad goes with everything.

    Brown Sugar Cinnamon Glazed Grilled Pineapple is a great dessert served with ice cream.

    What to do with leftover grilled pork tenderloin?

    Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days and reheated in a microwave. I live to slice up cold leftovers on a green salad.

    📖 Pork Tenderloin Recipes

    The Best BBQ Pork Tenderloin - Memphis Style

    Grilled Bacon Wrapped Pork Medallions

    Grilled Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin

    Oven Fried Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

    Alton Browns Chipotle Lime Pork Tenderloin

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

    101's Best Recipes, Grill Recipes, Grilling Techniques, Pork Recipes, Pork Tenderloin Recipes, Top Grilled Recipes
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    Editor's note: Some images from different grillings may not match exactly. They are provided to illustrate the instructions.

    trimmed pork tenderloin on a red board

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

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

    Optional Brine: Start with 4 cups of water with 4 tablespoons salt in a food-storage plastic bag. Add 2-4 tablespoons of sugar if you want. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. When done with the brine, remove from brine, rinse under running water, and pat dry. Salt and black pepper or other seasonings at this point, but DO NOT ADD SALT if you brine.

    clean and oil grill crates

    Preheat the grill to a surface temperature of 450° to 500°—medium-high on most grills. Clean and oil grates well.

    grilled pork tenderloin still on the grill grates

    Place over direct heat—close the lid. Rotate ⅓ every 5 minutes until done to your liking. About 25 minutes for 145°, but do not cook by time alone—use a thermometer. The time to get to your final temperature varies by weight and the exact surface temperature of the grill.

    sliced pork tenderloin on a wooden board

    Remove from the grill a few degrees less than your desired final temperature. Tent lightly for 5 minutes before serving.

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    📖Recipe

    grilled tenderloin cut to show done interior

    How to Grill a Pork Tenderloin on a Gas Grill

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    This super easy tutorial teaches the secrets to juicy and tender grilled pork tenderloin. A properly grilled pork tenderloin will make you look like the grill master. Just don't tell them how simple it is.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.47 from 149 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 4

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 1 pork tenderloin - about 1 ½ pounds
    • Kosher salt and pepper to taste - I use 7:2:2

    Optional Brine

    • 4 cups water
    • 4 tablespoons kosher salt
    • 3 tablespoons sugar

    Instructions

    • Trim the tenderloin of any excess fat and the silver skin.
      trimmed pork tenderloin on a red board
    • Optional Brine: Start with 4 cups of water with 4 tablespoons salt in a food-storage plastic bag. Add 2-4 tablespoons of sugar if you want. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. When done with the brine, remove from brine, rinse under running water, and pat dry. Salt and black pepper or other seasonings at this point, but DO NOT ADD SALT if you brine.
      adding a pork tenderlion to a bag of brine in a metal bowl
    • Preheat the grill to a surface temperature of 450° to 500°—medium-high on most grills. Clean and oil grates well.
      clean and oil grill crates
    • Place over direct heat—close the lid. Rotate ⅓ every 5 minutes until done to your liking. About 25 minutes for 145°, but do not cook by time alone—use a thermometer. The time to get to your final temperature varies by weight and the exact surface temperature of the grill.
      grilled pork tenderloin still on the grill grates
    • Remove from the grill a few degrees less than your desired final temperature. Tent lightly for 5 minutes before serving.d
      sliced pork tenderloin on wood
    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. Remember it is triangular meat not round. So a flip is ⅓ of a rotation.
    2. Brine if you have time but results are still excellent without a brine.
    3. Cook over medium to medium-high heat. Use a grill surface thermometer to get 450° to 500°.
    4. Season any way you want but do not add more salt if you brined.
    5. The final internal temperature of 145°-150° is nicely done.

    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 : 177 kcal (9%) | Protein : 31 g (62%) | Fat : 5 g (8%) | Saturated Fat : 2 g (10%) | Polyunsaturated Fat : 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat : 2 g | Cholesterol : 96 mg (32%) | Sodium : 655 mg (27%) | Potassium : 540 mg (15%) | Vitamin A : 15 IU | Vitamin C : 1.7 mg (2%) | Calcium : 10 mg (1%) | Iron : 1.8 mg (10%)
    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.

    Publisher note: Originally Published May 21, 2017. I have re-used pictures from other posts. This is a total update of a guide I published the first year of the blog that was in great need of a rewrite.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Fufu

      May 28, 2022 at 3:47 pm

      5 stars
      Perfect! No brining or marinating. Just rubbed on olive oil garlic and rosemary. Served with homemade rhubarb chutney. Tis the season. OMG yum.

      Reply
    2. Jonny

      May 13, 2022 at 6:39 am

      5 stars
      I made this and it was fantastic. It was an easy but delicious Mother’s Day lunch made wen we got home from church. I did the brine while we were out and then seasoned with black pepper and crushed rosemary. I also used Hickory wood chips in a smoke box for added smoke flavor.

      Roasted Brussel sprouts in a foil pack as a side.

      Thanks Dr. Dan!

      Reply
    3. Don

      October 09, 2021 at 10:58 am

      Do you cook the Pork Tenderloin over Direct heat and the Indirect? Or over Direct heat the entire time at 450 ish?

      Thanks

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        October 09, 2021 at 11:09 am

        Hi Don,

        Welcome to the blog.

        Direct heat entirely in the 450°range. The grill surface temperature is the most important part in getting the correct internal temperature with nice color on the outside without burning.

        You could sear than go indirect but that complicates the process needlessly.

        Dan

    4. chris

      May 09, 2021 at 10:28 pm

      have used the recipe twice, both turned out great, thanks!

      Reply
    5. Peter

      November 24, 2020 at 2:39 pm

      5 stars
      I make it based on time. Tenderloins don’t vary that much in size. Employ direct and indirect methods. Works with gas or charcoal(full chimney). Place over direct high heat. Rotating until a slight char all the way around. Move to the indirect side, close the lid and wait 18 minutes. Remove and rest for 5. Beautiful medium-well.

      Reply
    6. Lew Lowther

      September 02, 2020 at 1:27 pm

      I tried your conversion to metric option. It converted cups-to-ml, but did nothing with pounds or tablespoons in the recipe, nor did it make any changes whatsoever in the Instructions, most notably temperature! Dunno if the recipe is any good. The half-baked attempt at making it accessible was enough to put me off.

      Reply
    7. TB

      June 12, 2020 at 6:51 pm

      5 stars
      Just made on weber 1200 gas grill. I have never had better or more tender. i marinated overnight did not brine. (Used soy sauce, garlic, maple syrup, horse radish, olive oil) The PL we bought was cut in half length wise. I did 3 min. on larger sides (I was afraid 5 min would be too long), then propped them up against a rolled up piece of foil to do 2+ min on thin sides. placed foil under tapered end once it reached 130 degrees while larger end continued to come up to 130. Then tented off grill 5min. to rest. 140 degrees was perfect.

      Reply
    8. Mark

      June 01, 2020 at 2:41 pm

      5 stars
      Great recipe easy to follow directions Taste fantastic

      Reply
    9. Lenny

      January 23, 2020 at 5:54 pm

      You said:
      "For me, I use a super-duper Weber that can get very hot, and that will be a small amount over 50%."

      50% of what?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        January 23, 2020 at 5:59 pm

        Hi Lenny,
        Welcome to the blog.
        50% means only halfway on the knob. So 50% power to the burner.
        Hope that helps. Please ask if you have other questions.
        Dan

    10. T. Charles

      October 17, 2019 at 7:23 pm

      I make a cream sauce out of creamed corned to place on the bottom of the plate, then place grilled pork medallion on top. Sides of fresh colorful vegetables, bean, red pepper, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, taters, onions, etc.

      Reply
    11. Janet Mince

      September 14, 2019 at 6:37 pm

      5 stars
      Excellent instructions and easy to follow! Used a pre-seasoned pork loin but wrapped in bacon just because I can. Lol. Turned out great and didn't overcook.

      Reply
    12. Ron

      July 15, 2018 at 5:49 pm

      Dr. Dan
      I used the thin copper grill mate on top of the grates to keep from getting direct flames. Grilled it until the tenderloin reached 145 and let it rest 10 minutes. Turned out awesome. You did a great job explaining all of the needed details. 👍 5

      Reply
    13. Todd

      June 23, 2018 at 4:21 pm

      Can I wrap it in aluminum foil and grill it

      Reply
      • DrDan

        June 23, 2018 at 4:27 pm

        No, I would not with this recipe/instructions. You probably should look around for somebody that uses foil that way. I have not, so can't really discuss it. But this works great without foil.
        Dan

    14. Marc Guerin

      June 12, 2018 at 3:11 pm

      I’m adding garlic salt and smoked paprika to my brine. Hopefully it will taste good when I cook it

      Reply
    15. Katie Perry

      August 13, 2017 at 8:27 pm

      Dr. Dan, I hope you can advise me in regard to converting a pan-sear-then-roast pork tenderloin recipe to the grill. Ina Garten has a lovely "Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloin" recipe on Food Network's site that I'm crazy about. In Arizona, turning the oven on in the summer is really bad for your electric bill. Can you foresee any particular deviations to your instruction given that I have two tenderloins (approximately 1.1 lbs) and they will be marinated in a lemon/olive oil/fresh garlic + herb mixture? I like my tenderloin on the pinker side, so the grilling aspect makes me nervous. I would appreciate any wisdom in this regard as I want to make it for my special someone as a welcome home.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        August 13, 2017 at 8:50 pm

        Hi Katie,

        I see two choices for the grill.

        First her recipe up to but not including the searing. At that point, my instructions after a brush of oil on the tenderloin. You need to keep the surface temperature 400-450. It should take about 20-25 minutes.

        Option #2. Is to use a large grill pan or cast iron skillet. Preheat it on the grill and then sear and finish in the pan.

        Both options require you know the surface temperature of the grill accurately. The biggest mistake people make is not knowing their grill temp. So a $10 grill surface thermometer from Home Depot or Amazon should be fine. I use a $200 plus one from Thermoworks. Also, a instant read meat thermometer.

        Personally, I would do #1.

        Also for important meals, I never, never, never use a new technique. A trial run is indicated here. You have variables of the grill surface temp, the movement of air in the grill, the wt and thickness of the tenderloin. Yep, a trial run first.

        Hope that helps
        Dan

    16. Janice

      May 21, 2017 at 6:34 pm

      I LOVE your commentary about Pork Tenderloin / Chicken Tenders & Filet Mignon!! Great info I've never heard anyone explain so clearly!!!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        May 21, 2017 at 6:59 pm

        Hi Janice,
        I think I played too much "name that muscle" 40 yrs ago in med school. But some muscles like the psoas are more for positioning then strength or movement. The more the muscle is used, the tougher it becomes. I couldn't find a good diagram that I could legally use so I used one I had and drew in the tenderloin.
        Thanks for the comment. I just finished cooking this again tonight and my wife gave another 5.
        Dan

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