Chili Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Ginger Glaze

I know what you’re thinking…

Pork tenderloin again? Is that all you eat??

No, definitely not. My first love is chicken.

Are you getting kickbacks from the pork industry?

Wouldn’t that be nice? But, no.

Yes, this is the 5th pork loin recipe I’ve put out there. But I have to do it. I have to share when a recipe makes my mouth soooo happy. It uses a two-step flavor infusion (i.e. rub it now, sauce it later), which makes for an amazing, tender meat with a sweet and mildly spicy glaze.  The bonus? It’s so easy to do. Honestly, I find the hardest part about cooking sometimes is just having the right dang ingredients on hand! I had to borrow apricot preserves from my mamacita

There are three reasons I love cooking with pork tenderloin:
#1 It is LEAN. Three ounces contains just 3 grams of fat and has a whopping 22 grams of protein. The other white meat indeed!
#2 It is TENDER. My kids never, ever complain that it’s ‘chewy’ — their main complaint about lean cuts of beef.
#3 It is VERSATILE. You can morph this easy-going meat into any type of meal you want – sweet, savory, spicy – it all works. You can slice it, shred it, or chunk it. It works in chili, stew, soups, and is delicious as a protein shake (just kidding — paying attention?!)

Is my unabashed love for pork making you uneasy? Never mind, just take a gander at the recipe below, borrow critical ingredients from your neighbor, mom, pastor, or bestie, and get cooking!

Chili-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Ginger Glaze
Serves 8
Recipe from Allrecipes.com

2 – 1 pound pork tenderloins

Spice Rub:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups apricot preserves
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
Juice of one lime (or substitute ~2 tablespoons of lemon juice)

1) Place ingredients for the spice rub in a small bowl and combine well. Rub spice mixture onto tenderloins on all sides. Cover the meat and place in refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours.

2) While grill is heating up, melt the apricot preserves in saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in remaining glaze ingredients. Set aside half the glaze to serve alongside at mealtime.

3) Grill the tenderloins over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes (or for about 10 minutes on a George Foreman-type grill). When there is just 4 minutes of cooking time left, brush the meat with the glaze and cook for 2 minutes, then turn the meat and brush the other side with glaze, cooking for a final 2 minutes. Remove from grill when temperature reads a minimum of 145 degrees F.

4) Let the meat sit for 5 minutes before slicing. Brush with additional glaze if desired.

Tagged as: Apricot preserves, barbecue sauce, rubbed pork, why I love pork tenderloin