Nothing is more fulfilling than sitting by a campfire enjoying comfort food made from a grill. Since we live in a strange time (COVID 19 Shelter in Place) rather than throw down on my camp kitchen in the middle of nature… I had to settle for grilling in my backyard with my Char-Griller Super Pro. I’ll do a full review on my grill at a later time, but today’s focus is BBQ Pork Tenderloin. Just the word, “tenderloin” already omits images of fatty juiciness paired with tender strips of lean pork. So go ahead and indulge in my step by step recipe to create one of my favorite camp site delicacies.
Ingredients:
2 to 4 lbs of pork tenderloin strips
The Marinade
1 Cup of Soy Sauce
Half Cup of Ketchup
2/3 Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Hoisen Sauce
2/3 Honey
2 Tea Spoons Chili Powder
Half Cup of Dry Sherry
The secret sauce, as they say is what makes this dish. The marinade locks in the flavor profile of the pork tenderloin and just the right amount of sweetness and saltiness is all that’s needed to excite your taste buds. Start by placing your marinade along with the pork ribs into a zip lock bag and let it soak in the fridge for 24 hours.
Now that your pork tenderloins have been fully drowned in the marinade… take it out for about 30 to 45 minutes before grilling. Room temperature is your friend when it comes to BBQ’ing meat. Fire up your grill to about 400 degrees and you’re ready to rock and roll! Place your tenderloins on the grill gates at a slight angle. This comes in handy if you’re looking to create grill marks on your meat. It’s not necessary, but somewhat satisfying especially if you’re doing it for The Gram!
While the pork tenderloins are sizzling on your grill… don’t forget to turn and baste them every 3 to 5 min. You’re looking for an internal temperature of no more than 140 degrees. Now to setup the foundation for this meal. You’re gonna need to get some bread rolls that will saturate in a garlic butter spread:
Garlic Butter Spread
Butter
Cilantro
Garlic
Green Onion
Salt & Pepper
Siracha
Chop up your garlic, cilantro and green onions. Add a handful or two with your butter. Season with salt and pepper and squeeze on the Siracha depending on how spicy you like it. Mix all the ingredients together to create a devilishly good spread that will be applied to your bread rolls like frosting and will head spread down on the grill to allow the buttery goodness to soak into the bread roll!
Now that you’ve got your protein and base layers set… it’s time to add one last item to the fixings: Broccoli Slaw.
Broccoli Slaw
Mayo
Rice Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper
Pepper Corns (grinded)
Take some mayo (Japanese mayo if you have it) and generously add it to the slaw base. Half a cup of rice wine vinegar… salt and pepper to taste and the kicker, grinned pepper corns. Mix this all together and the slaw will act as a filler with the pork tenderloins and dinner rolls.
When your pork hits 140 it’s time to pull them off the grill and let them rest for 10 minutes before carving out chunks that will sit a top your BBQ sandwich! The dinner rolls should be heated via blacktop, oven or grill to melt the garlic butter into the bread and then you take some mayo and squirt a little bit in the center of your bun… scoop a little bit of marinade on top of the mayo… smash some broccoli slaw next and the final piece is to stack the juicy pork cuts on top of the slaw. Once you’ve done all that — take a step back and enjoy your masterpiece. Let your senses take in the smell and sight of this BBQ Pork Sandwich. Take that first bite and let me know what you think! This is a great recipe for sharing around the campsite and hearty enough to put anyone in a food coma after a long day of camping, glamping or backyard shenanigans.
