Lotsa Grillin'! Dry-Rubbed Tenderloins with Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce

Why is it that guys love grilling? I don't know the answer to that, but I do know it means less cooking for me! Here's a look at our new grill:

I had a small Weber grill for camping, and loved it. This full size version is amazing (it's a Weber One Touch Gold series). We are still using our regular gas grill for most things, but the Weber is built for smoking meats. You simply can not get the same flavor from a gas grill. This grill also takes more time to cook things, which we are still trying to feel out. I took this next picture without the smoking box however:

Last night's meal was definitely a grill-centric one. We had Dry-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce (only we bought a beef tenderloin by accident -oops!), fire roasted red bell peppers, and Grilled Banana S’mores for dessert. The only thing not grilled last night was the potato salad!

The fire roasted tomato sauce reminded me of a Chimichurri sauce. As I already noted, this recipe was meant for a pork loin, but we used a beef tenderloin instead. Tasted just as delicious however! It's rare one of my first-time-trail-meals is received as well as this one last night. A definite repeat. It wasn't the quickest meal in the books, but well worth the preparation (and most of the prep was getting the grill up to correct temp). I was amazed at how different vegetables that I know well tasted fire-roasted. It's mind blowing how the fire blackened and blistered veggies tasted so much sweeter.

Now, onto the recipes so you can experience this meal yourself -and I strongly suggest you do! I will include the changes I made at the bottom. These recipes are taken from Weber.com.

Dry-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce


Sauce:
8 ripe plum tomatoes, stems removed
1 jalapeño chile pepper, stem and seeds removed
1/2 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup roughly chopped red onion
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper


Rub:
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pure chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice


2 pork tenderloins, each about 1 pound, trimmed of excess fat and silver skin
Extra-virgin olive oil

-Prepare the grill for direct cooking over high heat (450° to 550°F).

-Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the tomatoes and jalapeño over direct high heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until blackened and blistered in spots, turning as needed. The tomatoes will take 4 to 6 minutes and the jalapeño will take 2 to 3 minutes. Put the tomatoes and jalapeño in a food processor along with the remaining sauce ingredients, and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the sauce to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

-In a small bowl mix the rub ingredients.

-Lightly brush the tenderloins on all sides with oil and season evenly with the rub, pressing the spices into the meat. Allow the tenderloins to stand at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes before grilling. Reduce the temperature of the grill to medium heat (350° to 450°F).

-Grill the tenderloins over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until the pork is barely pink in the center, 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Remove from the grill and let rest for 3 to 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with the sauce.
 

So, the only things I changed (other than the protein), was that I cut this recipe in 1/2, but left the 1 jalapeño intact -seeds too!, and probably added a little more red onion than called for a 1/2 recipe. The result was very spicy - but I like it that way. However, the sauce did taste better mixed in with a little sour cream on the side- at least the way I made it. Plus, the recipe just states "chile powder" -which isn't very specific- so I chose to use Ancho Chile powder. We also utilized the smoker box on the grill to cook the meat, filled with Whiskey chips. This made the cook time a little longer, so account for that.

Spice rub mixture. 

Spice rub applied to meat. We let it sit for 8 hours in fridge.

Finished meat, plated over sauce, with sides.

 

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Tonight's dinner is just left overs in an effort to clean out the fridge, so I will leave the Grilled Banana S’mores recipe for tomorrow's post. That, my friends, is a truly tasty treat!