Ginger-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

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I like to have pork tenderloin around as much as possible.  In addition to being a tasty, lean protein, one tenderloin is a perfect portion for the two of us, my husband eating just a bit more than me.  Like chicken breasts, they are very much a blank canvas, and benefit from a good marinade.

At some point last week, I remembered that in addition to the bazillion recipes I have saved in my Reader, my browser favorites, and in hard copy, I also had an online recipe box at Epicurious.  I started browsing the things I’d saved, and came across this one.  It worked especially well because the ingredients are pantry staples for me, so this recipe was easy to whip up when we were a little short on groceries.   I keep ginger root in the freezer so I always have it around.  Just peel and grate the portion you need and store it back in there for another meal.

I made the marinade for this during my lunch and then marinated the pork for a couple hours.  The flavor definitely came through, but feel free to marinate this overnight as I’m sure it will be even better.  I didn’t reduce the sauce all the way down to 1/3 cup, but I do feel like there was a bit too much broth/sauce.  So I’ve reduced the amount of chicken broth below, which I think is a good idea, anyway, so the flavor of the ginger comes through even more.  We had this with mashed sweet potatoes and braised kale, which made delicious sides to this flavorful pork tenderloin.

Ginger-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Serves 2
Adapted from Gourmet

2/3 + 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth, divided
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp. ketchup or 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
3 Tbsp. finely grated, peeled fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 (3/4 lb.) pork tenderloin
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Whisk together 2/3 cup chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, ketchup, ginger, garlic, and vinegar.  Pour into a resealable bag and add the pork.   Marinate, chilled, turning occasionally, for 2 hours or more.

Bring the tenderloin to room temperature, about an  hour.

Put oven rack in the middle and preheat the oven to 425.

Pat the tenderloin dry, and reserve the marinade.   Season the tenderloin to taste with salt and pepper if  you want to (I always do this  before cooking meats, even if they are marinated.  Just go easy on the salt.) Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat (cast iron works wonderfully) and add the oil.  Place the tenderloin in the hot skillet and sear on all sides., 3-5 minutes total.  Place the tenderloin in the oven to finish cooking, about 15 minutes or until it registers at 150 degrees.  Place the tenderloin on a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let the tenderloin rest for about 10 minutes before slicing it.

Meanwhile, pour the marinade through a strainer and into a saucepan. Add the remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth, and bring the mixture to a boil.  Boil until reduced to 1/3 cup, about 10 minutes. Serve the sliced tenderloin with the sauce.

Ginger-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

17 thoughts on “Ginger-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

  1. Sometimes I try to forget all of the places where I have recipes bookmarked…it just kind of makes my head hurt to think about it. Epicurious is one such location but I don’t think I’ve come across this one yet. I’m on a serious ginger kick lately…definitely need to give it a try!

  2. We eat a lot of pork tenderloin, for exactly the reasons you stated. It is so versatile and pairs nicely with many flavors. This looks like a great marinade! Thank you for the ginger tip as well! I always end up throwing away the extra ginger unless I am going to use it again soon. I will definitely start storing it in the freezer!

    1. Cindy, how do you store it? I just leave it whole, wrap in plastic, and then store that in a ziplock bag. When I need to use it I just peel it (with a veg peeler) and just grate it, from frozen. I suppose it’s a tiny bit more watery than normal, but not a big difference, and it definitely seems to work well for my purposes.

  3. I didn’t know what I missing out on not using port tenderloin more often. This looks very simple and tasty. I’ll definitely try it for one of our mid-week meals next week. Thanks

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