Jen’s Grilled Garlicky Herb Pork Tenderloin with Fennel and Orange Salad

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I’m so excited! I won a pair of skull food leggings from my favorite activewear company, Constantly Varied Gear, for healthy recipe contributions! I love these things! Perfect for CrossFit, chillaxing, and they’ll be my Animal Kingdom outfit the next time we go for a Dole Whip. Disney ready!

Pork tenderloin is a super lean cut that grills really fast. This tastes and smells wonderful. If you don’t have a grill, don’t let that stop you! Roast it at 425 degrees F to til the internal temp is 145. I’ve roasted it in the oven for a holiday dinner when I was entertaining before. It’s always a winner and silly easy! Hope you love it!

Jen’s Garlic and Herb Grilled Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin – mines 1 ½ pounds – perfect for 4 people
Check the tenderloin over for silverskin. Silverskin’s nobody’s friend. If it has silverskin, slide your knife tip under and remove it. And your tenderloin is trimmed.

Mix together and slather all over the tenderloin:
A smidge over 1 teaspoon salt – adjust up or down according to your tenderloin weight – about ¾ teaspoon per pound.
2 cloves garlic – pressed or minced
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Grill until the internal temp reaches 145 degrees F, rotating occasionally. That’s the USDA’s number. Mine took about 22 minutes. You want to go by the temp, not the time. Tent with aluminum foil and rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Any juice that comes out should be poured right back over it.

This is a lovely grilled salad with nice bright, balanced flavors. If you’re new to fennel, it has sort of a licorice taste resemblance. Hope you love it! If you have a juicer, don’t throw the stems of the fennel away. I’ll make a juice with them and post it tomorrow.

Jen’s Grilled Fennel, Orange, Onion, and Olive Salad

2 fennel bulbs – ends trimmed, stems cut off (save if you have a juicer. I’ll post recipe for those tomorrow!), cored, and sliced – save a few of the little fronds to garnish with.
Toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and grill til you have a little color and charring on them. Set aside while you prepare everything else.

Arrange with the grilled fennel in a big bowl:
4 oranges – peeled and sliced across into nice rounds
¼ red onion – sliced equator to equator
A scattering of olives

Drizzle with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar glaze, and a few grinds of black pepper. You don’t need additional salt – the fennel’s already salted and the olives are another salty element.

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This is my boning knife.

My favorite knife. It’s a 7″ full tang Santoku. Full tang just means that the blade runs the full length of the knife. The blade and handle aren’t two separate components, so there’s no breaking point. I chose the Ikon handle design, which is wonderfully ergonomic. I have spent hours on a produce sculpture before and my hand was just as comfy at the end. It’s worth the pennies.

Wusthof WU4176 Classic Ikon 7-Inch Santoku, Hollow Edge, Black

I get asked about my spice wall all the time. The magnetic tins on the wall are great for any spices or salt-free blends. Salt corrodes the tins, so anything with salt is in a glass jar on the counter underneath. Spices stay fresh for about 6 months to a year, so you don’t want more tins than you’ll use up in that time.