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This honey garlic pork tenderloin marinade made the juiciest, most tender pork tenderloin I have ever barbecued up! Marinate the pork tenderloin all day (or overnight) to saturate it with flavor, and you will taste it for yourself!
Why I Think You’ll Love This Recipe!
- There is no heavy sauce here; this light marinade packs flavor, not sugar.
- You can cook this on the BBQ or in the oven; the choice is up to you!
- Make leftovers for the next day and make a pork tenderloin sandwich.
Pork Tenderloin in the Oven or BBQ
I have converted my family to the amazing world of pork tenderloin. We bought the packs at Costco ( truly the best place for the largest, best pork tenderloins ever), and it was on like Donkey Kong from that moment on. I knew that I wanted to barbecue them instead of using my oven in the summertime heat—and let’s face it, there’s nothing like that BBQ flavor when it comes to cooking pork tenderloin.
Pork Tenderloin is NOT Pork Loin
A common misconception is that pork tenderloin and pork loin are the same cut of meat. They are not. Pork tenderloins are very small and a much more tender cut of pork. Check out the photo of me holding the cooked tenderloin above.
Pork loin is much larger, like what is used in our pork loin roast recipe!
Mike’s Tips & Tricks for a Great Pork Tenderloin Marinade
- When you have a pork tenderloin, you do NOT need to tenderize it with a lot of acids to break up tough fibers. As I mentioned in my very popular Steak Marinade Recipe, acid can actually toughen up meat if you leave it too long! I have some lime juice for flavor in this marinade, not for tenderizing purposes.
- This was left overnight so that the flavor could soak in, which was perfect. The soy sauce and garlic really penetrate the meat and add a lot of flavor that stays.
- You can cook this on the BBQ or in the oven; the choice is up to you!
How long is it safe to marinate pork?
You can safely marinate pork in the refrigerator for up to two days. If you are going to marinate it this long, leave the lime or lemon juice out, it will toughen the meat too much. Mix it into the pork mixture a few hours before cooking for the acidic bite of flavor.
The most important tip? MAKE EXTRA! This is a large pork tenderloin marinade recipe and this makes the BEST cold pork sandwiches the day after! It’s two meals in one!
Happy cooking everyone! Hope you love this, it has become a staple in the household! And if you have any tips on where else to find great pork tenderloin other than Costco, leave a comment letting us know!
Enjoy!
Mike
Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin Marinade
Ingredients
Pork Tenderloin Marinade
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 6-8 tablespoons liquid honey
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
Pork
- 2-3 pork tenderloin
Instructions
- Combine all of the marinade ingredients together.
- Place the tenderloin in a large sealing plastic bag and pour the marinade over top. Seal the bag then swish the marinade around to coat the pork.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat your oven or BBQ to 350 °F.
- Cook in the oven or on the BBQ until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 140 °F. Remove, place on a plate and tent with tinfoil for 10 minutes. The internal temp will rise to over 145°F. Slice and serve.
Notes
- add more honey for a sweeter marinade
Nutrition
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Sarah S says
I love the idea of using honey in the marinade but is there a substitute for soy sauce since we are allergic to soy. Could I use Worcestershire, and would lemon or lime be better if I did?
Crystal says
Hi there – I have a pork loin marinating in the fridge for dinner tonight. When you cook it in the oven, do you wrap or cover with foil, or just roast it uncovered? Also, is it necessary to turn the meat partway through cooking time?
Catharine says
Delish! Marinated for 48 hrs then grilled on my Ninja Foodi XL Grill following their Pork Tenderloin instructions Turned out amazing
Kim says
Failed. Wasn’t good at all. Marinade combination was odd. Pork wasted.
Sonia J. says
I liked this recipe, my boys not so much. They thought it had too much lime. I went according to the recipe.
Sonia J. says
Can this recipe be done in a crock pot? Thinking it can but might need more sauce made from marinade. And if so, do I simmer it down w/ juices from port once it’s sitting before serving? And how long in pot 4 hrs low? I’ve been panning recipes to come up with a good one. This sounds great!
Patricia says
I am confused. Is this recipe for 2 to 3 pork tenderloins, or 2-3 pounds of pork tenderloin?
Karlynn Johnston says
It’s for 2-3 tenderloins, of whatever size you have ! They won’t vary in size much!
becky says
Can you tell me what size tenderloins you used, if you made this recipe? I have a 8.19 pound pork loin. I can’t imagine making 2-3 tenderloins but perhaps they are much smaller. I was thinking of using half of it for this recipe and making my traditional pork bbq with the other half.
Cassi says
We love this marinade and even my picky kids eat with no fussing when I fix this as our meat. I am at this moment mixing a big batch to pour over some tenderloins before I freeze. Then I can just pull it out the day before and let thaw in the fridge while
It marinates. Easy!
Karlynn says
Yes! My kids can be terribly picky eaters and this is one recipe that they absolutely devour! I don’t always make th same recipes constantly because I have to develop new ones but this is one that we use all the time because I know that the kids will eat it!
Carol says
Do you use freshly squeezed lime or bottled.
Quentine Acharya says
Hi Karlynn: I plan to try out your recipe – but you do not mention preheating the oven for baking the tenderloin – I assume it would be at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes?
Thanks for clarifying. Tina A.
mpscott531@msn.com says
Best marinade ever for tenderloin
Joe says
Can you inject into regular pork loin instead of marinating?
Jacques says
We followed the recipe and cooked on the smoker in hickory pallets at 225 F for 3hrs until temp reached 180. We are very happy with the finished product.The meat had lots of flavour and very juicy.We topped one of the tenderloin with sweet baby rays barbecue sauce and it was very good.We will certainly be using this recipe again.Thank You so much for sharing.
Mickey says
Do you add salt or pepper at any point to this?
Karlynn says
no, the soy sauce is so salty by itself that you absolutely don’t need any more salt. You can add pepper but the other flavours are so strong in this it would get lost.
Disnns says
How much honey and what type of garlic salt and pepper. Cooking.on the cook what temp and how long
JoAnne says
I am prepping this then freezing them in the marinade. Voilà, an easy supper on a busy night, especially when using the instant pot!
Steve says
Hi ,
One question……….
Do you cook the tenderloin in the marinade ,or do you discard it?
I have read recipes where you can do both .
Thanks
Steve in Fl.
Cynthia Taffet says
Hi interested in preparing this marinade but what is liquid honey? Is there particular type i should purchase from the supermarket
Thanks Cyn
Karlynn says
hi Cynthia, it’s just honey in its liquid form which makes it easier to mix into a marinade. When you use solid honey that you scoop out it doesn’t mix into the marinade well at all especially since it’s usually room temperature or colder. If you have solid honey just heat it up until it’s a liquid and mix it in. Hope you love the recipe it’s honestly my favorite marinade for pork!
Karlynn says
We almost always BBQ this so we discard. You could cook it in some marinade in the oven, the marinade would boil and kill any bacteria so it would be safe to do. Or, save some fresh marinade aside and use it to baste when cooking! I find that an overnight marinate saturates it enough though.
Michele says
What if I can’t marinate overnight? How much time do I need to get a nice result, if I have only 3 to 4 hours.
Karlynn says
3 to 4 hours it’s still a pretty good soak for a marinade, I’d give it a try! The 24-hours soak time means that the flavor really sinks in though.
April says
This looks to easy to be true! I also love Costco pork tenderloins, those big packs are the beat! Thanks for another great recipe, I’m trying this tomorrow for Sunday dinner.