When I was teaching, pork tenderloins were always in my freezer. It seemed that I could always come up with a quick, easy dinner centered around them without too much thought or effort. Those of you with busy careers and families can relate to thank, I’m certain.
While grilled pork tenderloins with jerk seasoning have been my go-to preparation, I have pretty much been pleased with a number of others as well. This Pork Tenderloin in Hot Pepper Jelly was a surprise in just how delicious it turned out. And talk about easy! Don’t be concerned about it being too spicy either unless you add extra heat like I did by using a homemade habanero variety of jelly. For the most part, the hot pepper jelly that you buy in your local market won’t have much heat too it which makes this a perfect match for the little ones at your table as well.
Pork tenderloins using come with two pieces in a package. Since there are only two of us at home these days, I cut these in half, wrap them individually and freeze them. This is usually the perfect serving size for Hubby and me. Be sure you don’t confuse pork loin for pork tenderloin. The former is considerably larger and will not do well in this particular preparation.
Some of our other favorites include: Grilled Maple Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin on Smoked Gouda Grits (my mouth is watering just thinking about this one), CROCK POT WEDNESDAY and Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potatoes, and Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Salsa. I’d love to know if you give these a try.
- 1 pork tenderloin (approximately 1 1/2 - 2 pounds pounds)
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 cup pepper jelly*
- Allow the tenderloins to come to room temperature before cooking.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and set aside. My preference actually is to use my grill pan which I heat as the oven is preheating. By doing so, the tenderloin gets really nice grill marks.
- Rub the tenderloins with the olive oil. Rub with salt and pepper; sprinkle on the minced garlic and spread to coat.
- Bake for 15 minutes; do not overcook. Remove from the oven and wrap with foil. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.**
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Slice the tenderloins into 1/2-inch slices. Sear the slices in the skillet for 1-2 minutes until lightly browned on both sides.
- Remove the pork from the pan,set aside and keep warm.
- Reduce the heat in the skillet to low. Add in the pepper jelly, stirring to liquify. Return pork slices to the skillet, turning to coat with the jelly.
- Keep warm until serving.
- Alternatively, grill the tenderloins 8-10 minutes over high heat, basting with the liquified jelly during the last three minutes. Allow the jelly glaze to set and caramelize somewhat. Remove from the grill and allow the tenderloins to rest before cutting. Serve with additional pepper jelly, if desired.
- Excellent served as small sandwiches with Dijon mustard and small rolls.
- *I use homemade habanero/jalapeno pepper jelly, but prepared hot pepper jelly such as Braswell's also works well.
- **We like our pork tenderloin a little on the rare side. They will continue to cook somewhat while wrapped in the foil and will do so when they are placed in the skillet with the jelly. It is very easy to overcook pork tenderloins which will result in them being tough and dry.
I was thinking, when I saw the title, about what to do with the mild pepper jelly we received, and here, basically, you say to make your own. Ha!
I’m thinking about remelting the jelly and adding something more fiery, letting it cool and gel again, to use immediately for this recipe? What do you think?
Or would it work just to add more peppers to the recipe, itself?
If you don’t have very much, I would just add some more peppers. You could also use it to glaze grilled pork tenderloin or chicken.
I am looking for a recipe for pork tenderloin with pepper jelly in a slow cooker. Would this recipe work? We prefer our meats med-well to well. How long and on what temp? Thanks.
I don’t usually cook tenderloin in the slow cooker since it is such a quick-cooking meat. I might be more tempted to use a loin. You won’t get the same effect in the slow cooker I don’t think. I suggest cooking it in the slow cooker and finishing it off under the broiler or on the grill. In the slow cooker, I think you would cook at tenderloin about 4 hours on LOW — make sure to add some liquid. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I’ve been in the midst of Christmas preparations and getting my segment ready for THV. Thanks so much for stopping by.
looking forward to trying this glaze when I try a sous vide tenderloin. They recommend searing the meat afterward and this sounds like it will work perfectly! Thanks for sharing, Debbie!
Hope you enjoy it! I’m impressed with your sous vide. Hope to see you soon.