Caribbean Grilled Pork with Mango-Cilantro Salsa

Not a quick weeknight meal, this Caribbean Grilled Pork is awesome nonetheless. The salsa is what takes time, especially if you are like me and are completely clueless on Mangoes (like - how do you pit a mango?), but it can be made in the morning or even the day before if necessary. The pork itself grills in about 30 minutes, so no time issues there. The 'Caribbean Pork Tenderloin' recipe comes from the cookbook "Eating for Life", part of the Body for Life series by Bill Phillips. All of the recipes in the cookbook that I have tried have tasted fabulous and are good for you too. Caribbean Pork especially is just a beautiful meal to look at, especially if you actually have the baby spinach to serve it with (I forgot). I just modified the recipe for the grill but it can be roasted if you can't find your barbeque.

Caribbean Grilled Pork.

Mango-Cilantro Salsa:

1 ripe mango, peeled and pitted, diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

zest of one lime juice of one lime

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, washed and patted dry, chopped

1/4 tsp Kosher salt

Combine and stir gently together. Cover and refrigerate to allow flavours to blend.

Turn grill on to high to preheat.

Caribbean Pork:

1 lb pork tenderloin (or one tenderloin)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

pinch of salt

1 tsp. five-spice powder

3 Tbsp. hoisin sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 cups baby spinach

Season tenderloin with the pepper, salt and five-spice powder. Your grill should be hot - about 450 to 500 degrees - so the pork should sear as it hits the grill.

Place the tenderloin over direct heat and quickly sear on all sides, about 1 minute per side. Lower heat on one burner to medium and keep heat on high on the other burner. Move pork over medium high heat, close the grill lid and grill for 10 minutes, turning once. In a small dish or measuring cup, combine hoisin sauce and sesame oil. Coat the pork tenderloin with sauce and grill for about 15 minutes more, to an internal temperature of 155 to 160 degrees (juices will be clear). Remove from grill and let stand for about 5 minutes before cutting. Prepare plates by dividing the spinach between 4 plates. Slice the pork into 1/4 inch slices, and lay on top of the spinach. Serve with rice or cooked barley (original 'Eating for Life' recipe), or a baked potato. Leftovers make an incredible wrap the next day.

Comments

[monica]

freesumpin / Hi! These are really good tips — esleliacpy brining!The time depends on how thick the meat is. Cooking times vary between 15 minutes to 45 minutes.Spring for a cheap meat thermometer, dude; it's the ONLY way to tell when any meat is cooked. Only cook your loverly tenderloin to 145baF.Use a rub and be generous but use less salt if you've brined.Pork Tenderloin is one of my favorite meats. I'll wait until it goes on sale here in SoCal and buy several whole ones, brine the suckers and then freeze!Oh, yeah ——GO O'BAMA! (Isn't he Irish?)*edit* 160ba is well done and dry!.