There is nothing quite as easy or delicious as Grilled Pork Tenderloin.  This dry rub sweet barbecue Grilled Pork Tenderloin is easy enough for a weeknight meal and fancy enough for company!! A little advance preparation can make this recipe super easy and quick.  You can prepare the dry rub ahead and apply the rub to the pork tenderloin. Refrigerate two hours up to overnight.  This is the star of the meal so the sides should be kept simple and tasty.  My Green Bean Bacon Bundles and Skillet German Potato Salad complement this recipe perfectly!!!
How do you make Grilled Pork Tenderloin?
Start by trimming the silver skin off your pork tenderloin if it has not already been done. Then combine the paprika, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Shake the bag well to combine all the ingredients. Using your hands rub the mixture all over the pork tenderloin. Place the pork tenderloin into the bag and store in the refrigerator for several hours up to one day.
Preheat the grill to medium/high heat or about 425-450 degrees using half of the burners. Now add the pork tenderloin to the side of the grill that is lit (direct heat) and cover. Cook for about 5-6 minutes. Roll the tenderloin over and cook the other side for about 4-5 minutes. Move the tenderloin to the side that is not lit (indirect heat) and baste with the barbecue sauce mixture every couple of minutes. Continue cooking until the pork tenderloin reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Remove the meat from the grill, plate and cover loosely with an aluminum foil tent. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Helpful tips for making Grilled Pork Tenderloin
- Trim your pork tenderloin prior to the rub.  Pork tenderloins have an area of connective tissue known as silver skin for its silvery-white appearance. Silver skin doesn’t dissolve when the tenderloin is cooked, so it needs to be trimmed away.
- Prepare the dry rub in advance and rub into the pork tenderloin. Cover and refrigerate for several hours up to overnight.
- The National Pork Board recommends cooking pork tenderloin to an internal temperature between 145° F. (medium rare) and 160° F. (medium).  However it is all a matter of preference.
- You can check the temperature of the meat with a quick read instant meat thermometer.
- After grilling the pork tenderloin cover it loosely with an aluminum foil tent and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. As this allows the meat to redistribute juices that have been driven to the center from the heat on the grill
I have always found pork tenderloin easy to cook with. It is a consistently tender flavorful cut of pork. Happy grilling my food loving friends!!
Other pork recipes you will love!
- Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Sauce
- Roasted Pork Tenderloin and Vegetables
- Mexican Pork Rice Bowl
- Barbecue Pork Topped Gouda Mac N Cheese
- Easy Honey Garlic Pork Chops
This post was originally published October 14, 2016 and was republished June 26, 2019 with new content.
PrintDry Rub Sweet Grilled Pork Tenderloin
A quick and easy recipe for dry rubbed pork tenderloin with helpful grilling tips for making it flavorful and juicy.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: main meal pork
- Method: grill
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 –1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin trimmed
Rub
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2/3 cup Kansas City style barbecue sauce
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Instructions
- In Ziploc bag combine paprika, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Rub over pork tenderloin and refrigerate from 2 hours to overnight.
- In small bowl combine honey, barbecue sauce and Dijon mustard.
- Preheat the grill to 425-450 degrees; lighting only half the burners. Add the pork tenderloin to the side of the grill that is lit and cover. Cook for about 5-6 minutes. Roll the tenderloin over and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes. Move the tenderloin to the side that is not lit. Baste with barbecue sauce mixture every 2-3 minutes. Continue cooking until the pork tenderloin reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Remove the meat from the grill, plate and cover loosely with an aluminum foil tent. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Keywords: grilled pork tenderloin, grilled pork tenderloin rub, how to grill pork tenderloin, how long to grill pork tenderloin
https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
I’d love to try this recipe for my baby shower this weekend. I’ve got 2 (7.5 lb) pork loins! Can you help with grill times? Anything else you’d change or suggest? Thank you!!
I am right in the middle of a recipe so I will try to respond more later but I wanted you to read this article as a pork loin and pork tenderloin are two different cuts. https://www.pegshomecooking.com/pork-loin-vs-pork-tenderloin-differences/
I have always baked my pork loin which makes it nice and tender.
As a Chef I cook a lot of pork tenderloin in many different ways so I’m always looking for something new. Because I have to prepare dinner ahead of time and leave it for my clients, I use a sous vide quite a bit to keep it from overcooking. I made the rub as written but added a tiny bit of cinnamon to it…1 tsp or so. I vacuum sealed the tenderloins and “rub” then set my sous vide circulator for 130 degrees and let it go for a couple of hours. I preheated my grill for a good 20 minutes on high before searing them quickly on each side being sure not to raise the internal temp above 140. (The Thermoworks Thermapen is the best I’ve ever used for instant an instant read thermometer) I let them rest for a few minutes before slicing and resealing them in the same vacuum bag (with the rub still in it). I put the bag back in the 130 degree water and left it for the staff to serve an hour or so later at dinner time. It never over cooks this way. This rub is fantastic! I will definitely make this again and maybe try it on a different protein. Great job!
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Thanks Bo! I am glad that you liked it! Thanks for all the great details on how you prepare the tenderloin. Sounds like you have it down to a fine science!
Have you tried roasting it? What temp and how long for a 2# loin would you recomend?
Sorry about the delay. I had to get my taxes filed this weekend. Yes you can roast the pork tenderloin for about 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees or an internal temperature of 145 degrees. I would let rest for 15 minutes. Double the cooking time for a 2 pound loin but the same internal temp and resting time.
Just wanted to thank you for the pork tenderloin and German potato salad recipes. You were so right about the flavors being fantastic together. Looking forward to making them again.
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Thanks so much Mary! I am so glad that you enjoyed them.
Wow this looks so full of flavor! Love that it’s so easy to make too.
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My family will thank you for this recipe! It looks so inviting!
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YUM!! This looks SO juicy and delicious!! A must try!
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This looks like perfection on a plate!
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I needed a good dry rub recipe! Just in time for grilling season!
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Looks super delicious! This is my kind of dinner, need to make this immediately!
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This couldn’t look any more perfect! This looks delicious!
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Super easy method- I love this recipe!
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Looks like the perfect tenderloin to me!
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I especially love the tips on how to grill it!
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Wow!! This looks so juicy & mouthwatering! That rub sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
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This rub is great on pork and chicken!!! So good.
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I am not a great cook and don’t grill that often, but it was my night to cook! This recipe is awesome. Grilled a 1.5 lb. pork loin, and let it sit in the rub for a few hours. Used a smoker box with cherry smoker very fine wood chips, and basted it with the sauce recipe using Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce until it reached 160 degrees on my meat thermometer. After searing, cooked on indirect heat guessing at approximately an hour, or after a couple of glasses of wine. It was the most succulent pork and very flavorful. I was happily shocked it was so good and tender. My husband was happy to have the night off and enjoy looking forward to leftovers!!
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So glad that you and your hubby liked it! Thanks for all the great tips too!
I love how quick and easy this is – so delicious too! Definitely making this for a weeknight meal for my family.
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Just printed this recipe out to save to use again and again!
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This is such a great pork tenderloin recipe. It’s easy easily everyone’s favorite and so easy to make.
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Oh my goodness this was so good! My family’s new favorite pork recipe! I’ll definitely be making this again!
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This dry rub is amazing!! It was so delicious and perfect with the pork, I am curious to see if it will go with chicken. I will give it a try 🙂 Thank you so much for this awesome recipe!
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