Pork Tenderloin with Brine

Ronan Killeen -

A brine is both sweet and salty. That’s basically all you need but this recipe adds a few additional flavours. For best results allow the meat to sit in the brine overnight, but if this is not possible, a four-hour soak is usually good enough.

This lean cut does does not have a lot of fat or flavour in itself. A brine seeps deep into the meat during soaking, but will be washed off before starting the cook. The longer you leave it, the more its impression will impact the tenderloin.

Brine Ingredients

As I said the principle ingredients are salt and sweetness. I use Celtic sea salt, which is a dark greyish colour and is slightly greasy to the touch, but feel free to use regular sea salt, kosher salt or Himalayan pink salt if that’s what you have. For the adventurous, try using soy sauce or another salty flavouring.

For sweetness I am using honey. I get this from the Hive Mind co-op based out of Cork. The salt and honey need to be dissolved in some water to liquify properly. I use a small saucepan over a gentle heat, stirring until all the grains of salt have disappeared.

Here is the brine’s ingredient list:

  • Celtic sea salt - about 2 tablespoons
  • Honey - about 2 tablespoons
  • Black pepper, ground - about 2 tablespoons
  • Garlic cloves, crushed - 4 to 8
  • Fresh herbs: thyme and chives but use whatever is handy
  • Optional: a bay leaf or two
  • Optional: dried chilli flakes - about 1 tablespoon

The chilli in the brine should not make this too hot. The brine really only impacts a delicate amount of flavour deep into the meat. Without it the outside may be great, flavoured by a marinade or dry rub, but the inside will be dry and boring. Experimentation is the key and don’t be afraid of strong flavours in the brine.

Once the salt and honey are dissolved thoroughly add the rest of the brine ingredients in and add some ice.

This is an important step. Cooling the brine before applying to the meat will help to avoid bacteria growth, which likes warm and tepid temperatures. Here I used some ice to do this quickly, but natural cooling will also work.

Once cool pour the brine over the meat, adding water to cover. You can also use a plastic zip-lock bag, but in the interest of environmental protection, I have used my one litre metal jug to hold the meat and brine. Place in the fridge until ready to cook.

Now Wait Before Cooking

Trust me! The longer you leave the pork in the brine, the better the results will be.

Assuming that it’s now cook time, light the charcoal for the barbecue (or pre-heat the gas barbecue) and finish off the preparation.

Step one is to discard the brine. It is too salty and sweet to be used as a sauce. Potentially you could save a little, boil it and then add a little to cream or crème fraîche but I rarely bother with this step. The flavour from the brine with the dry rub and smoky barbecue should be enough flavour.

If you used a jug like mine you can rise off the remaining brine with some clean, fresh water by filling and emptying the jug a few times. Then pat the meat dry with some kitchen towel.

We will keep the dry rub simple with just a few additional ingredients, but you can flavour with anything you have or use your favourite marinade.

  • Black pepper, crushed - about ½ tablespoon
  • Celtic sea salt - about ½ tablespoon
  • Garlic powder - about ½ tablespoon

Apply the dry rub directly or use some olive oil to help it stick better. This recipe calls for indirect heat, so place the coals on one side, a drip tray, filled with a liquid of your choice (apple cider works well with this recipe!), beneath where the meat will lie and get cooking.

If you have apple or pear wood chips, pre-soak them in a little cider and place them on some tin foil directly above the coals, or follow your smoker box’s instructions if you have one.

We are aiming to get the temperature inside the barbecue where the meat is at to around 180˚C (or 350˚F) to get a nice long cook. If it drops a little lower, don’t worry too much but allow a little more time.

Being a long and narrow enough piece of meat, a tenderloin will not take a long time to cook. I aim to cook until the temperature is at least 60-65˚C (or about 145˚F) at the deepest, thickest part of the meat. Check the internal temperature forty-five minutes into the cook using a quick read probe thermometer, but allow up to an hour to cook.

If desired you can sere the meat towards the end of the cook to give it a slightly charred look. Do this by placing directly over the heat, but this step is not necessary; more of a taste thing.

Rest for fifteen minutes, covered with a tin foil ten, and slice in thin diagonals. Enjoy.