Monday, October 8, 2012

Meals Under $10: Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Here is the recipe you have all been waiting for...or, at least you WOULD have been waiting for it if you had ever tasted it before.  I'm here to tell you that this recipe will change the way you think of pork.  I, for one, am not a huge fan of pork.  I rarely, if ever, eat it.  I do make an exception for this particular pork.  It is so yummy that I could eat an entire loin!

Here is the cast of ingredients:

Marinade:

2 cups oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

I like to marinade my pork in a heavy-duty ziplock baggie (that I put in a bowl before putting in the fridge.) I think this pork needs a couple of hours to marinade...but a minimum of 30-minutes.




And WHAT kind of meat would be complete without an amazing, yet deceptively easy, sauce to accompany it?  No respectable meat would be without it!

Sauce:

1/2 cup mayo
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Mix these ingredients up and stick it in the fridge to let the flavors marry...and let me tell ya, marriage never tasted so good!



When you are about ready to cook the pork, take it out of the marinade and sprinkle with Lawry's Season Salt and some pepper.  Put that baby on the grill and cook until done, about 20-minutes.  Because of the honey, you get a nice, yummy caramelization on your pork. Mmmmmm....



Let the pork rest for abut 10-minutes before you cut into it.  Serve it with a nice dollop of sauce on the side to dip your meat in.

I'm making my pork tonight with oniony potatoes and carrots.



I cut up about 3 potatoes, washed with skins on, and about 3 carrots, peeled.  I cut the potatoes into fairly small dices and the carrots into medium-ish dices.  I put them in a bowl and pour a little bit of oil onto them.  I typically use olive oil, but ran out of it yesterday.  Then I pour on a packet of onion soup mix and mix it all together.  I pour it into a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the veggies are soft.



Time to tally up the cost of this meal:


  • Pork, $2.82, (on sale at HyVee until Wednesday), I used 1 1/2 pounds of it.
  • I already had all of the other ingredients for the marinade in my fridge or pantry...and I'm assuming most people have these as well.  But if I had to guess how much it cost me for them, based on how much I actually used, I'd say about $1
  • I also had all of the sauce ingredients on hand, but I'd guess about $2
  • Carrots, on sale last week for .99 and I used 1/4 of them, so .25
  • Potatoes, on sale last week for .99, so .25
  • Onion Soup Mix, $1
The grand total is...about $7.50 for a meal to feed 4-5 people.  Add a green salad for about $2 more, and you are still in under $10.  

I would love to hear what you think of the pork!  If you try it, let me know...but just so you are aware, if you don't like it, I will think you are crazy and that you just might need to be committed.





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