How long to marinate pork loin with BBQ Rubs

Pork Loin Tenderloin

One of the best meals we've ever eaten is properly grilled Pork tenderloin. Our grilled pork tenderloin was masterfully cooked using one of our most famous dry rubs.  And before the tenderloin was even rubbed the loin was prepped with just the right amount of "secret" marinade.  Some say this isn't so much of a secret simply because we've touted the use of this simple technique many times before.  No matter to many they have not heard of using this process.  But to a few this is the "go-to" method for marinating pork loin, pork tenderloin, pork ribs, beef ribs, steaks, chicken and more.  But before we go there let's learn a little bit about our meat.
For those who didn't know there are two forms of loin, the pork loin and the pork tenderloin which sound the same but are really are very different.  The primary difference has to do with the location at which the loin segments are taken from the animal.  As many know the pork loin is sometimes called "the pork loin roast" and is a larger section of the loin which is most often roasted.  The pork loin usually comes in two forms either "bone in" in which the loin ribs are left attached, or "boneless".  The boneless segments are many times tied with butcher's twine to capture the loin holding it from falling apart during cooking.  The outer location of the loin is normally the section in which pork rinds are cut and cooked.  Regarding the tenderloin this section comes primarily from the major muscle section along the central spine of the animal.  This area is primarily known as the most tender portion of the animal because the location is used for posture and not for the central task of movement. 

Pork loin is lean and can be juicy living up to its name.  It is a versatile meat that can be marinated, rubbed, smoked, baked, boiled or cooked in just about any other way you can determine.  Because the meat is so lean the real issues toward cooking the meat revolves around cooking times and just how long one should actually cook the meat.  In this case Knowledge is the best weapon in the battle toward achieving success especially for cooking or roasting. 

Now comes the "secret" method for properly marinated your pork loin or tenderloin.  The simple secret method utilizes "mustard".  That's right, just plain yellow mustard which is one of the simplest forms of marinade.  The mustard will not only coat the surface of the meat but will permeate a layer of the meat acting to further tenderize a segment of meat that for the most part is already tender.  But when we add the mustard marinade we want it to do double duty as a flavor-ant and also a tenderizer.  The flavor-ant will match extremely well with our selected dry bbq rub.  So, now the question becomes after adding the mustard marinade how long do you keep it on the meat before adding the bbq rub?  For the best results in marinating we suggest a minimum 1 hour and at least 2 hours if possible.  For best results the mustard marinade must be added to a cleaned and dried segment of pork loin or pork tenderloin.  The meat must then be placed in a plastic bag or container and refrigerated in the average use section of your refrigerator.  The meat must be cooled but not frozen and further the meat must NOT be allowed to rest on the kitchen counter at room temperature for more than an hour.  Resting too long on the counter may promote bacteria growth and could result in illness. 

The dry bbq rubs we recommend are our very own Jake's Famous Pure Santa Maria BBQ Rub or our Jake's Famous Tri Tip, Steak and Rib Rub.  We've listed two dry rubs due to their innate characteristics.  The Pure Santa Maria BBQ Rub is a coarser ground version of dry rubs with its almost Montreal scale and size of ingredients using large flakes of Kosher smoked salt, coarse ground black pepper, and chips of coarse ground garlic all combined with hints of ground mustard and ground onion powder topped off with just the right amount of parsley.  The Tri Tip, Steak and Rib Rub is a savory yet subtle sweet dry rub the uses compliments of brown sugar, savory tarragon, and garlic layered with oregano and smoked salts.  Each when properly coated on your pork loin or pork tenderloin with produce epic results. 

Overall there are 4 key elements in this process, the meat, the marinade, the dry rub and the grilling process.  We need to pay special attention to the fact that even though the pork loin and the pork tenderloin are derived from entirely different sections of the animal the grilling, cooking and roasting process are somewhat similar.  Grilling can be done on a kettle grill like a Weber or aluminum grill with gas or radiant heat and so on. Grilling or in this case barbecuing can be done on a smoker grill first by searing the meat then smoking it until it reaches the desired temperature.  So let's get to the process of grilling the pork loin/pork tenderloin. 

Steps To Grilled pork loin tenderloin How long to cook Per Pound:

• 1. Select your Pork Loin or Pork Tenderloin
• 2. Clean and Wash, patting dry afterward.
• 3. Marinate the loin and let rest for a minimum 1-2 hours. 
• 4. Season the Pork Loin with Jake's Tri-Tip, Steak and Rib Dry Rub  or Jake's Famous Pure Santa Maria Dry Rub
• 5. Let rest for 1 hour in cool dry place (refrigerator). Remove and let rest for 10 minutes at room temperature before placing it on the grill.
• 6. Prepare your grill bringing the temperature to 325 degrees.
• 7. Oil the grill grates with Olive or similar oil.
• 8. Place the Pork Loin/ tenderloin over the cooler section of the grill and place the top on the grill.
• 9. Ensure the top grill vents are open and the bottom vents are at least half way open.
• 10. Begin grilling until the temperature is between 155 - 160 USDA which is the range at which the US Department of Agriculture considers the meat to be fully cooked and out of the zone at which the meat is unsuitable for consumption.
• 11. Checking temperatures every 15 to 20 minutes will ensure that the meat is grilled to peak temperature. Keep in mind though that each time the lid is opened you may need to add 5 minutes to the grilling cycle to adjust for heat loss. Focus on a temperature check every 25 minutes once your grill is running at the perfect temperature.
• 12. Once the internal temperature reaches the safe range 155 - 160 degrees Fahrenheit, take it off the grill.

Let it rest for 5-10 minutes so the juices absorb and redistribute throughout the meat.

See our Grilled pork loin Tenderloin Cooking chart below to help out.

Along with your Pork Loin Tenderloin get Jake's Special Dry Rubs and BBQ Sauces at Discount prices at purchase: Use Code Barbecue10 with any item and receive a 10% discount.

Temperature Chart For Meats

Pork Chops	Gourmet	USDA
Rare	N/A	N/A
Medium Rare	N/A	N/A
Medium	N/A	N/A
Medium Well	155-165ºF	170ºF
Well Done	175-185ºF	170ºF