Cast Iron

Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin

February 21, 2013
4.4
23 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 3 hours 45 minutes
  • Cook time 25 minutes
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

As I continue foraging through recipes, I've been focusing on meats. Honey and mustard combos specifically. I tried a honey mustard chicken last week, and refined the marinade on a pork tenderloin this past weekend. The marinade found its home. For sure. —Brussels Sprouts for Breakfast

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: Brussels Sprouts for Breakfast works in finance at Google in San Francisco.
WHAT: The easiest, most flavorful pork tenderloin recipe we've cooked in a long time
HOW: Marinate your pork for a few hours or overnight; sear until crusty; finish in the oven.
WHY WE LOVE IT: This recipe uses those trusty pantry staples -- honey, soy sauce, mustard -- and transforms a pork tenderloin into something, well, addictive. We couldn't stop stealing slices from the serving platter. —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  • Juice from 1/2 a lemon
  • 1 sprig rosemary (stem removed, rough chop)
  • 2 pork tenderloins
  • Salt and pepper
Directions
  1. Marinate the pork for at least 3 hours before you intend to serve the meal. Marinating overnight is ideal. In a large freezer bag, combine both mustards, honey, soy sauce, lemon juice and rosemary. Don't add the salt and pepper yet. Shake around in the bag to combine. Zip it closed before you shake it, obviously.
  2. Rinse off the pork in cold water, and pat dry. Drop into the marinade bag. Squeeze the air out and squish the marinade all over the pork. Drop the bag into a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  3. Preheat oven to 400° F. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking. Take out of the bag and shake off excess marinade, but don't wipe it off. Leave any rosemary pieces where they are. Discard the marinade. Season all sides of the tenderloins generously with kosher salt and pepper.
  4. Heat a large, oven-proof sauté pan or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Sear all sides of the tenderloin until golden and crusty, total 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the center registers 137 degrees.
  5. Remove from the pan to a cutting board and cover with foil. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Carve into diagonal pork medallions for serving. Pink in the middle is okay in pork. Not in chicken. So don't be scared. Serve with any of the juices that escape while carving.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

56 Reviews

Libby S. November 10, 2023
Absolutely delicious and EASY. Moist and flavorful. A great crowd pleaser
nicolecara December 22, 2021
Hello! I am hoping you can help me with doubling this recipe. I have purchased 4 tenderloins to serve for Christmas Eve. I didn't look too closely at the recipe until now and didn't realize I was supposed to keep the tenderloin in the pan and transfer to the oven. The cast iron skillet I have can *maybe* fit one. Should I do them in batches and transfer to a baking sheet? This recipe came highly recommended to me so I really want to use it, just feeling really uncertain about how to sear and then finish in the oven with 4 tenderloins. Thank you in advance!
Melissa December 22, 2021
Hi, I've never done more than one, but if I was to do it I'd sear them all separately, plate, cover and refrigerate and then when ready to bake I'd take them out of the fridge for a bit so they aren't really cold going into the oven and then bake them. A meat thermometer would be ideal.
A tip I'd like to pass on is to drizzle with honey at the end f baking instead of adding before searing. It makes a huge sticky mess of the pan. Good luck, it's a super tasty recipe.
Gabriella S. March 5, 2021
Made this tonight in the sous vide and then seared the pork in a screaming hot pan afterwards. Poured the marinade/juices from the bag into a saucepan, reduced, and added cream and butter to finish. This was EXCELLENT. Roasted veg and a nice dry reisling accompanied beautifully.
MarcusPM January 26, 2021
I needed a good recipe to try as I’d bought just a giant Pork loin on sale at Costco. Food52 is always my go to for new recipe ideas. This one sounded good and it was indeed wonderful. Good thing too because I had to cut that loin into three giant chunks. I put marinade in each of three bags and froze the other two. The first one was delicious. Now a month later, I defrosted the second and prepared it the same way, even better. The third one is waiting to come out of the freezer for a special dinner.
Kytn E. January 17, 2021
I was looking for a new recipe for pork tenderloin and found this last night. I had all the ingredients so I put the marinade together and let it do its thing. Made it today and we were both impressed. I will definitely be making this again 😋😋😋
Babs I. January 7, 2021
Best, most tender pork tenderloin ever, and I make it about once a month. I didn’t have honey, but substituted brown sugar. It’s perfect.
Elaine H. August 11, 2020
Sounds like a good recipe although letting it cook only to 137 F sounds scary to me. You want to cook pork to 145 for at least 5 minutes - undercooked pork infected with Trichinella spiralis can lead to trichinosis. It's not common but who wants to risk getting parasites.
Pooja K. May 1, 2020
One of the best pork tenderloin recipies out there! I have looked for a good one and this is it! Everyone raved about it. Thank you Food 52!
suzanne B. October 17, 2019
Great. Substituted maple syrup for honey. Seared and cooked on stovetop. Deglazed with dry sherry and made sauce by adding marinade into pan.
suzanne B. October 17, 2019
The best pork tenderloin I’ve done. Substituted Maple syrup for honey. Seared and cooked in pan on stovetop then deglazed with some dry sherry and added in the marinade to create a sauce.
SandraH March 14, 2019
This was really good! I marinated the pork for 4 hours, cooked it to about 139/140 degrees and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Served it with the pan juices and it was wonderful! This recipe is a keeper - thank you!
Brussels S. March 15, 2019
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Claire January 18, 2019
I thought this was great. I followed the recipe and used two 1.5 lb tenderloins and it cooked perfectly.
Brussels S. January 24, 2019
So glad you enjoyed it, Claire!!
Karen S. January 15, 2019
Made this last night and loved it. I had prepared it the day before so it had marinated for a little over 24 hours. You know what the best part is? I'm serving the second tenderloin tonight with some curried rice.
Betsy November 29, 2018
Going to try this tonight. Wondering if I can throw Brussel sprouts and onions (red or yellow?) in there to make it a one-pan meal. What do ya'll think? Oh and I don't have time to marinade for three hours, so I'll report if that's a problem.
Kasia S. September 25, 2018
Guys, could you please help me? I don´t have a termometer so I cannot see if it´s 137... Any ideas how long it takes to reach that point? THanks a lot!!
Martin January 24, 2019
Get a thermopop. It costs 30 dollars and it is worth it, if only for the peace of mind of knowing your food is safe to eat. It took me too long to buy one.
Ann B. September 10, 2018
I love pork tenderloin, but my family is a little more neutral about it. Not after this recipe. The meat was very tender and flavorful. My husband made the marinade, and I roasted the pork. Easy, even for week-night cooking.
Meg C. December 28, 2017
I want to cook this for a family gathering. My only hesitance I’d the marinade looks so slight. Only 1/2 lemon’s juice etc. are those amounts really enough for 2 loins?
Melanie J. April 26, 2017
I've made this multiple times now and I LOVE it. It's SO EASY, fast, healthy, simple (under 10 ingredients!), it's definitely been incorporated into my weeknight rotation.
Brussels S. April 26, 2017
I'm glad you like it!! I just made it and grilled it... try it!
Meg C. December 28, 2017
Did u use exact proportions? The amounts seem really small.
chop C. April 16, 2017
Made this first time this week for a week night dinner. Went a little heavy on the rosemary which I like. My wife said oh my god this is guest worthy. So I we had the adult "kids" coming into town and I cooked this dish last night again for seven people. Everyone raved about what a flavor bomb this dish is and there were multiple trips back to nibble on seconds. I marinated the pork both time for over 24 hours. When I was in the kitchen this morning pouring a cup of coffee my son-in-law came into the kitchen and his first words were, that pork last night was awesome. Nuff said.
Brussels S. April 26, 2017
So glad you love it as much as I do!!
Kim January 31, 2017
This recipe is s great! Family of five loved it!
Brussels S. February 2, 2017
Thanks, Kim! My family loves it as well. Easy and delicious!