Happy National Grilling Month! The peak of summer grilling is here with its sizzle and all its mouth watering aromas. With legions of back yard grillers at attention across the country, Bigelow Tea looks at Grilling Month as a proud “Made in the USA” experience! Whether you fire up the grill only on weekends or use it throughout the week, July is summer grilling central! So don’t forget the basics: always keep your grill clean, follow sensible food safety steps, and remember there’s nothing better than a cool iced tea for your grilling companion. It’s as easy as 1-2-3!
To help kick off the month, here’s one of our sizzling Bigelow Tea recipes that creates a complete summer meal. Enjoy!
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Bigelow Tea Glaze and Seasonal Vegetables
Recipe Created by Joy Marr
Ingredients:
PORK TENDERLOIN:
5 cups boiling water
4 Bigelow Green Tea with Mango Tea bags
4 Bigelow Green Tea with Peach Tea bags
4 Bigelow Green Tea with Pomegranate Tea bags
1.2-1.5 lb. Pork Tenderloin whole
1 clove garlic, smashed
½ small yellow onion cut into in wedges
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (use only if oven baking tenderloin)
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (can substitute cider vinegar)
1 tablespoon honey (can substitute brown sugar)
1 tablespoon veg. oil
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoons of both Salt and pepper
Instructions:
Bring 5 cups of water to a boil and add the Bigelow Tea bags, the clove of garlic and the onion wedges. Remove from heat and cover – let steep for 20-30 minutes. Remove tea bags squeezing well and discard, along with the garlic and onion. Divide the tea mixture -set aside 2 cups for the glaze to the remaining 3 cups add the vinegar, honey, oil, thyme and salt and pepper- stir. This will be the marinade for the pork.
Once the marinade tea has cooled down somewhat, pour into a large plastic bag; add pork tenderloin and marinate for 5 hours or overnight in refrigerator. While pork marinates make the glaze and ready your vegetables both can be set aside or refrigerated covered overnight.
Heat your grill to medium; while grill is heating drain tenderloin from marinade -discard marinade- and wipe loin dry, set aside. Pour 1/2 cup of the reserved tea glaze into a small vessel you can work out of. Place pork on grill. Cook for 8-10 minutes on medium. Open grill and brush liberally with tea glaze. Reduce grill to low, continue to cook pork over the next 8-10 minutes, turning pork and coating well with glaze, 2 or 3 more times, until thermometer reads 160′. Remove from heat and let rest for 8-10 minutes. Slice into medallions and serve with glazed vegetables.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR OVEN BAKING PORK
Prep time approx. 10 minutes
Oven time 20 minutes
Preheat oven to 325°F. Heat oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. While pan is heating, drain tenderloin from marinade -discard marinade- and wipe loin dry. Carefully add tenderloin to hot pan and cook, turning until brown on all sides, 5-6 minutes. Baste liberally with tea glaze and place skillet with pork in oven and bake for 8 minutes. Open oven and baste liberally with tea glaze again. Continue to cook until thermometer reads 160′, about 12-15 minutes, basting pork again when you remove it from the oven. Transfer pork tenderloin to platter and let rest for 8-10 minutes. Slice into medallions and serve with glazed vegetables.
Yield: Serves 4
TEA GLAZE
2 cups reserved Bigelow Tea mixture
3 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon black pepper
Pinch of salt
Bring remaining 2 cups of tea mixture to a simmer over med-high heat and cook to reduce. After 45 minutes or so, check it you want to have about 1 cup no less. Add honey, salt and pepper and set aside for later or refrigerate overnight.
SEASONAL VEGETABLES WITH BIGELOW TEA GLAZE
1 medium Acorn squash
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 medium Parsnips peeled (can substitute yellow onions)
2 tablespoons butter, salted
½ cup reserved tea glaze
Heat the oven to 400′. Place the butter in an oven proof pan and put in oven to melt while oven pre- heats. Cut the carrots and parsnips on the diagonal into 2″ pieces. Slice the acorn squash into rings 1″ thick rings-then cut in half. Remove the pan from the oven – place all the vegetables in pan and carefully toss with butter to coat. Bake for 10 minutes. Open oven and pour the tea glaze over the vegetables, stirring well to coat. Continue to bake until vegetable are tender- and can be pierced by a small knife point, approximately 15-20 minutes.
Yield: Serves 4
Top image by andrewmalone via Flickr.com