Asian Barbecue Pork Tenderloin

I guess you could call this Asian barbecue since it has elements of each type of flavor but it is by no means authentic. The sauce is somewhat of a variation on the glaze that we make for meatloaf, but with more spice.

I was looking in The Best Recipe for simple ideas for pork tenderloin. In their usual style, they have a page or so of explanation about the various methods they tried when searching for the "best recipe".

I was disappointed to find that they ended up slicing the tenderloin into medallions since they found their methods for cooking it whole too tedious and error prone. One of the things that they complained about was the difficulty of catching the meat when it reached 110° in the oven. Apparently they didn't have a digital probe thermometer when writing the book. Other than the issue with the temperature, their method seemed simple enough: bake in a relatively cool oven until the meat reaches 110°, then turn up the heat for the last part of cooking to develop a crust. While my version never really produced a crust at all, the meat turned out flavorful and juicy just like I wanted it.

Sauce:
1/2 cup Ketchup
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 - 1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pork tenderloin

Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Marinate the tenderloin in the sauce for about 30 minutes.

Remove meat from marinade and place on baking sheet into a preheated 325° oven. When the meat reaches 110° internal temperature (easiest with a digtal probe thermomter) raise the oven temperature to 450° and continue to cook until the meat reaches 145°. Let the meat rest for a couple of minutes out of the oven then slice and serve.

While the meat is in the oven, heat the remaining marinade in a small saucepan until it bubbles. Cook it for a minute or so to kill any nasties, then let it cool and serve as a sauce for the pork.