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Check out Linda's six-course Grilled Pork Loin with Blackberry-Wine Sauce dinner menu (includes recipes). 

Also check out all of my great Pork Recipes.

2 to 4 petite pork tenderloins
3/4 cup coarse salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup boiling water
1 gallon cold water
1 tablespoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Blackberry-Wine Sauce (see recipe below)
Parsley, minced (for garnish)

Trim the tenderloin of fat and silverskin.  Note: Silverskin is a silvery-white connective tissue. It doesn't dissolve when the tenderloin is cooked, so it needs to be trimmed away. If the silverskin is not trimmed off, it will cause the tenderloin to curl up into the shape of a quarter moon. Pat the roast dry with paper towels.

A heavy-duty plastic tube, stainless-steel bowl, or resealable plastic bag can work as a brining container, as long as the pork is fully submerged. Weight with a plate, if necessary, to keep the meat fully covered by the brine. To determine how much brine you'll need, place the meat to be brined in your chosen container. Add water to cover. Remove the meat and measure the water.

Dissolve salt and sugar in the boiling water. Add it to the cold water. Dissolve salt and sugar in the boiling water. Add it to the cold water; add pepper and stir to combine. Place pork roasts in the water; cover and refrigerate 6 to 12 hours.

Remove the pork from the brine. Rinse pork twice after removing it from the brine solution; discard brine. If you are not ready to cook at the end of the brining time, refrigerate until ready to use. Rub olive oil over the entire roast before grilling.

Preheat barbecue grill. Bring roasts to room temperature before cooking. Place pork roasts onto hot grill; close the lid and grill for 7 minutes. Turn the pork over, close the lid, and grill for another 6 minutes. Turn off the heat (keep the lid closed) and continue to cook the pork for another 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, insert an instant-read meat thermometer into thickest part of the roast, temperature should read 145° to 150°F (if not, close the lid and let the pork continue to roast). Once brined, the pork cooks faster so be careful and use a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat. The meat will remain pink from the brine.

Remove from grill and transfer onto a cutting board; let pork roasts stand 15 minutes before carving  (meat temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it is removed from the oven). Cut the pork across the grain into ½-inch slices.

To serve, spoon some Blackberry-Wine Sauce onto each individual serving plate. Place pork slices on top of the sauce like dominos (overlapping each slice). Sprinkle parsley over the dish to add some extra color.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.


Blackberry-Wine Sauce
1 1/2 cups red wine (I like to use pinot noir wine)
1/2 cup seedless blackberry jam
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced
2 to 3 tablespoons butter

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add red wine. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently until sauce is reduced to the consistency of heavy cream. (If it is reduced too much, use more wine to make sauce the desired consistency.)  Remove from heat and drop in the minced hot pepper. Just before serving, whisk in blackberry jam and butter until blended.