Grilled Mustard-Glazed Pork Loin
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS Two surefire ways to dress up a pork roast are to give it a flavorful, deeply caramelized
crust on the grill and serve it with a savory-sweet mustard glaze. Our mustard-glazed
pork loin has the best of both worlds. Leaving our roast untrimmed added moisture
and flavor—and scoring the fat kept it from tasting too fatty. For the mustard glaze,
apple jelly was a perfect complement to the spicy crunch of grainy mustard, and both
married well with the other glaze ingredients—brown sugar, garlic, and fresh thyme.
To fully infuse our pork loin with mustard flavor, we applied the glaze before, during,
and after grilling. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.
SERVES 6 TO 8
Dijon and yellow mustards also work well in the glaze, but make certain to use apple jelly, not apple butter. Look for a pork roast with about ¼ inch of fat on top and tie the roast at 1-inch intervals to ensure an even shape.
|
½ |
cup whole-grain mustard |
|
6 |
tablespoons apple jelly |
|
2 |
tablespoons packed dark brown sugar |
|
2 |
tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil |
|
1 |
large garlic clove, minced |
|
2 |
teaspoons minced fresh thyme |
|
¾ |
teaspoon pepper |
|
½ |
teaspoon salt |
|
1 |
boneless pork loin roast (2½ to 3 pounds), fat scored lightly, tied at 1-inch intervals |
1. Whisk mustard, jelly, sugar, oil, garlic, thyme, pepper, and salt together in bowl. Measure out ⅔ cup sauce and set aside for cooking; reserve remaining sauce for serving. Before grilling, pat pork loin dry with paper towels and coat it evenly with ⅓ cup sauce for cooking.
2A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent halfway. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
2B. FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all the burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn other burner(s) off. (Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature around 350 degrees.)
3. Clean and oil cooking grate. Place pork loin on hot side of grill. Cook (covered if using gas) until well browned on all sides, 12 to 15 minutes, turning as needed.
4. Flip pork loin fat side up and slide to cool side of grill. Brush pork with 2 tablespoons sauce for cooking. Cover (positioning lid vent over pork if using charcoal) and continue to cook until meat registers 140 degrees, 25 to 40 minutes longer, brushing every 10 minutes with remaining sauce for cooking.
5. Transfer pork loin to carving board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 minutes. Remove twine, cut meat into ¼-inch-thick slices, and transfer to serving platter. Whisk any accumulated juices into reserved sauce, spoon over meat, and serve.