Jerk Spiced Pork Tenderloin (Printable)

Tender pork with bold jerk spices, roasted to juicy perfection, featuring aromatic Caribbean flavors.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pork

01 - 1 pork tenderloin (1 to 1.25 lbs), trimmed

→ Jerk Marinade

02 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
03 - 1 tablespoon soy sauce
04 - 1 tablespoon brown sugar
05 - 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
06 - 2 teaspoons ground allspice
07 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
08 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
09 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
10 - 1 teaspoon salt
11 - 0.5 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 - 0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper
13 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
14 - 1 small Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, seeded and finely chopped
15 - 2 green onions, finely sliced

→ To Serve

16 - Fresh lime wedges
17 - Fresh cilantro, chopped

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
02 - In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, allspice, cinnamon, thyme, paprika, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, minced garlic, chopped Scotch bonnet pepper, and sliced green onions until well combined.
03 - Pat pork tenderloin dry with paper towels. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
04 - Rub the jerk marinade evenly over the entire pork tenderloin. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours for deeper flavor development.
05 - Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 145°F.
06 - Remove from oven and tent loosely with foil. Allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
07 - Slice pork crosswise and serve with lime wedges and chopped cilantro.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It delivers restaurant quality results in under 45 minutes, which means you can pull off something genuinely impressive on a random Tuesday.
  • The jerk marinade is bold enough to taste like real Caribbean cooking, but balanced so it doesn't overpower the natural sweetness of good pork.
  • One pan, minimal cleanup, and leftovers that taste even better folded into a sandwich the next day.
02 -
  • An instant read thermometer is non negotiable here, pork tenderloin is lean and goes from perfect to dry in about two minutes of overcooking.
  • Don't skip the resting period, I learned this the hard way by slicing straight from the oven and watching all those flavorful juices run onto the plate instead of staying in the meat.
03 -
  • If you love heat, leave some seeds in that scotch bonnet pepper and taste your marinade as you build it so you know exactly how spicy it'll be.
  • Make the marinade the night before and store it in a jar, the flavors deepen as they sit together, and you'll have zero prep work on cooking day.
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