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Grilled Pork Tenderloin Salad

By Cindy Rahe
Created January 10, 2017
With crisp greens, savory pork, a little sharpness from the red onion, toasty almonds, creamy and pungent gorgonzola, fruity vinaigrette and sweet-tart dried cherries, the combination is hard not to love.
Grilled Pork Tenderloin Salad

Summertime grilling isn’t just all burgers, brats and dogs. My favorite summer cooking combines something grilled with something fresh and is easily composed in the kitchen. This salad is a favorite of my husband. With crisp greens, savory pork, a little sharpness from the red onion, toasty almonds, creamy and pungent gorgonzola, fruity vinaigrette and sweet-tart dried cherries, the combination is hard not to love. And goodness knows that I love how easy it is to put together! 

Pork tenderloin is a lean and crowd-pleasing alternative to the ever-present chicken breast. I like to rub the tenderloin with some hearty, grill-worthy aromatics like fresh garlic, rosemary and coarse black pepper, and let it hang out anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours—whatever kind of time you have is good.

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For the dressing, pop some red wine vinegar, tart cherry juice, honey, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, chopped shallots and olive oil into a jar and shake it all up.

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While the grill is heating and pork is grilling, rinse and spin your greens, crumble the cheese, toast the almonds and slice up your onions.

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Once the pork is grilled and rested for 10 or so minutes, slice and arrange it atop your bed of greens and garnishes.

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Finally, drizzle the dressing and dig into this beautiful bowl of savory goodness.

Ingredients

  • Pork
    • 1large or 2 small pork tenderloins (1 1/2 lb)
    • 2tablespoons olive oil
    • 2cloves garlic
    • 2tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
    • 2teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
    • 1teaspoon kosher (coarse) salt
  • Salad
    • 6cups loosely packed baby lettuce
    • 1oz Gorgonzola cheese
    • 1/2cup dried sour cherries
    • 1/4cup sliced red onion
    • 1/4cup toasted sliced almonds
  • Dressing
    • 1/4cup olive oil
    • 2tablespoons red wine vinegar
    • 2tablespoons unsweetened tart cherry juice
    • 1tablespoon finely chopped shallot
    • 1teaspoon Dijon mustard
    • 1teaspoon honey
    • 1/4teaspoon kosher (coarse) salt
    • 1/4teaspoon pepper

Directions

  • 1Rub pork with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the garlic, rosemary, 2 teaspoons pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Place in nonmetal dish; refrigerate 30 minutes or more to marinate.
  • 2Heat gas or charcoal grill. Remove pork from marinade; discard marinade. Insert ovenproof meat thermometer into pork so tip is in thickest part. Place pork on grill over medium heat. Cover grill; cook, turning about every 5 minutes, until all sides are browned and thermometer reads 145°F (temperature will rise to 160°F after resting). Remove pork from grill; wrap tightly with foil. Let stand at least 20 minutes before slicing.
  • 3Meanwhile, rinse and spin-dry lettuce. Divide among plates (2 hearty or 4 smaller salads). Slice onion; soak in dish of ice water 5 minutes to remove any astringent onion flavor. Pat dry; sprinkle over salads. Crumble cheese; sprinkle over salads. Sprinkle cherries and almonds over top. Refrigerate salads until ready to serve.
  • 4In small jar, shake Dressing ingredient vigorously to emulsify.
  • 5At serving time, top salads with slices of pork; drizzle with dressing. Serve immediately.

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