Every day now is getting a little bit warmer. In Muskoka, that’s both good and bad. The good, of course, is that summer is coming. The bad is that so are the black flies. Do you have black flies where you are? I hope not. I wouldn’t wish them on anyone. They make me crazy but, thankfully, only last a few weeks. Then bring on summer! Supper here is moving into quicker and lighter mode, preferably something that can be thrown on the grill.
These grilled pork tacos are a family favourite – one of those supper dishes that everyone loves. It uses pork tenderloins which are marinated in a spicy sauce and then grilled on the bbq. Pork tenderloin is one of my favourite meats to put on the BBQ. It cooks quickly and is always juicy and tender. For this recipe, the tenderloins are butterflied, which really speeds up the cooking time and makes smaller pieces for putting on the tacos. As a side note, this sauce and method works really well with boneless chicken breasts, as well!
Serve your tacos with the toppings of your choice. Placing them all in separate bowls and letting everyone just dig in makes for a fun dinner. I like to serve these with grilled corn on the cob.
Grilled Pork Tacos
Summary: These tacos use pork tenderloin, marinated in a spicy sauce then grilled on the BBQ and topped with toppings of your choice. This is a quick dinner idea that everyone loves. Try this same recipe with grilled boneless chicken breasts, too!
Ingredients
- Marinade:
- 1/2 cup chili sauce (I used Heinz™ chili sauce with chunky sweet peppers)
- 3 Tbsp. molasses
- 2 Tbsp. chipotle Tabasco sauce
- 2 Tbsp. chili powder
- 2 pork tenderloins
- 10-12 soft tortillas or hard shells
- Toppings:
- grated cheddar cheese
- iceburg lettuce, chopped
- avocado, diced
- tomatoes, diced
- onion, diced
- red pepper, diced
- jalapeno, diced
- salsa
- sour cream
Instructions
- Combine the chili sauce, molasses, Tabasco sauce and chili powder in a small bowl.
- Prepare the pork tenderloins by removing the silverskin and then butterfly them, by cutting down the centre almost, but not all the way through.
- Lay the tenderloins flat in a large, shallow dish. Spread half the marinade over the top then turn the tenderloins over and brush the other side. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4-6 hours.
- When ready to cook, heat grill or bbq. Grill pork until it reaches 150° F. Remove from grill and let rest 5-10 minutes while you prepare the toppings and heat your taco shells or tortillas (I like to throw the tortillas on the bbq grill for a minute on each side).
- Slice pork into thin slices and place in a bowl alongside your toppings. Enjoy!
Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 20 min | Total time: 30 min
Number of servings (yield): 4-6
Adapted from ricardocuisine.com
My daughters will be at camp in Muskoka for much of the summer, so I’m hoping blackfly season will be over early! These tacos look terrific.
Thanks Beth. The blackflies only last about a month (they can’t take the heat). Mosquitos are around all summer though, so send lots of bug spray with your girls.
Hi, I’m Melody, a Canadian transplanted to Mexico. We do pork tenderloin tacos all the time, this sounds like a nice change from what we usually do. Did you know Mexicans don’t put cheese on their tacos? The toppings are usually pico de gallo, green chile sauce, sliced cabbage (yes, sliced green cabbage!) and roasted jalopeños. I thought you might be interested in that. :)
Hi Melody and thanks. I more than suspected that the way we eat tacos and the way they eat them in Mexico is worlds apart! I’m not surprised by the cheese, but the cabbage surprises me. Interesting!