3TablespoonsDijon mustard, or regular prepared yellow mustard
3Tablespoonsrunny honey, or maple syrup
1clovegarlic, finely chopped or minced
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Instructions
*This base recipe is sufficient for 1 pork tenderloin, a couple of large pork chops or 3 or 4 centre-cut, boneless pork chops. Double or triple the recipe, as needed (you can use the handy, dandy "2X" or "3X" buttons above).
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup and whisk to combine. Pour the marinade over the pork in a shallow bowl or ziplock-type plastic bag. Toss to coat the pork well and cover with plastic wrap or seal the bag. Marinate anywhere from 15 minutes to 24 hours. You can marinate at room temperature up to 30 minutes. Any longer than that, it must be refrigerated while marinating. Obviously, the longer you can marinate the pork, the better.
To cook stovetop/oven method: Preheat oven to 425F. In an oven-proof skillet (cast iron is perfect!), heat a little cooking oil over medium-high heat. Remove the pork from the marinade, allowing the excess marinade to drip back into the bag or bowl and reserving the remaining marinade for basting. Place the pork into the hot skillet and brown meat on all sides. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Baste/brush the pork regularly and generously with the reserved marinade and cook until pork reaches 140-145F, about 15-25 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the pork. Allow the pork to rest 3-5 minutes before slicing and serving.
To cook on a BBQ grill: Preheat the BBQ to medium heat. Remove the pork from the marinade, allowing the excess marinade to drip back into the bag or bowl and reserving the remaining marinade for basting. Grill the pork on the grates closest to the heat briefly, to brown the outside all around, then move to the upper rack. Close the lid, baste/brush regularly and generously and cook until pork reaches 140-145F, about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the pork. Allow the pork to rest 3-5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
General guidance for cooking porkBe sure not to over-cook pork. Cooking standards for pork have changed and suggest that pork only needs to be cooked to 145F (not the 160F of previous years). Assuming you plan to let the pork rest 5 minutes after taking it out of the oven, you can cook the pork to 140F and it will come up to 145F as it rests.Cooked to 145F, the pork will be wonderfully juicy, with just a touch of pink inside. And yes, a little pink and pork is perfectly fine! An instant read thermometer is ideal for checking the temperature of pork and stopping the cooking before it goes too far and risks being dry. Be sure to take the temperature reading in the centre of the thickest part of the meat.Food Safety NotesYou can marinate pork outside of the fridge only up to about 30 minutes. Anything longer than that and it needs to be in the refrigerator. You can refrigerate the marinating pork up to 24 hours.If is perfectly safe to use the marinade that the pork has marinated in to baste/brush the pork with as it cooks, as it will "cook" in the oven along with the pork.Never use the uncooked marinade that has had pork in it on the pork once it is out of the oven, as it will not have a chance to cook. The only safe solution to use any left-over marinade is to heat it to the boiling point in a saucepan or the microwave and allow to boil a couple of minutes, at which point it would be safe to use on the pork after cooking.Nutritional information is for the marinade ingredients only, as listed.