Grilled Pork Tenderloin with a Low-Carb BBQ Sauce for a GLP-1 Diet

Grilled pork tenderloin from this recipe shown on a fork

Ingredients

For the pork:

1 whole pork tenderloin about 20-24oz
1 tbsp olive oil

For the dry rub:

1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp ground cumin

For the homemade low-carb BBQ sauce:

1 6oz can tomato paste
¾ cup water
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp allulose sweetener or monkfruit with allulose blend
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp liquid smoke optional
1 pinch cayenne pepper optional

Instructions

Make the sauce first. Whisk all the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then drop to low. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring often, until it coats a spoon. Tomato paste and allulose both scorch easily, so keep the heat low.
Taste and adjust the sauce. More allulose for sweeter, more vinegar for tangier, more cayenne for heat. Set aside to cool slightly.
Set up two zones on the grill. One side on high, one side off. Gas grill: burners on one side only. Charcoal: coals banked to one side. The cool side works as an oven once the lid is down.
Prep the pork. Pat the tenderloin dry and trim the silverskin. Dry meat sears. Wet meat steams.
Oil and rub. Coat the tenderloin in olive oil. Mix the rub spices and press them evenly over the whole surface.
Sear over direct heat, 2 minutes per side. Four sides, about 8 minutes total. You're building crust here, not cooking it through.
Move to the cool side and close the lid. Cook 12 to 18 minutes, turning once halfway.
Sauce in the last 2 to 3 minutes, on the cool side. Brush a light coat on all sides and close the lid. Direct heat will burn it.
Pull at 145°F. Check at the thickest point.
Rest 5 minutes, then slice. Carryover heat finishes the job, and the juices stay in the meat instead of on the board. Cut into thick medallions and serve with extra sauce on the side.

Notes

The sweetener. Allulose is the first choice for the sauce. It tastes like sugar, and it isn't metabolized as a carbohydrate. Many monk fruit sweeteners on the shelf are cut with erythritol, which can leave a cooling aftertaste. If you go the monk fruit route, find a blend cut with allulose. A brown-sugar-style allulose gives the sauce a deeper flavor, if you can find one.

No sweetener in the rub. Allulose starts browning around 212°F to 230°F, well below table sugar. A two-minute sear over direct heat runs far hotter than that. In a rub it would char black before the crust formed. The spices and the sear build the crust on their own, and the sauce brings the sweetness at the end.

The tomato paste. This is the body of the sauce. Check the label for one ingredient: tomatoes. Some brands add salt, and that's fine. Skip any with added sugar.

The liquid smoke. Optional on the grill, where the pork gets real smoke. Worth adding if you make the sauce for oven or slow cooker dishes. A little goes a long way.

The tenderloin. Trim the silverskin, the thin shiny membrane on one side. It won't render on the grill and turns chewy. Slide a thin knife under one end and run it along the length, blade angled up.

Nutrition