Island Pork Tenderloin

If you’re looking for island pork tenderloin, this is two tenderloins with a cumin-chili-cinnamon rub, browned in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet, then a brown-sugar, garlic, and Tabasco glaze, roasted at 350°F. Pull at 145°F in the thickest part (USDA), then rest 10 minutes in the pan under foil. The dest blog said 140°F; we don’t serve pork under 145. Pin title said salad — this dest is the pork only, not a composed salad, and not brown sugar garlic pork with carrots and potatoes.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe ❤️

• Spice rub + sticky glaze — cinnamon sounds weird, then it isn’t.
• One ovenproof skillet from brown to roast.
• About 40 minutes after the rub is on.
• Tabasco in the glaze is heat under the sugar, not a wing sauce.
• Two tenderloins for company, or leftovers.

Recipe at a Glance

Prep: 10 minutes  ·  Cook: about 25 minutes  ·  Total: about 45 minutes including rest  ·  Servings: 6  ·  Difficulty: medium  ·  Method: skillet + oven 350°F

Ingredients 🛒

Spice rub

• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 pork tenderloins (2¼–2½ pounds total), trimmed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Glaze

• ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco

Tenderloin, not loin roast. A big pork loin needs a different clock. Silver skin off — it shrinks and makes the meat curl.

Cinnamon is 1 teaspoon for two tenderloins. A tablespoon tastes like a candle. Chili powder is chili powder, not a cup of cayenne.

Dark brown sugar packs moisture into the glaze. Light brown works; white sugar is a different crust.

Tabasco is 1 tablespoon. That’s the dest heat. Hot sauce with a different vinegar profile still works; start with less if you’re sensitive.

Equipment

A 12-inch ovenproof skillet. Nonstick with a plastic handle does not go in a 350°F oven. A thermometer. Tongs.

How to Make It 👩‍🍳

Heat oven to 350°F. Mix salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon. Rub all over the pork.

Oil in the skillet, medium-high. Brown the pork, turning, about 4–5 minutes total. You want color, not a cooked center. Off the heat, pork stays in the skillet.

Mix brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco. Pat it on top of the pork.

Skillet into the oven. Roast until a thermometer in the center of each tenderloin reads 145°F — about 20 minutes, but thickness wins. Dest used 140°F; we stop at 145. Don’t cook to 160 unless you like dry pork.

Leave the pork in the skillet, tent loosely with foil, 10 minutes. Slice. The glaze in the pan is the drizzle.

Why the Technique Works

Brown first, glaze, then oven. Sugar in a ripping-hot empty sear burns. That’s why the glaze goes on after browning, off the burner.

145°F then rest is USDA pork. Carryover during the 10-minute rest still happens. Slicing at 145 without rest dumps juice on the board.

Cinnamon + chili + cumin is the “island” note, not pineapple. Don’t add a can of pineapple and keep this name unless that’s a different recipe.

Two tenderloins in one 12-inch skillet should fit without stacking. Stacked meat steams.

Cooking Tips

Thermometer in the thickest part, not the glaze blob on top.

If the sugar on top is black at 15 minutes and the center is 120°F, foil the top and keep roasting.

Variations and Substitutions

One tenderloin: half the rub and glaze, check 145°F earlier.

No Tabasco: a milder hot sauce, or ½ tablespoon. The glaze will be sweeter.

Not a salad: if you want greens, serve slices on a salad. That’s serving, not this dest card.

Serving Suggestions

Rice, roasted veg, or a simple salad. Don’t write a rum-drink pairing.

Storage, Freezing & Reheating

Fridge 3–4 days. Reheat gentle 325°F covered with a spoon of pan juices so it doesn’t dry.

Freeze sliced meat up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge. Glaze can get sticky-hard — a splash of water when reheating.

Troubleshooting

Dry: past 145°F, or you used loin roast on tenderloin time. Thermometer, rest.

Burnt sugar: glaze on during the sear, or oven too high. Glaze after brown, 350°F, foil if needed.

Raw center: stacked meat, or a cold thick end. 145°F in both pieces.

Too spicy: a full tablespoon of a hotter sauce than Tabasco. Next time, 1 teaspoon, taste the glaze.

Bland: didn’t rub every surface, or skipped salt. The rub is 2 teaspoons salt for 2½ pounds — that’s the seasoning.

FAQ

140°F or 145°F?

Dest said 140 then rest. USDA pork is 145°F. We use 145.

Is this the brown-sugar garlic pork with carrots?

No. Different cut, different spice rub, different URL.

Where’s the salad?

Not on this dest page. Pork only.

Can I use pork loin?

It’s thicker. Longer roast, still 145°F. Not this timing.

Nutrition, Allergens & Dietary Notes

Approx, per 1 of 6 servings:

• Calories: 320–400
• Protein: 32–38 g
• Carbs: 22–28 g
• Fat: 10–14 g

Contains: pork. Glaze is sugar-heavy. Tabasco is vinegar-chili. Gluten-free if your hot sauce is. Pork 145°F. Not a salad. Not the sheet-pan brown-sugar pork.

Final Thoughts

Rub, brown, glaze, 350°F to 145°F, rest 10. If you cook it like a well-done chop, the glaze can’t save it.