This Grilled Pork and Pineapple Bowl Is the Perfect Summer Lunch
Although we're officially in the last full month of summer, grilling season is far from over (and depending on where you live, it may never end at all). Case in point: this week's episode of Mad Genius: Home Edition features a dish that has three different grilled elements, pork, pineapple, and red onion. They're some of the starring ingredients in Justin Chapple's recipe for a Grilled Pork Bowl with Pineapple and Cilantro, which comes together in three simple steps. You start by marinating pork tenderloin in lightly sweetened tea, and end up with a bowl that's packed with said pork, avocado, rice, bacon, and more. It would make the perfect lunch or dinner to enjoy while the days are longer.
Read on for Justin's step-by-step method and follow along with the video above.
Brew and Cool
To get started on the pork, you'll need to make the tea first, which calls for three ingredients—boiling water, sugar, and English breakfast tea bags. Once it's steeped and cooled, pour it over the butterflied and flattened pork tenderloin in a large bowl (ensuring it's fully coated) and get the pork into the fridge for an hour so it has time to marinate. When it's done marinating, drain the pork and pat it dry with paper towels. As Justin points out, you want the meat to caramelize when it grills, which you won't achieve if it has too much moisture.
Prep and Grill
Next, cut your red onion into wedges and your pineapple into half-inch-thick slices. Brush them and the pork with extra-virgin olive oil, and don't forget to hit it all with kosher salt and pepper. At this point, you're ready to grill. The pork needs to cook over high heat until it's lightly charred and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the meat registers 135°F. This should take about seven minutes, and be sure to turn the meat once while you grill. The onions and pineapple, on the other hand, only need about four minutes to char.
John Kernick
Rest and Whisk
While the pork rests for five minutes, you can quickly prepare the dressing, made with fresh lime juice, minced fresh cilantro, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper for seasoning. Whisk it all together and it's ready to go.
Build and Serve
Once the dressing is done, start building your bowl. The prepared steamed rice should go on the bottom, followed by the pork (sliced against the grain), grilled pineapple (diced after grilling), and onions. Load it up with the rest of the fixings—crispy bacon pieces, diced avocado, and thinly sliced jalapeño, for some heat. Finish everything off with a drizzle of the cilantro-lime dressing.
"I mean this is like literally a dream come true," Justin says after trying the bowl.
