Rum Butter Basted Pork Tenderloin

The last pork tenderloin was defrosting in the fridge, and I still had no idea what I was going to do with it. Then I remembered the little bottles of rum that we had brought back from Hawaii...I checked the cupboard and the dark rum had about 1 tablespoon left in it. Why we didn't just use it instead of putting it back, I have no idea!

I chose to use the rum, together with some butter, cinnamon and cloves to make a spiced buttered rum baste for the pork. I grilled it, basting often, and the result was a rich, juicy and tasty dinner.

I was only cooking for 3 people, so one pork tenderloin was enough, together with everything else.

Turn the grill on to heat while you prepare the buttered rum.

In a small saucepan combine:

1 tablespoon dark rum
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 clove


Heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat, but keep warm.



I chose to cut the pork tenderloin into 3 equal sized pieces, so that each person received their own piece; this also allowed for more of the pork to be basted with the buttered rum.

Place the pork onto the lightly oiled, hot grill and lightly baste the exposed portions with the buttered rum. Turn the heat down to medium.

Turn the pork every 2 - 3 minutes to sear all sides, basting each time.

At this point, turn off the burner that is under the pork, allowing the indirect heat from the other burners to provide the heat. Keep the lid closed, except for when you baste and turn the pork, every 5 - 10 minutes.

When the pork is almost cooked, turn the burner underneath it on again, allowing the glaze to caramelize and give a lovely golden sheen to the outside.

Remove the pork from the heat, and allow it to rest for 5 minutes, before slicing and serving it.

• As I only wanted a hint of spices in the background, I didn't use much. The amounts can easily be increased, or eliminated if that is what you want.
• Other spices can be used...allspice, nutmeg, fresh ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper.
• If you increase the amount of buttered rum you make you will have extra to use as a sauce when you serve the pork.
• The pork can be cooked in the oven; drizzle the buttered rum over the meat once it has been seared and then spoon it over the meat every 10 minutes during roasting. The meat can also be quickly seared in a frying pan, and then placed to one side of the pan. Add the buttered rum and baste the meat as it finishes cooking. This method also works well if you have cut the meat into medallions, as they will cook faster.
• The rum is optional...other liqueur or juice can be substituted. It can also be omitted and the spiced butter used alone.
• If you have herb butter, use that, or use up any fresh herbs to make herb butter. Citrus zest or vanilla bean seeds can also be used to flavour the butter.
• The buttered rum can be used for any meat...chicken breasts; chill some of it and tuck it under the breast skin of  whole chicken, use the rest to baste the chicken during roasting; whole ham, or ham steaks; salmon steaks.
• The buttered rum can be made a few days ahead and kept in the fridge.