
Summer is well underway and what better way to indulge in it than with this juicy BBQ pork Tenderloin Sandwich? Complete with tender sheets of roasted pork piled high on a toasted ciabatta bun slathered with a cherry BBQ sauce. The sandwich is rounded out with a fiery pineapple scotch bonnet relish and a tower of crisp shaved red cabbage. This beautiful bite was made for the long hazy days of summer. So let’s get into it!

Pork tenderloin gets a bad rap and justifiably so. It’s an easy cut of meat to overcook and it’s prone to drying out. But if you treat a tenderloin right, it can be juicy and, as the name suggests, tender. Today’s BBQ Pork Tenderloin Sandwich is a delicious example of such a tenderloin. And while the timing can be tricky the method certainly is not. It can achieved on the grill or in the oven, so you have options.


The first thing we’re going to do is cover the pork in your favorite BBQ rub. I used my personal favorite which you can find here. But feel free to use your preferred recipe or brand. Once the tenderloin is covered, place it on a cooling rack suspended over a baking sheet and pop it in the fridge. This is dry brining. We want the surface of the pork to dry out and form a seal. The salt will also work its way into the meat, ensuring it is salted throughout. This will get us a deliciously crisp crust and a juicy interior. The drying rack will help ensure even airflow around the piece of meat. Leave it in the fridge for a minimum of one hour. Overnight is better.


Once the tenderloin is underway, it’s time to tackle the BBQ sauce. Start by adding oil to a skillet. Once the oil is shimmering add some diced onion and sauté until just translucent. Stir in some minced garlic and sauté until fragrant. About a minute more. Add in some pitted fresh cherries and the juice of one orange. Bring it up to a simmer and add brown sugar, ketchup, Dijon mustard, molasses, white vinegar, and salt. Stir everything and bring it back up to a gentle simmer. Let cook for 30 minutes or until the cherries start to break down. Take the sauce off of the heat and let it cool. Once it’s cool, transfer it to a food processor and blitz until smooth.

Now let’s talk relish. This is another dump-and-go kind of recipe. Start by thinly slicing scotch bonnet peppers. Make sure you wear gloves while you do this. Seriously, you want the gloves. Particularly if you have to take out contact lenses at the end of the day. I make these mistakes so you don’t have to. This amount of peppers will make a rather fiery relish. So if you’re not particularly fond of spice, I suggest trimming back the number of peppers you use. Honestly, one might be enough. None is also an option.

Next, grab half a pineapple and give it a fine dice. Pile the pineapple and scotch bonnet peppers into a skillet. Add white vinegar, garlic, and salt. Bring everything up to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Let cook for 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Transfer the finished relish to a heat-proof jar and let cool. Once the relish is cool, seal the jar and transfer it to the fridge. Both the BBQ sauce and the relish will keep for some time in the fridge. You can let the relish go for a week or two and the sauce will keep for up to a month. So yes, you will make more sauce and relish than you will need for this particular recipe but you will have plenty of time to get through the leftovers.

With the relish and the BBQ sauce done, we’re pretty much through the recipe. The only thing that remains is roasting or grilling the tenderloin. Preheat the oven or heat your grill to 400° F. Add oil to a cast iron skillet and sear the tenderloin on all sides. Pop the pan and the tenderloin in the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes or until the pork registers an internal temperature of 140 f. Do the same on the BBQ, placing the pork directly on the grill over indirect heat. Close the lid and let it go for the same amount of time, aiming for the same temperature.

Take the pork out of the oven or grill and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Thinly slice the pork and pile the slices high on a toasted ciabatta bun slathered with cherry BBQ sauce. Spoon some of the relish over top and place a pile of shaved red cabbage on top of that. Secure the top bun and that’s your sandwich.
And that’s everything you need to know about this BBQ Pork Tenderloin Sandwich with Pineapple Scotch Bonnet Relish. A zippy, meaty beast of a sandwich that just screams summer.
Enjoy!

BBQ Pork Tenderloin Sandwich with Cherry BBQ Sauce
Equipment
- 1 cooling rack
- 1 Small Baking Sheet
- 1 Large skillet
- 1 Food Processor
- 1 resealable container
- 1 heat-proof jar
- 1 Cast iron skillet
Ingredients
BBQ Pork Tenderloin
- 1 pork tenderloin
- ½ cup BBQ Rub ** see notes
Cherry BBQ Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1½ cups cherries halved, pitted
- 1 orange juiced
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard heaping
- 2 tsp salt
Pineapple Scotch Bonnet Relish
- ½ pineapple diced
- 4 scotch bonnet peppers *** halved, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup white vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tsp salt
BBQ Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 BBQ Pork tenderloin see above
- 4 ciabatta buns split and toasted
- 1 batch Cherry BBQ Sauce see above
- 1 batch Pineapple Scotch Bonnet Relish see above
- ¼ red cabbage sliced thin on a mandolin
Instructions
For the Tenderloin
- Rub the BBQ rub all over a pork tenderloin. Place the tenderloin on a cooling rack suspended over a small baking sheet and transfer it to the fridge. Leave it to dry brine uncovered for 8 hours or overnight. ****1 pork tenderloin, ½ cup BBQ Rub **
For the BBQ Sauce
- Heat oil in a skillet until shimmering. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Sauté until the onion is just translucent. Stir in the garlic and cherry, sauté for 5 minutes more.2 tbsp olive oil, ½ yellow onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1½ cups cherries
- Add the orange juice, ketchup, light brown sugar, white vinegar, molasses, mustard, and salt to the skillet. Bring the mixture up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let cook for 30 minutes.1 orange, ¾ cup ketchup, ¼ cup light brown sugar, ¼ cup white vinegar, 2 tbsp molasses, 2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- Take the sauce off of the heat and let cool before transferring to a food processor and blitzing until smooth. Pour the sauce into a resealable container and chill until ready to use.
Pineapple Scotch Bonnet Relish
- Place the pineapple, scotch bonnet, garlic, vinegar, and salt in a skillet. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let cook for 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.½ pineapple, 4 scotch bonnet peppers ***, ¾ cup white vinegar, 2 cloves garlic, ½ tsp salt
- Transfer the relish to a heat-proof jar and let cool. Once cool, seal the jar and store it in the fridge until ready to use.
For the Sandwiches
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet until shimmering. Add the pork tenderloin and sear it on all sides. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes or until it registers an internal temperature of 140°F. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing nice and thin. *****2 tbsp olive oil, 1 BBQ Pork tenderloin
- Slather the ciabatta buns with the Cherry BBQ Sauce. Place a pile of pork on top of the sauce and add the pineapple relish and a mountain of shaved cabbage. Place the top bun on top and serve immediately.4 ciabatta buns, 1 batch Cherry BBQ Sauce, 1 batch Pineapple Scotch Bonnet Relish, ¼ red cabbage