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Recipe · Direct · Medium

Iberian pork tenderloin grilled with Pedro Ximénez glaze

Free-range Iberian pork tenderloin, embers at 280°C, two minutes per side and a Pedro Ximénez Montilla-Moriles reduction that turns into a knockout glaze at slicing time.

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Prep
30 min
Cook
8 min
Servings
4 servings
Temperature
280 °C

Ingredients

  • free-range Iberian pork tenderloin (1 piece)700 g
  • Pedro Ximénez Montilla-Moriles (Alvear or Toro Albalá)200 ml
  • flaky salt1 cda
  • freshly ground black pepper1 cdita
  • extra-virgin olive oil (picual)2 cda
  • toasted pine nuts (optional)30 g
  • probe thermometer1 ud

Method

  1. 01

    Trim the cut

    Slide a sharp knife under the silverskin and pull it off in strips. Remove the hard surface fat too. White intramuscular fat stays — it renders and brings juiciness.

  2. 02

    Reduce the PX

    In a small saucepan, warm the 200 ml of Pedro Ximénez over medium heat. Reduce uncovered for 12-15 minutes until it loses two-thirds and turns into a light syrup. Keep warm.

  3. 03

    Salt and temper

    Twenty minutes before cooking, sprinkle flaky salt and a touch of pepper across the cut. Brush with picual olive oil and leave it out of the fridge.

  4. 04

    Light the kamado to 280°C

    Load the firebowl, lower vent fully open, top vent two thirds. Stabilise at 280°C with a clean hot grate. If you use a GrillGrate, slide the panels in during the warm-up.

  5. 05

    Sear 2 min per side

    Lay the tenderloin on the grate. 2 minutes per side, marking all four faces (top, bottom, both sides). Total 8 minutes. Probe the centre during the last sear.

  6. 06

    Pull at 56°C

    When the probe reads 56°C in the centre, pull immediately and rest 5 minutes on a wire rack. Carryover takes the meat to 58-59°C, the ideal blush.

  7. 07

    Slice and glaze

    Slice into thick 2 cm rounds across the grain. Arrange on a warm plate. Drizzle generously with the PX reduction, scatter the toasted pine nuts if using and serve immediately.

About this recipe

For Iberian pork tenderloin with Pedro Ximénez glaze: trim the silverskin, salt 20 minutes ahead and sear at 280°C on a GrillGrate or regular grate 2 minutes per side until 56°C internal. Reduce 200 ml of PX Montilla-Moriles separately to a syrup and pour over the meat at slicing, cut into thick rounds across the grain.

Free-range cebo, not bellota

Bellota Iberian tenderloin is extraordinary raw and wasted on the grill: rendered fat drips into the coals and the montanera nuance is lost under the Maillard. Free-range cebo, by contrast, carries just enough marbling to take direct heat without drying out, at a 40-50% lower cost. Ideal cut: 600-700 g, one piece, unsplit. Carefully trim all silverskin and hard surface fat — that layer contracts under fire and warps the meat, it does not tenderise. The white intramuscular fat stays.

A short sear and the mandatory probe

Tenderloin is a thin cut (4-5 cm diameter) and overcooks in a blink. Embers at 280°C, clean hot grate, 2 minutes per side — only two flips, four max. Probe to the centre: pull at 56°C internal. Carryover brings it to 58-59°C, the perfect blush of Iberian pork — any longer and the intramuscular fat hardens. Without a probe this is Russian roulette. A GrillGrate gives you the photogenic crosshatch but a plain grate works identically — the magic is heat and time, not the tool.

PX reduction and the obvious pairing

In a saucepan off the kamado, reduce 200 ml of Pedro Ximénez Montilla-Moriles over medium heat for 12-15 minutes until it loses two-thirds and turns into a light syrup. Do not use cooking-grade PX — it is sugared white wine, not real PX. Buy an Alvear or a young Toro Albalá, around 15 €. After the meat rests, slice across the grain (thick 2 cm rounds) and drizzle with PX at the table. Pairing: the same PX, small glass, 12°C. Optional: toasted pine nuts on top.

In 30 seconds

Free-range Iberian tenderloin 600-700 g, trimmed. Salt 20 min ahead. Direct sear 280°C, 2 min per side, probe to 56°C. Rest 5 min. Reduce 200 ml Pedro Ximénez Montilla-Moriles separately to a syrup. Slice across the grain, drizzle with PX. Pairing: same PX, 12°C.

Editor's tips

  • Do not use cooking-grade PX. It is sugared white wine behind a misleading label. Real Pedro Ximénez is DOC Montilla-Moriles — Alvear is the easiest to source.
  • The probe is not instinct. Even when it feels obvious, pull at exactly 56°C — never on gut feel or visual cue.
  • Always slice across the grain, never along it. Lengthwise gives you chewy strips; crosswise, rounds that melt in your mouth.
  • Toasted pine nuts are optional but very recommended. Toast them in a dry pan over medium heat 4 minutes until golden — they add crunch the tenderloin lacks.

Gear for this recipe

FAQ

  • Cebo de campo or bellota for the grill?

    Free-range cebo, no contest. Bellota is exceptional raw or cured, but on the grill the montanera fat (its premium component) renders into the coals and is lost. Cebo de campo has enough marbling to hold up to a direct sear, better fire flavour and costs 40-50% less. Save bellota for charcuterie boards.

  • Which Pedro Ximénez should I buy?

    Alvear PX or a young Toro Albalá (not the 60 € Don PX vintage). Both run 12-18 € at a specialist shop and are genuine DOC Montilla-Moriles. At a supermarket, look for PX with a denomination of origin on the label — no DOC, not real PX. Using a vintage for a reduction wastes exceptional product.

  • Substitute if I cannot find PX?

    A sweet oloroso or an Italian Vin Santo are closest, but you lose the raisin character that defines PX. Emergency workaround: 150 ml red wine + 50 ml port + a tablespoon of molasses, reduced the same. Not identical, but saves dinner. What does not work: Moscato-style sweet wines — very aromatic but no body to reduce.

  • What wine pairs with Iberian tenderloin and PX?

    The same Pedro Ximénez, served chilled (12°C) in a small glass. It sounds odd but it is the formula: the wine sweetness cuts Iberian fat better than any red. For a drier alternative, a fino or a manzanilla en rama, also at 12°C. Reds only if very light — a young Mencía or a Gredos Garnacha.

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