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Pork Tenderloin Crostini

Appetizer

This is one of my favorite appetizers! It is a little more trouble to make but can be done in stages to make it manageable. This recipe is similar to an appetizer I ate at a catered party. The party version had pork tenderloin prepared in an Italian marinade and topped with mango salsa. I tried making two versions of the tenderloin. One was the Italian version like I had at the party. The other version is a honey lime-marinated pork tenderloin with pineapple salsa.

Honey-Lime Marinade

The honey-lime marinade won out for this recipe. It is a marinade similar to one a relative of mine makes. He is famous for his delicious honey-lime pork tenderloin! He told me the recipe once, so my version is based on my memory and a few changes. I think the end result is pretty close to his version. Combine this delicious tenderloin with toasted bread and pineapple salsa, and you have a tasty, hearty appetizer to serve at parties.

Assemble Just Before Serving

This appetizer is best if you toast the bread and assemble it close to when you want to serve it. However, it is easy to prepare the ingredients ahead of time. You can grill the tenderloin the day before, slice the bread the day before, and make the salsa a few hours ahead of time.

Pork Tenderloin vs Pork Loin

Pork tenderloin is small–about a foot long. It is 3 to 4 inches wide and is very lean. Pork loin is a different cut of meat that is about 2 or 3 pounds and is much bigger and fattier than a pork tenderloin. Be sure not to confuse these two cuts of pork. Always check the label for pork tenderloin if making this appetizer. As you can see from the photo below, the cut pork tenderloin is small enough to fit onto a small piece of French bread. 

Pineapple Salsa

I chose pineapple salsa for this appetizer because it goes well with the lime marinade. It is easy to put together but only works with fresh pineapple. It also has a little spicy kick from cayenne pepper. If you are not fond of cayenne, you can omit it without changing the basic taste of the salsa.

Toasts

To make the toast, cut up French bread and then brush on garlicky olive oil. To make the oil, heat olive oil in a small pan with minced garlic. Heat it until it becomes fragrant and then remove it from the heat. Garlic is easy to overcook and burn, so don’t wait too long to remove it from the heat. Enjoy!

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Pork Tenderloin Crostini
Toasted garlic bread with tender pork medallions and pineapple salsa
Votes: 7
Rating: 4
You:
Rate this recipe!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 24 minutes
Passive Time 8 hours
Servings
Ingredients
Bread
Tenderloin
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 24 minutes
Passive Time 8 hours
Servings
Ingredients
Bread
Tenderloin
Votes: 7
Rating: 4
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Bread
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the baguette into 24-30 slices and place on a baking sheet.
  2. In a small pan, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 20-30 seconds. Remove from the heat and brush the olive oil mixture onto the sliced bread. Bake for 3-5 minutes or until the bread is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Tenderloin
  1. In a medium-sized bowl, make the marinade by adding lime juice, lime zest, honey, salt, and garlic powder. Whisk vigorously to blend the honey with the other ingredients. Pour about half of the marinade into a zipper bag and add the tenderloin. Marinate overnight or for 6-8 hours. Turn the bag occasionally, so the marinade covers the tenderloin on both sides.
  2. Preheat the grill to 400 degrees F. Place the thickest part of the tenderloin over the center or hottest part of the grill.
  3. Cook the tenderloin for 6 minutes, basting with leftover marinade in the bag. Then turn it 1/4 turn and cook 6 more minutes; marinate. Repeat turning (1/4 turn) and marinating the tenderloin every 6 minutes for 24 minutes. Drop the temperature to 370 degrees on the last 2 turns if the tenderloin starts to brown too much. Remove the tenderloin when it reaches an internal temperature (in the thickest part) of 145-150 degrees F. Let the tenderloin rest for 5 minutes before cutting it.
  4. Slice the tenderloin into 1/4-inch medallions. Place 1 slice onto each prepared bread.
Pineapple Salsa
  1. Cut and chop all vegetables. Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir.
  2. Let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes until the flavors blend. Refrigerate leftover salsa.

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