September is National Bourbon Heritage Month. But I didn’t realize it when I made this pork tenderloin. What I did realize is that Toby’s best friend, Joey, was coming for dinner, and I needed something manly and bourbon-y. After all, they’re from Kentucky.

The first time I met Joey, he (accidentally) spilled beer all over my dress at their fraternity brother’s wedding reception. I know that sounds horrible, but actually it was kind of hilarious.

He was also the best man at our wedding, where he gave a great speech. And now he’s a fancy lawyer, which is why he was in the area.

I decided to cook this partly on the stove top and then stick the whole grill pan in the oven with the sweet potatoes I was cooking. That left more room to make the asparagus, peas and basil. But it worked pretty well. Feel free to cook it any way you wish — the marinade is really the thing.

And, in case you’re wondering, it was a hit. I’ll definitely be making it again.

Bourbon-marinated pork tenderloin (Adapted from Southern Living. Serves about 4)
2 pork tenderloins (1 package)
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup bourbon (I use Maker’s Mark)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt

Rinse the tenderloins and pat them dry.

Stir together bourbon, Worcestershire, water and vegetable oil. Mince garlic close and add to mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Pour marinade into a large Ziploc bag or a shallow dish. Seal or cover and refrigerate, turning pork occasionally, for at least 5 hours (overnight is preferred).

Remove pork from marinade. Place pork on a grill or grill pan and pour a small amount of marinade over the pork. Throw the rest of the marinade away.

Grill on high heat for 30 minutes with grill lid closed, turning occasionally. Or brown in grill pan/oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes on each side, then put pan in 350 oven for about 30 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat reads 155 degrees.

Take pork out of oven or off grill, then cover with aluminum foil and let stand 10 minutes.